NAPHSIS JA - Final_Redacted.pdf

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

SOURCE SELECTION SENSITIVE

SEE FAR 2.101 AND 3.104

SOLE SOURCE

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

Birth Records Certification and Verification

1. Identification of the agency and contracting activity:

Requiring Activity:

Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) Personnel Vetting, Federal Investigative Records Enterprise (FIRE) 1137 Branchton Road Boyers, PA 16018

Contracting Activity:

DCSA

Office of Acquisitions (AQ) 27130 Telegraph Road Quantico, VA 22134

2. The nature or description of the action being approved:

This will be a sole source acquisition under the authority of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.501(a). The purpose of this document is to obtain necessary approvals for the sole source acquisition of birth records certification and verification as competition is limited to only one responsible source, National Association of Public Health Statistics and Information Systems (NAPHSIS), and no other supplies or services will satisfy DCSA requirements.

3. Description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s need:

The requirement is to provide birth record verification in connection with background investigations, as required by Federal investigative standards. The contract will include a 12-month base period, plus four 12-month optional periods for a total of 60 months. The estimated cost for the base period is and the estimated cost for the total contract lifecycle (base period and four 12-month option periods) is This will allow the DCSA FIRE to accomplish its mission of providing timely records checks to ensure the completion of timely background investigations.

The requirement entails DCSA having access to vital data using a single interface system. DCSA must be able to generate a request for vital records data from an interface for all available vital records data. The request will generate an XML message in a standardized format that a system will route to the jurisdiction where the event took place. The system must then provide an XML message in response that can be ingested by DCSA systems.

SOURCE SELECTION SENSITIVE

SEE FAR 2.101 AND 3.104

Vendor will:

• Provide an Internet-based XML System Electronic Verification of Vital Events (EVVE) for

DCSA to confirm vital records data.

• Provide DCSA with the requirements/code, technical information, and technical assistance needed to update XML transactions, potential error messages, and interpretation matrix of error messages.

• Provide DCSA the functional requirements/code for routing the request and response messages.

• Provide DCSA with an itemized invoice.

• Maintain continuous DCSA access to the hub and access to databases.

• Provide maintenance support and notify the users of any unscheduled maintenance.

• Ensure the EVVE hub and databases are inaccessible for no more than one business day through the period of performance.

4. Statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:

As provided for by 41 U.S.C.1901, as implemented by FAR 13.501(a), DCSA has found that only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency (DCSA) requirements.

5. Proposed contractor’s unique qualifications:

NAPHSIS is uniquely qualified to provide birth record checks and verifications to FIRE because of the immediate responsiveness of the NAPHSIS EVVE system. The EVVE system, owned and operated by NAPHSIS, allows immediate confirmation of the information on a birth certificate of date and place of birth information presented by the person who is the subject of a DCSA background investigation by comparison of that submitted information with official vital records information maintained by government offices anywhere in the nation, regardless of the place or date of issuance.

NAPHSIS is the national non-profit organization representing the state and local vital records and public health statistics offices in the United States. The EVVE system provides vital records data from 57 jurisdictions, which includes 50 states, 5 territories, the District of Columbia (D.C.), and New York City. With the EVVE system, authorized users can submit an electronic query to any participating vital records jurisdiction throughout the country to verify the contents of a paper birth certificate or to request an electronic certification (in lieu of the paper birth certificate). A real-time, electronic response from the participating vital records jurisdiction either verifies or denies a match with their official records. The EVVE system will also flag positive responses where the person matched is now deceased-an important aspect for purposes of fraud prevention.

This information is vital to the mission of DCSA in the completion of background investigations for the departments and agencies of the federal government. (Public Law 108-458, Dec 17, 2004) Background investigations are conducted by DCSA, on Federal employees, contractor personnel, military personnel, and on applicants for those positions, so that U.S. Federal

SOURCE SELECTION SENSITIVE

SEE FAR 2.101 AND 3.104

agencies determine whether the individual is suitable for Government employment, entry into the U.S. military, eligible for logical and physical access to Federal systems or facilities, eligible for access to classified information, eligible to be appointed to a sensitive position, or fit to perform work on behalf of the Government as contractor personnel. With NAPHSIS’ EVVE system, an authorized user is able to generate an electronic query to any vital records office throughout the country and the user will be provided an immediate response. DCSA personnel have successfully used the EVVE system to verify birth records since 2009.1

6. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2:

A Sources Sought Notice (SSN) was posted publicly to the Government Point of Entry (GPE) on Contract Opportunities (beta.SAM.gov). The Contracting Officer will follow the requirements of FAR 13.501(a)(1)(iii) to make publicly available the justification within 14 days after contract award. This action will be synopsized on the GPE in accordance with FAR 5.102(e), and a copy of the solicitation will be provided to firms requesting copies that were not initially solicited, but only after advising the requester of the determination to limit the solicitation to a specified firm as authorized under FAR 13.501(a)(1).

