S02_36C24524Q0532.pdf

PAGE 1 OF 1. REQUISITION NO.

2. CONTRACT NO. 3. AWARD/EFFECTIVE DATE 4. ORDER NO. 5. SOLICITATION NUMBER 6. SOLICITATION ISSUE DATE

a. NAME b. TELEPHONE NO. (No Collect Calls) 8. OFFER DUE DATE/LOCAL

TIME

9. ISSUED BY CODE 10. THIS ACQUISITION IS UNRESTRICTED OR SET ASIDE: % FOR:

SMALL BUSINESS

HUBZONE SMALL

BUSINESS

SERVICE-DISABLED

VETERAN-OWNED

SMALL BUSINESS

WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS

(WOSB) ELIGIBLE UNDER THE WOMEN-OWNED

SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAM

EDWOSB

8(A)

NAICS:

SIZE STANDARD:

11. DELIVERY FOR FOB DESTINA-

TION UNLESS BLOCK IS

MARKED

SEE SCHEDULE

12. DISCOUNT TERMS

13a. THIS CONTRACT IS A

RATED ORDER UNDER

DPAS (15 CFR 700)

13b. RATING

14. METHOD OF SOLICITATION

RFQ IFB RFP

15. DELIVER TO CODE 16. ADMINISTERED BY CODE

17a. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR CODE FACILITY CODE 18a. PAYMENT WILL BE MADE BY CODE

TELEPHONE NO. UEI: EFT:

PHONE: FAX:

17b. CHECK IF REMITTANCE IS DIFFERENT AND PUT SUCH ADDRESS IN OFFER

18b. SUBMIT INVOICES TO ADDRESS SHOWN IN BLOCK 18a UNLESS BLOCK BELOW IS CHECKED

SEE ADDENDUM

19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24.

ITEM NO. SCHEDULE OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES QUANTITY UNIT UNIT PRICE AMOUNT

(Use Reverse and/or Attach Additional Sheets as Necessary)

25. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA 26. TOTAL AWARD AMOUNT (For Govt. Use Only)

27a. SOLICITATION INCORPORATES BY REFERENCE FAR 52.212-1, 52.212-4. FAR 52.212-3 AND 52.212-5 ARE ATTACHED. ADDENDA ARE ARE NOT ATTACHED.

27b. CONTRACT/PURCHASE ORDER INCORPORATES BY REFERENCE FAR 52.212-4. FAR 52.212-5 IS ATTACHED. ADDENDA ARE ARE NOT ATTACHED

28. CONTRACTOR IS REQUIRED TO SIGN THIS DOCUMENT AND RETURN _______________ 29. AWARD OF CONTRACT: REF. ___________________________________ OFFER COPIES TO ISSUING OFFICE. CONTRACTOR AGREES TO FURNISH AND DATED ________________________________. YOUR OFFER ON SOLICITATION DELIVER ALL ITEMS SET FORTH OR OTHERWISE IDENTIFIED ABOVE AND ON ANY (BLOCK 5), INCLUDING ANY ADDITIONS OR CHANGES WHICH ARE ADDITIONAL SHEETS SUBJECT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SPECIFIED SET FORTH HEREIN IS ACCEPTED AS TO ITEMS:

30a. SIGNATURE OF OFFEROR/CONTRACTOR 31a. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (SIGNATURE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER)

30b. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (TYPE OR PRINT) 30c. DATE SIGNED 31b. NAME OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (TYPE OR PRINT) 31c. DATE SIGNED

AUTHORIZED FOR LOCAL REPRODUCTION (REV. NOV 2021)

PREVIOUS EDITION IS NOT USABLE Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.212

7. FOR SOLICITATION

INFORMATION CALL:

STANDARD FORM 1449

SOLICITATION/CONTRACT/ORDER FOR COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES

