Justification for Sole Source 02.docx

This is a Justification for Sole Source document supporting a Notice of Intent to Sole Source award to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) for an online interactive screening program serving veterans in crisis. The Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration (VA VHA) Veterans Integrated Service Network 5 seeks to procure licensing rights and support services for an online interactive screening program to be integrated with the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) Chat program. AFSP maintains exclusive rights to the Screening and Counseling Tool for Problematic and Harmful use (SCQ) and its proprietary algorithm, which no competing vendor can replicate. The justification cites that no alternative pricing was determined fair and reasonable, and that utilizing another vendor would present unacceptable risk to veterans' lives given the critical nature of suicide prevention screening and crisis intervention services.

The sole source justification emphasizes the mission-critical nature of the requirement, which involves licensing the screening program to enable VCL Crisis Responders to conduct mental health assessments of veterans accessing the chat platform. The VA estimates approximately 6,400 veteran suicides annually, with 2,500 occurring among veterans receiving VA healthcare, establishing urgent medical necessity. The VCL Chat program serves as a primary access point for veterans not enrolled in VA healthcare, making the reliability and proven effectiveness of AFSP's proprietary screening tool essential for identifying individuals in crisis and facilitating immediate intervention and referral services.