RFI-CBP-CIRT2026 Questions Answers 08 July 2026.pdf

RFI-CBP-CIRT2026 Questions & Answers

1) The Draft SOW states that the doctoral degree specialty area “must be in the area of Trauma.” Would CBP consider a doctoral-level licensed clinical psychologist from an APA-accredited clinical psychology program who has substantial postdoctoral experience with trauma, PTSD, military populations, crisis response, and federal/public-safety evaluation work?

Response:

The CIRT Policy defines a clinician as a licensed mental health professional who offers psychological support and counseling services. While the policy does not specify the doctoral degree must be in “Trauma,” it emphasizes the need for clinicians with relevant experience in crisis response and trauma. A doctoral-level licensed clinical psychologist from an APA-accredited program with substantial postdoctoral trauma-related experience would likely meet the intent of the policy, provided they can demonstrate expertise in trauma and crisis response as required for CIRT operations.

2) Would CBP accept demonstrated knowledge and experience in Psychological First Aid, trauma-informed crisis response, peer support consultation, and critical incident response as satisfying the CISM knowledge requirement, or is formal ICISF/CISM certification required?

Response:

The CIRT Policy requires clinicians and team members to maintain readiness and competency in crisis response practices but does not mandate a specific certification such as ICISF/CISM. Demonstrated knowledge and experience in Psychological First Aid, trauma-informed crisis response, peer support, and critical incident response would be consistent with the policy’s requirements. Formal certification is not explicitly required by the policy.

3) Is CBP seeking one dedicated psychologist only, or would a small team model with one lead psychologist and backup doctoral-level clinicians be acceptable for surge capacity, travel coverage, and continuity?

Response:

The CIRT Policy allows for a team-based approach, with roles for a Clinician, CIRT Program Manager, Team Leader, and CIRT Members. The policy does not restrict the model to a single clinician and supports the use of multiple qualified personnel to ensure readiness and coverage. A small team model with a lead psychologist and backup clinicians would be acceptable and consistent with the policy’s emphasis on maintaining operational readiness and surge capacity.

4) Does CBP anticipate this requirement being set aside for small business, SDVOSB, VOSB, 8(a), or another socioeconomic category?

Response:

This requirement will be set aside for Small Business.

5) For CIRT activations requiring deployment within 24–48 hours, will travel authorization be issued at the time of activation, and will travel be reimbursed under the Federal Travel Regulation as described in the Draft SOW?

Response:

The CIRT Policy does not specify travel authorization procedures but does require that CIRT deployments are coordinated by the CIRT Program Manager and aligned with operational needs. It is standard practice for federal deployments that travel authorization is issued at activation, and reimbursement follows Federal Travel Regulation. This aligns with typical DHS and CBP practices.

6) Does CBP anticipate this requirement being structured as fixed-price, labor-hour/T&M, or a hybrid arrangement covering readiness, training, consultation, deployment, reporting, and reimbursable travel?

Response:

The CIRT Policy does not dictate contract structure. However, it does reference budgeting and resource allocation for training, deployment, and consultation. A hybrid arrangement covering these elements would be consistent with the policy’s operational needs.

7) For phone or Teams consultations with affected employees, does CBP expect encounter-level documentation, or de-identified utilization/activity reporting consistent with confidentiality, privacy, and ethical requirements?

Response:

The CIRT Policy strictly requires confidentiality and prohibits sharing confidential information except as required by law. Documentation should be consistent with privacy and ethical standards, favoring de-identified utilization/activity reporting rather than encounter-level documentation, unless otherwise required for clinical or legal reasons.

8) Will CBP provide the existing AMO CIRT curriculum, or should respondents propose a full curriculum covering psychological first aid, CISM principles, peer support, trauma response, resiliency, referral, debriefing, and defusing?

Response:

The CIRT Policy references a Critical Incident Response Team Manual and annual training requirements. The existing AMO CIRT curriculum will guide training, but respondents may be asked to propose or supplement the curriculum to ensure coverage of all required topics (psychological first aid, CISM principles, peer support, trauma response, resiliency, referral, debriefing, and defusing) in alignment with AMO’s operational needs. We do have an expectation of the contractor to collaborate with the current team to create a new guide.