OFFEROR TO COMPLETE BLOCKS 12, 17, 23, 24, & 30

36C24524Q0532 05-22-2024

George Sherrin | george.sherrin@va.gov (304) 871-0873 05-27-2024

4:00 EDT

Department of Veterans Affairs Cambridge VA Outpatient Clinic VISN 5 Contract Satellite Office 830 Chesapeake Drive Cambridge MD 21613

X

624221

$13.5 Million

N/A

X

VAMC (512)

Tracy Modlin - Social Worker 10 N Green Street Baltimore MD 21201

Cambridge VA Outpatient Clinic VISN 5 Contract Satellite Office

PAYMENT WILL BE MADE BY

FSC e-Invoice Payment Invoice must be submitted electronically http://www.fsc.va.gov/einvoice.asp

The Baltimore VA Medical Center - VA Maryland Health Care System is seeking contractors to provide Community Based Urgent and Emergent Residential Care, treatment and Rehabilitative services to Veterans who are homeless.

This solicitation is open only to providers within the catchment area of the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Lower Eastern Shore - Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester Counties.

The awarded Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract period of performance is estimated to be:

An initial base year of June 1, 2024 through May 31, 2028.

Plus 4 additional option years exercisable at the Government's sole discretion.

X X

X one

George Sherrin Contracting Officer

36C24524Q0532

Table of Contents

SECTION B - CONTINUATION OF SF 1449 BLOCKS

B.1 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

B.2 PRICE / COST SCHEDULE

B.3 STATEMENT OF WORK

B.4 CONTRACTOR’S RESPONSIBILITY - CPARS ............. Error! Bookmark not defined.

B.5 IT CONTRACT SECURITY

SECTION C - CONTRACT CLAUSES

C.1 52.212-4 CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS—COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS

AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES (NOV 2023)

C.2 52.204-21 BASIC SAFEGUARDING OF COVERED CONTRACTOR INFORMATION

SYSTEMS (NOV 2021)

C.3 52.216-18 ORDERING (AUG 2020)

C.4 52.216-19 ORDER LIMITATIONS (OCT 1995)

C.5 52.216-22 INDEFINITE QUANTITY (OCT 1995)

C.6 52.217-8 OPTION TO EXTEND SERVICES (NOV 1999)

C.7 52.217-9 OPTION TO EXTEND THE TERM OF THE CONTRACT (MAR 2000)

C.8 52.237-3 CONTINUITY OF SERVICES (JAN 1991)

C.9 52.252-2 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB 1998)

C.10 VAAR 852.215-70 SERVICE-DISABLED VETERAN-OWNED AND VETERAN-

OWNED SMALL BUSINESS EVALUATION FACTORS (JAN 2023) (DEVIATION)

C.11 VAAR 852.215-71 EVALUATION FACTOR COMMITMENTS (OCT 2019)

C.12 VAAR 852.232-72 ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF PAYMENT REQUESTS (NOV

2018)

C.13 VAAR 852.237-72 CRIME CONTROL ACT—REPORTING OF CHILD ABUSE (OCT

2019)

C.14 VAAR 852.242-71 ADMINISTRATIVE CONTRACTING OFFICER (OCT 2020)

C.15 52.212-5 CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT

STATUTES OR EXECUTIVE ORDERS—COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND

COMMERCIAL SERVICES (FEB 2024)

SECTION D - CONTRACT DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS, OR ATTACHMENTS

D.1 QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PLAN (QASP)

D.2 CONTRACTOR CERTIFICATION: IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT OF

1952, AS AMENDED

D.3 CONTRACTOR RULES OF BEHAVIOR

SECTION E - SOLICITATION PROVISIONS

E.1 52.212-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS—COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND

COMMERCIAL SERVICES (SEP 2023)

E.2 52.204-24 REPRESENTATION REGARDING CERTAIN TELECOMMUNICATIONS

AND VIDEO SURVEILLANCE SERVICES OR EQUIPMENT (NOV 2021)

