Performance Work Statement (PWS) - FBP.docx

Performance Work Statement (PWS) Template Mar 2023

Performance Work Statement (PWS) For Federal Bonding Program ETA/OWI

NOTE TO OUR CUSTOMERS: THIS TEMPLATE MUST BE TAILORED FOR YOUR AGENCY BY INCLUDING YOUR UNIQUE REQUIREMENTS, QUANTITIES FOR WORKLOAD, SPECIFIC SURVEILANCE TECHNIQUES, ETC. ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS TEMPLATE SHOULD BE ADDRESSED WITH YOUR ASSIGNED ACQUISITION TEAM. GENERAL INFORMATION IS PRESENTED IN RED TEXT IN (PARENTHESES), WHILE FILL-IN GUIDANCE IS PRESENTED IN BLUE TEXT IN [BRACKETS]. PLEASE DELETE ALL INFORMATION IN RED PARENTHESES AND BLUE BRACKETS WHEN FINALIZING THE PWS.

THE PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT DEFINES THE GOVERNMENT’S REQUIREMENTS IN TERMS OF THE OBJECTIVE AND MEASURABLE OUTPUTS. IT SHOULD PROVIDE THE VENDOR WITH ANSWERS TO FIVE BASIC QUESTIONS: WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, HOW MANY AND HOW WELL. IT IS IMPORTANT TO ACCURATELY ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS IN ORDER TO ALLOW THE VENDOR TO ACCURATELY ASSESS RESOURCES AND RISKS INVOLVED.

PART 1

General Information

Description of Services/Introduction:

The contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and non-personal services necessary to perform the Federal Bonding Program requirements as defined in this Performance Work Statement, except as Specified in section C-3 as government furnished property and services. The contractor shall perform to the standards in this contract action.

Background:

The Federal Bonding program (FBP) was developed in the late 1960s by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to help employment service counselors place justice-involved and other at-risk individuals in private sector jobs. The program provides fidelity bonds to employers willing to hire at-risk individuals and protect employers from losses due to theft or other illegal acts of the bonded people that they hire. Over the years, the program has remained a relatively small program, serving about 900 people a year. In 2019, DOL greatly expanded the program by providing grant funds to 24 states for the specific purpose of purchasing fidelity bonds to cover employers hiring ex-offenders. In 2020, DOL competed additional grant funds for states and territories that did not receive awards in 2019.

Objectives:

The purpose of this project is to procure an underwriting company or agency thereof to administer the Federal Bonding Program. This includes providing bonds paid for by states using the DOL fidelity bonding grants (which are open only to justice-involved) and providing bonds paid for by states and non-state organizations using non-DOL fidelity grant funds (which are open to justice-involved as well as other at-risk individuals).

Scope:

The following task defines the scope of the work.

The contractor shall provide fidelity bonding coverage to justice-involved individuals and certain others with high-risk backgrounds in all fifty states and six outlying areas.

The contractor shall provide sufficient personnel, both professional and administrative, to perform all work identified in the Performance Work Statement (PWS).

The contractor shall provide all program management, technical management and administrative support to perform all work identified in the PWS. The individuals shall have exceptional analytical and communication skills, both oral and written.

The following tasks describe the scope and requirements for the PWS, but do not reflect, nor should they be considered a complete and final listing of all DOL’s comprehensive requirements. The contractor shall perform assigned task in accordance with project schedules and deliverable requirements in written orders.

The contractor will provide a website in which states can electronically purchase and request to issue bonds, and which distinguishes between bonds purchased and issued with DOL grant funds and bonds purchased and issued with other funds. The contractor shall maintain a secure electronic database of information collected at bond issuance that protects the confidentiality of information within these records.

Period of Performance:

The period of performance shall be for one (1) Base Period of 12 months and four (4) 12-month option periods. The Period of Performance reads as follows:

Base Period – March 25, 2027 – March 24, 2028 Option Period I – March 25, 2028 – March 24, 2029 Option Period II – March 25, 2029 – March 24, 2030 Option Period III – March 25, 2030 – March 24, 2031 Option Period IV – March 25, 2031 – March 2, 2032

The government reserves the right to extend the term of this contract action at the prices set forth in Section B in accordance with the terms and conditions contained in clause 52.217-9 entitled, “Option to Extend the Term of the Contract”.