7. A determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

The following is a high-level independent Government cost estimate: for a period of performance of April 1, 2020 through March 31, 2025 for an estimated 233,389 record checks.

The Contracting Officer determined that the anticipated prices will be fair and reasonable based on commercial pricelists found on the NAPHSIS website. NAPHSIS charges a per-search charge along with the fee set by each of the 57 jurisdictions. Pricing was compared to the LexisNexis VitalChek website, the closest competitor to the product offered by NAPHSIS, which also provides birth record verification, even though they do not provide an immediate response.

While LexisNexis-VitalChek does not provide records electronically, it is important to note that NAPHSIS’ pricing with the transaction fee is less expensive than LexisNexis-VitalChek before the cost of shipping the record is added to the pricing. Further, as previously mentioned, DCSA has continuously procured birth verification records dating back to 2009 from NAPHSIS.

Historical pricing, in addition to the commercial pricelists, support the fair and reasonable determination of prices. The Contracting Officer may also evaluate a more detailed breakdown from a formal Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE), in comparison to the quote received for this requirement, to determine prices fair and reasonable. The following table shows a sample of the price difference between NAPHSIS and LexisNexis. This pricing information was obtained on December 20, 2019 from both NAPHSIS and LexisNexis respective websites.

1 The functions, personnel, and resources of the National Background Investigations Bureau, which formerly operated as a component of the US Office of Personnel Management, were transferred to DCSA, effective October 1, 2019, in accordance with directions in Executive Order 13869.

SOURCE SELECTION SENSITIVE

SEE FAR 2.101 AND 3.104

obtain access without having an established relationship already in place. was unable to satisfactorily address the required experience noted in the five requirements listed in the SSN.

submitted a capabilities statement that attempted to address the five competencies outlined in the SSN. After review of capabilities capability statement, it was determined that the company did not provide any experience relating to obtaining record verifications via the EVVE system, in support of background investigations. In addition, the statement did not address how records would be obtained electronically.

CPA stated throughout the submission that it has no experience with birth certificate records, and that it would need to hire someone to perform this work.

was unable to satisfactorily address the required experience noted in the five requirements listed in the SSN.

Additional market research was conducted on LexisNexis VitalChek, which provides a similar product to the NAPHSIS EVVE system. This was done to determine if LexisNexis VitalChek would be capable of providing the same or similar product as the NAPHSIS EVVE birth certificate product. After review, DCSA was determined that the LexisNexis VitalChek product is not automated, requests are not sent electronically, and results are not received electronically. In addition, the LexisNexis VitalChek birth certificate verification is not an immediate response.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition, such as:

NAPHSIS is the only vendor that is capable of meeting the Government’s requirement. Birth verification is one of many points of information that DCSA must verify in the process of performing background investigations. In the event this justification is not approved, the Government risks delaying the processing time of background investigations. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (IRTPA) (Public Law 108-458Dece 17, 2004) requires DCSA to complete “Secret” level cases in 40 days and “Top Secret” level cases in 80 days. The last time the agency was able to meet this standard was fiscal year 2014. As such, DCSA must use the vendor that can provide birth record verifications with the fastest response time to have the best chance of meeting the statutorily mandated timeliness requirements.

10. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition:

The SSN was posted to beta.SAM.gov on January 23, 2020, requesting that parties express their interest in writing to the Contracting Officer. The following vendors expressed interest, in

SOURCE SELECTION SENSITIVE

SEE FAR 2.101 AND 3.104

Certifications

Requiring Activity/Program Management Office:

I certify that the facts and representations under my cognizance, which are included in this justification and which form a basis for this justification, are complete and accurate.

Signature & Date:

Contracting Officer:

I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Signature & Date:

Reviews and Approvals

Activity Advocate for Competition:

I have reviewed this justification and find it to be accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Since this justification for other than full and open competition does not exceed $13.5M, this review serves as approval.

Signature & Date