E.3 52.204-29 FEDERAL ACQUISITION SUPPLY CHAIN SECURITY ACT ORDERS—

REPRESENTATION AND DISCLOSURES (DEC 2023)

E.4 52.209-7 INFORMATION REGARDING RESPONSIBILITY MATTERS (OCT 2018)

E.5 52.216-1 TYPE OF CONTRACT (APR 1984)

E.6 52.233-2 SERVICE OF PROTEST (SEP 2006)

E.7 52.252-1 SOLICITATION PROVISIONS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB

1998)

E.8 VAAR 852.215-72 NOTICE OF INTENT TO RE-SOLICIT (OCT 2019)

E.9 VAAR 852.233-70 PROTEST CONTENT/ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

(OCT 2018)

E.10 VAAR 852.233-71 ALTERNATE PROTEST PROCEDURE (OCT 2018)

E.11 52.212-2 EVALUATION—COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL

SERVICES (NOV 2021)

E.12 52.212-3 OFFEROR REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS—COMMERCIAL

PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES (FEB 2024)

SECTION B - CONTINUATION OF SF 1449 BLOCKS

B.1 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

1. Contract Administration: All contract administration matters will be handled by the following individuals:

a. CONTRACTOR:

Business Name Address City/State/Zip Code Unique Entity ID Point of Contact Email Address Telephone Number Fax Number

b. GOVERNMENT: Contracting Officer, George Sherrin

Cambridge VA Outpatient Clinic VISN 5 Contract Satellite Office

2. CONTRACTOR REMITTANCE ADDRESS: All payments by the Government to the contractor will be made in accordance with:

[X] 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer—System For Award Management, or

3. INVOICES: Invoices shall be submitted in arrears:

a. Other [X]

4. GOVERNMENT INVOICE ADDRESS: All Invoices from the contractor shall be submitted electronically in accordance with VAAR Clause 852.232-72 Electronic Submission of Payment Requests.

PAYMENTS WILL BE MADE BY

FSC e-Invoice Payment Invoice must be submitted electronically http://www.fsc.va.gov/einvoice.asp Invoice setup Information 1-877-489-6135

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF AMENDMENTS: The offeror acknowledges receipt of amendments to the Solicitation numbered and dated as follows:

AMENDMENT NO DATE

B.2 PRICE / COST SCHEDULE

The Contractor shall provide to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Community Based Urgent and Emergent residential care, treatment and rehabilitative services to Veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, in accordance with all terms, conditions, provisions and requirements listed herein.

The Government intends to enter into a Firm-Fixed Price Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract for the required services. The Government is not obligated to any specific quantity, but shall be obligated to provide payments for all services provided in accordance with this solicitation. The guaranteed minimum number of beds, including the base and any option years exercised is one (1), and the maximum number of beds for each year the contract is in effect shall not exceed five (5) at any given time. This maximum is not a guarantee. A contract ceiling amount will be established at the time of award and will be specified in the final contract.

The vendor will quote an all-inclusive per diem rate in the table below based on the estimated quantities of 1,825 (5 veterans x 365 days) for the Base Year and Option Years 2-4.

Base Period: 6/1/2024 – 5/31/2025 Description of services Estimated

Quantity Unit Per Diem Rate Total cost

Urgent and Emergent Community Based Beds

5 beds per night x 365 days = 1,825

Option Year 1: 6/1/2025 – 5/31/2026

Description of services Estimated Quantity

Unit Per Diem Rate Total cost

Urgent and Emergent Community Based Beds

Option Year 2: 6/1/2026 – 5/31/2027

Quantity

Unit Per Diem Rate Total cost

Urgent and Emergent Community Based Beds

Option Year 3: 6/1/2027 – 5/31/2028

Quantity

Unit Per Diem Rate Total cost

Urgent and Emergent Community Based Beds

Option Year 4: 6/1/2028 – 5/31/2029

Quantity

Unit Per Diem Rate Total cost

Urgent and Emergent Community Based Beds

Grand Total (base year plus 4 (1) year options

B.3 STATEMENT OF WORK

The VA Maryland Health Care System is seeking a Contractor to assist with Contract housing services through the Health Care for Homeless Veterans program (HCHV). Many of these Veterans have multiple conditions that include serious mental illnesses, substance abuse disorders, and other complex medical conditions. VAMHCS intends to utilize the services of a Contractor to provide Contract housing to VA referred Veterans.