General Information Quality Control:

The contractor shall develop and maintain an effective quality control program to ensure services are performed in accordance with this PWS. The contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure non-recurrence of defective services. The contractor’s quality control program is the means by which he assures himself that his work complies with the requirement of the contract. As a minimum, the contractor shall develop quality control procedures that address the areas identified in Technical Exhibit 1, “Performance Requirements Summary”. After acceptance of the quality control plan, the contractor shall receive the Contracting Officer’s acceptance in writing of any proposed change to his QC system.

Quality Assurance:

The government shall evaluate the contractor’s performance under this contract action in accordance with the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan. This plan is primarily focused on what the government must do to ensure that the contractor has performed in accordance with the performance standards. It defines how the performance standards will be applied, the frequency of surveillance, and the minimum acceptable defect rate(s).

Government Remedies:

The Contracting Officer shall follow FAR 52.212-4, “Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items” or 52.246-4, “Inspection of Services-Fixed Price” for contractor’s failure to perform satisfactory services or failure to correct non-conforming services.

Recognized Holidays:

Independence Day

Hours of Operation:

The contractor is responsible for conducting performance between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for the Employment & Training Administration, Monday thru Friday, except Federal holidays or when the government facility is closed due to local or national emergencies, administrative closings, or similar government directed facility closings. The contractor must at all times maintain an adequate workforce for the uninterrupted performance of all tasks defined within this statement of work when the government facility is not closed for the above reasons. When hiring personnel, the contractor shall keep in mind that the stability and continuity of the workforce are essential.

Place of Performance:

The work performed under this contract will be at the discretion of the contractor.

Type of Contract:

The government anticipates award of a Time and Materials contract.

Security Requirements:

N/A Physical Security.

The contractor shall be responsible for safeguarding all government property provided for contractor use. At the close of each work period, government facilities, equipment, and materials shall be secured.

Key Control.

N/A

Lost Keys

N/A

Key Use

N/A Lock Combinations.

N/A Conservation of Utilities.

N/A Special Qualifications:

Project Manager – Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of three (3) years’ experience with project leadership and management; OR four (4) years’ leading projects.

Fields all calls from FBP 800 number as well as all calls and emails from State Bonding Coordinators (SBCs) around the clock. Attends and presents the program at various industry events.

Assistant Project Manager – Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of three (3) years’ experience with project leadership and management; OR four (4) years’ leading projects.

Manage relationship with insurance carrier. Content manager and developer for website, marketing collaterals (brochures, blogs, posters, etc.), training for SBC, grantees and other presentations. Manages and coordinates events, advertising, and sponsorships. Files insurance claims with carriers and address all issues. Runs special projects and leads research initiatives. Solves problems.

Administrative Assistant (2) – Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree and 3 years’ experience in technology, written and verbal communication, organization, problem solving and training.

Administrator of the Federal Bonding Program’s website. Primary Tech Support contact for program. Reviews all fidelity bonds issued on the website and payments made. Mails all issued bonds to participating employers. Regularly corresponds with State Bonding Coordinators answering program questions. Trains new SBCs on online portal. Updates website including updates of SBC contacts in online directory. Updates the program’s marketing material. Runs program data and performance reports on a quarterly basis and for other special projects.

Post Award Conference/Periodic Progress Meetings:

The contractor agrees to attend any post award conference convened by the contracting activity or contract administration office in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 42.5. The Contracting Officer, Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), and other government personnel, as appropriate, may meet periodically with the contractor to review the contractor's performance. At these meetings, the Contracting Officer will apprise the contractor of how the government views the contractor's performance and the contractor will apprise the government of problems, if any, being experienced. Appropriate action shall be taken to resolve outstanding issues. These meetings shall be at no additional cost to the government.

Contracting Officer’s Representative:

A COR will be delegated separately.

Key Personnel:

Project Manager - Minimum Qualifications Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of three (3) years’ experience with project leadership and management; OR four (4) years’ leading projects.

Fields all calls from FBP 800 number as well as all calls and emails from State Bonding Coordinators (SBCs) around the clock. Attends and presents the program at various industry events.

Assistant Project Manager – Minimum Qualifications Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of three (3) years’ experience with project leadership and management; OR four (4) years’ leading projects.