1. The Contractor shall provide VAMHCS a residential Contract Housing Program for Homeless Veteran for 60 to 90 days (not to exceed 120 days without authorization).

2. The Contractor shall provide sleeping quarters for the Veterans that are safe, clean and meet the standards established by the VHA Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (MHRRTP) Handbook 1162.02. Rooms considered to be regular living space shall not be used for storage. All furnishings should be kept in good operating conditions. Broken furnishings shall be removed or repaired within 48 hours.

3. Room and Board. Room and Board to include a bed and other furnishings such as dresser, storage and personal linens (towels and bed sheets). Meals to include at least three (3) nutritionally adequate meals a day, 7 days a week and availability of nutritious snacks between meals and bedtime for those requiring or desiring additional food, when it is not medically contraindicated. The contractor is responsible for purchasing, storing and preparing all meals. Per individualized service plans, Veterans may assist with this process in order to learn independent living skills.

4. Laundry Facilities. Laundry facilities for residents to do their own laundry or to have laundry done.

The Contractor shall provide a locked and secured area for medications given a number of Veterans served under this contract will be taking medications. This location shall only be accessible by the contractor staff. It is recognized that Veterans will take their own medications, but they shall be monitored by contractor staff while obtaining and consuming their daily medications. The contractor will be responsible to provide documentation signed by each veteran indicating whether or not the veteran chose to take the prescribed medication for that day.

Monitoring of medications and/or narcotic medications to include the following: locked drawers for the storage of medications, medication administration records, and weekly medication checks.

5. The Contractor shall provide an all-inclusive residential model, with staff dedicated to address Veteran’s needs while in the program; and said staff will also serve as the primary point-of-contact for both the Veterans and VA staff.

6. The Contractor shall provide high-quality residential rehabilitation and treatment services for Veterans with multiple and severe medical conditions, mental illness, addiction, or psychosocial deficits. This is to include (but not limited to) structured groups and activities that address independent living and the means to sustain stabile, permanent housing.

a) Assessment within 72 hours of admission (to include history of homelessness, income, family and social supports, medical and mental health issues).

b) Discharge planning to start at time of admission (to include Veteran’s preferences, local supports and follow up means {i.e. telephone number of Veteran and their emergency contact}).

c) Establishment of an attainable housing plan (at time of admission).

7. The Contractor shall provide a regimented program structure that provides a supportive residential component to augment treatment. This treatment could be provided either on site or in community settings such as the VA Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) at Cambridge, MD or Pocomoke, MD. The program’s treatment may be augmented through other specialized community providers (written collaborative agreements with these providers are strongly encouraged; services such as: outpatient Substance Use Disorder (SUD) program, outpatient mental health treatment, and vocational training).

8. The Contractor shall provide opportunities for Veterans to achieve and maintain their highest level of independent community integration through the provision of residential services designed for improved functional status, sustaining rehabilitation.

9. The Contractor shall demonstrate that it offers residential rehabilitation services that facilitate successful community reintegration. VAMHCS will provide case management for the Veterans admitted to the Contract Housing. This case management is necessary to assure that the Veteran stays connected to the VA and the Veteran is actively working towards finding permanent housing and/ or supportive housing that will end homelessness for the Veteran and their family (as applicable).

10. The contractor shall employ sufficient professional health care and personnel to carry out the policies, responsibilities, and programs of the facility. The contractor shall provide resumes for all staff having direct contact with patients and, if applicable, the Board of Directors as well. In contract residential care, there must be, as a minimum:

a. A full-time administrative staff member on duty or residing at the residence and available for emergencies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A Director of the program, or designee, and/or facility on call and available for emergencies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

b. A supervisor available to make onsite visits, at minimum 4 (four) times per month, and provide ongoing supervision of cases to case management personnel. The clinical supervisor, or designee, must be on call and available for emergencies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

c. Sufficient case management personnel to provide the necessary therapeutic interventions and activities and to ensure a meaningful integration of these efforts with those provided in the residential setting. These interventions and activities (among which permanent housing and the means to sustain said housing must be addressed) to be guided by appropriate, quantifiable outcome measures.

Case managers must have training and experience working with homeless individuals with chronic medical, mental health and substance abuse problems and be able to assess and anticipate crises. Each Veteran must have an assigned case manager responsible for coordinating and providing the treatment services specified in the contract.

d. Staff onsite 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and must be sufficient to ensure a safe and secure environment for all residents. At least one staff with Cardio- Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) certification on site and available in an emergency during each shift, 24 hours per day.

e. Members of the Board of the Directors (other than CEO) cannot be a paid employee of the contractor.

f. Background – All contractor employees in direct contact with the patient could be subject to background check/fingerprints prior to performance of the contract.

g. The facility’s staff will have documented trainings to include, but not limited to, ethics and cultural competencies, PTSD, and Military Sexual Trauma.

h. The following acts are not permissible, which provide services under this contract or while on facility premises:

1. Use of intoxicating liquors, narcotics or controlled substances of any kind (excluding doctors’ prescriptions which do not impair driver’s driving ability) while on duty or reporting for duty while under the influence of liquors, narcotics or controlled substance of any kind (excluding doctors’ prescriptions which do not impair driver’s driving ability).

2. Gambling in any form.

3. Carrying of pistols, firearms or concealed weapons.

4. Resorting to physical violence to settle a dispute with a fellow employee, customer(s) or the general public while on duty.

5. Spitting in prohibited places or any other unsanitary, offensive or insensitive practices or behavior.

6. Use of loud, indecent or profane language and/or making threatening or obscene gestures toward customers or other employees.

7. Stopping for personal business, including use or restroom facilities, while vehicle is occupied by a passenger. The driver shall not leave the vehicle with the key in the ignition at any time.

8. Engaging customer in a verbal confrontation in an attempt to settle a disagreement. Should a disagreement arise, the driver is to contact his dispatcher/supervisor via the radio system.

9. Soliciting or accepting tips from customer, companions or others at any time.

10. Engaging in personal relationships with residents of the facility. Engaging in intimate physical relationships, personal friendships or avoidable dual relationships with Veteran customers are prohibited; training on Boundaries and Ethics will be provided by VA for all staff upon request.

11. Entertaining of unauthorized guests at the facility.

12. Any serious act of misconduct by the contractor employee while on or off duty including (but not limited to) an act of dishonesty, theft or misappropriation of property, moral turpitude, insubordination, or any act injuring, abusing, or endangering others.

11. The Contractor, with the help of VA staff, shall assist Veterans in choosing, accessing, and utilizing the community and natural supports needed to be independent, self-supporting, and successful in their individual recovery.

12. Unless specifically excluded in this contract, the per diem rate established will include the services listed in this document and will also include all services or supplies normally provided by the facility without extra charge.

13. The contractor shall make available to the VA, documented record keeping deemed necessary by the VA to conduct utilization review audits for the mandated national evaluation study as required by Section 2 of Public Law 100-6; to verify quality of patient care for Veterans, to assure confidentiality of patient care for Veterans, to assure confidentiality of patient record information, and to determine the completeness and accuracy of financial records.

14. VA Liaisons to the contractor will be identified by the HCHV program at each VA medical center. They will act as the clinical liaison for all client related issues between the Contractor and the VA homeless team. The VA liaison will provide clinical oversight however, they will not provide direct clinical supervision.