Manage relationship with insurance carrier. Content manager and developer for website, marketing collaterals (brochures, blogs, posters, etc.), training for SBC, grantees and other presentations. Manages and coordinates events, advertising, and sponsorships. Files insurance claims with carrier and address all issues. Runs special projects and leads research initiatives. Solves problems.

Identification of Contractor Employees:

All contract personnel attending meetings, answering government telephones, and working in other situations where their contractor status is not obvious to third parties are required to identify themselves as such to avoid creating an impression in the minds of members of the public that they are government officials. They must also ensure that all documents or reports produced by contractors are suitably marked as contractor products or that contractor participation is appropriately disclosed.

Organizational Conflict of Interest:

Contractor and subcontractor personnel performing work under this contract action may receive, have access to or participate in the development of proprietary or source selection information (e.g., cost or pricing information, budget information or analyses, specifications or work statements, etc.) or perform evaluation services which may create a current or subsequent Organizational Conflict of Interests (OCI), as defined in FAR Subpart 9.5. The contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer immediately whenever it becomes aware that such access or participation may result in any actual or potential OCI and shall promptly submit a plan to the Contracting Officer to avoid or mitigate any such OCI. The contractor’s mitigation plan will be determined to be acceptable solely at the discretion of the Contracting Officer and in the event the Contracting Officer unilaterally determines that any such OCI cannot be satisfactorily avoided or mitigated, the Contracting Officer may affect other remedies as he or she deems necessary, including prohibiting the contractor from participation in subsequent contracted requirements which may be affected by the OCI.

Phase In/Phase Out Period

To minimize any decreases in productivity and to prevent possible negative impacts on additional services, the contractor shall have personnel on board during the thirty (30) day phase in/phase out periods. During the phase in period, the contractor shall become familiar with performance requirements in order to commence full performance of services on the contract action start date.

Part 2 Definition & Acronyms

Performance Work Statement (PWS).

Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). A representative from the requiring activity assigned by the Contracting Officer to perform surveillance and to act as liaison to the contractor

Defective Service. A service output that does not meet the standard of performance associated with it in the Performance Work Statement.

Department of Labor (DOL).

Quality Assurance. Those actions taken by the government to ensure services meet the requirements of the Performance Work Statement.

Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP). An organized written document specifying the surveillance methodology to be used for surveillance of contractor performance.

Quality Control. Those actions taken by a contractor to control the performance of services so that they meet the requirements of the PWS.

Best Effort: That effort expended by the contractor to perform within the awarded ceiling price all work specified in this acquisition and all other obligations under this acquisition. This effort includes providing required qualified personnel, properly supervised, and following industry accepted methodologies and other practices. The effort is further characterized by operating at all times with the government’s best interest in mind, using efficient and effective methods, and demonstrating sound cost control. The effort must be identical to the effort that would be expended if this were a firm-fixed price acquisition and the contractor’s profits were dependent upon reducing costs while meeting the government’s requirements in terms and quality and schedule. Failure to provide this required effort may result in the withholding of payment for hours expended that do not qualify as best effort or a reduction in the rate per hour to reflect decreased value of services received.

Part 3 Government Furnished Property, Equipment, And Services

0. General:

N/A

0. Equipment:

N/A

0. Services:

3.3.1 Utilities:

N/A

0. Facilities:

Contractor Site. The contractor will furnish all necessary workspace required to support the effort(s) outlined in this PWS, to include desk space, telephones, computers, and other items necessary to maintain an office environment. If deemed necessary, the government may issue, at its discretion, supplemental equipment (e.g., computing equipment).

Part 4 Contractor Furnish Items and Services

4.1 General:

Except for those items specifically stated to be government furnished in Part 3, the contractor shall furnish all other items required to perform the services in this PWS.

4.2 Clearance:

N/A

Part 5 Specific Tasks

5.1 Services:

The contractor shall provide fidelity bonding coverage to justice-involve and certain others with high-risk backgrounds whose nomination has been forwarded by any public, private, profit or non-profit agency; except that the contractor may refuse to cover a nominee who while previously bonded under this program, has been the cause of a paid loss.

The contractor shall provide a website in which states can electronically purchase and request to issue bonds, and which distinguishes between bonds purchased and issued with DOL grant funds and bonds purchased and issued with other funds. The contractor shall maintain a secure electronic database of information collected at bond issuance that protects the confidentiality of information within these records.

Within the quantitative report, the contractor shall at a minimum provide the following:

· Number of bonds issued by state by Quarter-to-Date (QTD), Year-to-Date (YTD) and Program-to-Date (PTD)

· Number of settled claims due to dishonest acts through program by QTD, YTD and PTD.

· The industry, sector, job title, hourly wage, and weekly hours of the jobs

· The gender, Hispanic ethnicity, and race of the employee and size of the firm

Bond Issuance Data:

· Bond number, Bond Amount: $5,000, $10,000, 15,000, $20,000, and $25,000

· Effective Date of Bond

Technical Support Functionality:

· Retain log of technical errors or online issues experienced by users and the status of the resolution.

The contactor shall provide within 45 days following the end of each quarter a qualitative report that provides a thorough performance analysis by QTD, YTD and PTD, program experiences (successes and challenges), actions taken to enhance awareness, schedules of planned future/conference/meetings, availability of materials, technical assistance requests received and contractor responses, and a list of all purchasing prospects and actions to promote the Federal Bonding Program.

The contractor shall ace pt, or otherwise arrange for standard coverage, for a bondee who has had coverage for a minimum of 6 consecutive months under the FBP without default, paid or pending, if continued coverage remains a condition of employment.

The contractor shall administer a program of bond purchase whereby States, outlying areas, localities, and other entities (such as correctional agencies for-profit, non-profit organizations, Apprenticeship USA, DOL grant recipient, SBA contractor), will be made aware of the availability of Fidelity Bonds and can acquire bonds that will provide fidelity bonding coverage in the same manner as those bonds furnished through Federal financing.

The contractor shall provide efficient claims adjustment service with claims settlement no later than 6 months from inception. The contractor will perform all related and record keeping functions. The report shall also enumerate the job title of the employment that all bondees have been hired in and the name of the organization that has hired the bondees.

The contractor shall provide online system maintenance and technical support for submission errors or request for assistance. All persons employed under this contract and any contractor managers and supervisors with access to the records and data obtained and used under this contract shall sign a confidentiality and non-disclosure contract. The contractor shall follow DOL instructions regarding the retention and destruction of bonding issuance records.

The contractor shall be required to cooperate fully with any contractor engaged by the Department of Labor to conduct an evaluation of FBP.

At the direction of the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), the contractor shall provide additional services as may be required from time to time for the implementation of the program. This will include attendance at meetings, presentation of training sessions, provision of technical assistance as-requested by the COR, developing and maintaining a marketing strategy to support the program of bond purchase; vendor distributing an informational brochure; attendance at conferences providing materials, posters, and workshops; and the maintenance of Toll-Free Phone number that at which will provide help and answer questions.

Part 6 Applicable Publications

6.1 Publications Applicable to This PWS:

The publications must be coded as mandatory or advisory, the date of the publication, and what chapters or pages are applicable to the requirement? All publications listed are available via the Internet.

Part 7 Technical Exhibit Index

1. Technical Exhibit 1 – Performance Requirements Summary

2. Technical Exhibit 2 – Deliverables Schedule

3. Technical Exhibit 3 – Estimated Workload Data (include if appropriate)

Technical Exhibit 1

Performance Requirements Summary The contractor service requirements are summarized into performance objectives that relate directly to mission essential items. The performance threshold briefly describes the minimum acceptable levels of service required for each requirement. These thresholds are critical to mission success.

Performance Objective (The Service required—usually a shall statement)

Method of Surveillance (and who performs) e.g. 100% inspection by COR}

PRS # 1.

The Contractor shall administer the Federal Bonding Program by providing fidelity bonding coverage to justice-involve and certain others with high-risk backgrounds whose nomination has been forwarded by any public, private, profit or non-profit agency; except that the contractor may refuse to cover a nominee who while previously bonded under this program, has been the cause of a paid loss.

PRS # 2

The contractor shall provide a website in which states can electronically purchase and request to issue bonds, and which distinguishes between bonds purchased and issued with DOL grant funds and bonds purchased and issued with other funds. The contractor shall maintain a secure electronic database of information collected at bond issuance that protects the confidentiality of information within these records.

PRS # 3

The contactor shall provide within 45 days following the end of each quarter a qualitative report that provides a thorough performance analysis by QTD, YTD and PTD, program experiences (successes and challenges), actions taken to enhance awareness, schedules of planned future/conference/meetings, availability of materials, technical assistance requests received and contractor responses, and a list of all purchasing prospects and actions to promote the Federal Bonding Program.

PRS # 4

The contractor shall accept, or otherwise arrange for standard coverage, for a bondee who has had coverage for a minimum of 6 consecutive months under the FBP without default, paid or pending, if continued coverage remains a condition of employment.

The contractor shall administer a program of bond purchase whereby States, territories, localities, and other entities (such as correctional agencies for-profit, non-profit organizations, Apprenticeship USA, DOL grant recipient, SBA contractor), will be made aware of the availability of Fidelity DuraBonds and can acquire bonds that will provide fidelity bonding coverage in the same manner as those bonds furnished through Federal financing.

At the direction of the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), the contractor shall provide additional services as may be required from time to time for the implementation of the program. This will include attendance at meetings, presentation of training sessions, provision of technical assistance as-requested by the COR, developing and maintaining a marketing strategy to support the program of bond purchase; vendor distributing an informational brochure; attendance at conferences providing materials, posters, and workshops; and the maintenance of Toll-Free Phone number that at which will provide help and answer questions.

Duration of the contract

Types of Surveillance to select from:

Random Sampling: Appropriate for frequently recurring tasks. Evaluate randomly selected samples of the lot to determine the acceptability of the entire lot.

Random Inspection Guide, Method of Surveillance, Lot size, Sample size, Performance requirement, Sampling procedure, Inspection procedure 100 Percent Inspection: Appropriate for tasks that occur infrequently. Inspect and evaluate performance each time task is performed Periodic Surveillance: Evaluation of samples selected on other than 100% or statistically random basis. (I.e. monthly, quarterly, semi-annually etc.)

Validated Customer Complaint: Complaints must be validated.

Technical Exhibit 2

Deliverables Schedule The contractor shall deliver the following documents at the time specified to the COR designated in the contract. All draft documents must be delivered to the COR by e-mail in an agreed upon format. Draft documents and hard copies must be delivered to the COR upon request. Documents produced under this contract become property of DOL; no documents or reports are to be released or published by the contractor. Final versions of all reports must be delivered to the COR electronically via e-mail by the date specified. All written deliverables other than the monthly progress reports submitted to the Department must carry the following disclaimer:

This report was prepared for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) by [insert name] under contract number [insert contract number]. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to DOL, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement of same by the U.S. Government.

Deliverables must be submitted to address the tasks in accordance with the following schedule. The contractor is responsible for editing and proofreading all material prior to delivery to DOL in order to submit products of the highest technical and editorial standard. The contractor shall implement effective quality controls to assure that the end product meets professional requirements.

Financial Reports

ON OR BEFORE THE 45TH DAY FOLLOWING THE CLOSE OF THE QUARTER

MS WORD OR OTHER ACCEPTABLE GOVERNMENT MEDIUM

Program Reports The contractor must provide an automated status report grouping bondees by states. The report shall also show bonding coverage amount each month by state and program total as well as a monthly recapitulation of bondees covered and terminated with bonding coverage amounts of the years.

MONTHLY

MS WORD OR OTHER ACCEPTABLE GOVERNMENT MEDIUM

COR

Other Reports - The contractor must submit a separate quarterly program report. The report shall include, as applicable to the contract, the following:

A description of overall progress and work program activities accomplished during the report period.

An indication of any current problems that may delay performance and proposed corrective action, if any.

Program status and financial data information relative to expenditure rate versus budget, anticipated staff changes, etc.

ON OR BEFORE THE 45TH DAY FOLLOWING THE CLOSE OF THE QUARTER

MS WORD OR OTHER ACCEPTABLE GOVERNMENT MEDIUM

COR

Detailed Annual Reports

Once a year

MS WORD OR OTHER ACCEPTABLE GOVERNMENT MEDIUM

COR

Technical Exhibit 3

Estimated Workload Data

N/A