15. VA program staff will collaborate with the contractor, who will conduct treatment, individual service plan and discharge planning reflecting a team assessment of health, psychosocial and vocational needs and the involvement of residents’ families and appropriate community resources in resolving problems and setting goals.

16.Contractor will have general liability insurance coverage of a minimum of $5,000,000 or the amount required by state law, whichever is a higher amount; to cover employee malfeasance.

17. The contractor shall comply with the VA Patient’s Bill of Rights as set forth in Section 17.34a, Title 38, Code of Federal Regulations.

The Contractor shall prepare reports, maintain records and data bases as well as perform other related work that is required by the Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Program and the Veterans who are enrolled in the program. The Contractor will be required to enter data into Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS). It is agreed that the VA readily have access to all records concerning the veteran's care in the facility. All clinical charts should be kept in a locked filing cabinet in a locked office area. Facility staff should not utilize flash drives and/or any other removable devices to store Veterans personal information. Veterans personal information/data should not be co-mingled with other non-Veteran information/data, i.e., one computer system should be utilized to store Veteran only information and data. The facility computer should be user name and password protected with Ctrl-alt-Delete access and with a timed lock-out setting. The facilities hard drive that stores Veteran information should be encrypted with FIPS 140-2 compliance for encryption. All Veteran data should be backed up weekly on an external hard drive. The hard drive should be stored in a locked cabinet in a locked office. The Certifications and Accreditation (C&A) requirements do not apply and a Security Accreditation package is not required.

It is expected that the contractor participates and enter all Veteran residents into the local HMIS data entry system. The HMIS are electronic repositories of client-level information collected over time about persons who experience homelessness within each community across the country.

Each separate Continuum of Care (CoC) is affiliated with an HMIS project. Data collected in HMIS are typically entered by the homeless providers who provide shelter, housing, and other services to persons to help prevent or address homelessness; thus, HMIS are community data partnerships, frequently managed by the local CoC identified as the lead homeless planning body by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

HMIS are designed to facilitate case management, data collection, and performance assessment for local continuums and federal agencies. HMIS has been adopted by the VA and HUD as the official client data collection and management system for homeless providers to use to collect client-level data from persons who are homeless. HMIS is also a federal response to Congressional Directive to measure the extent and nature of homelessness and assess the effectiveness of homeless programs.

The existing HMIS not only have funding and management structures already in place, but they have also been built upon federally-defined HMIS Data and Technical Standards which are closely aligned with the VA’s homeless data collection needs. These HMIS standards ensure that HMIS implementations throughout the country meet baseline privacy, security, and functional requirements and that all systems consistently collect the data elements that the federal government has determined are necessary to understand homelessness and measure the effectiveness of homeless programs. A copy of the HMIS admission and discharge paperwork should be filed in the Veterans clinical chart.

18. The Contractor shall provide monthly invoices in a timely manner (by the 5th of each month) in order to be compensated for providing the services identified in the contract.

The VA is mandated to pay it’s contractors within 30 days or less upon receiving invoice for payments.

19. Locations will be Men and women – Mid Eastern Shore – Kent County, Queen Anne’s County, Talbot County and Dorchester County, and Men – Lower Eastern Shore – Somerset County, Wicomico County, Worcester County. The facilities geographical location shall have ease of access to the public transportation for Veterans access route, for Veterans to access.

20. The contractor shall provide Veterans with transportation, or access to appropriate transportation services, to and from care at the VAMC (and its subsidiaries), community resource appointments (i.e., Department of Social Services, Social Security, Department of Labor employment services, Vocational services, etc….), community and/ or non-VA treatment appointments. If the Veteran is not medically able to utilize public transportation, the contractor shall provide private transportation.

Minimum Standards for Contract Housing VAMHCS Beneficiaries

Licensing

All residential settings must be licensed as required for the particular setting under State or Federal authority; a copy of this license shall be provided by the contractor with their proposal and annually thereafter or whenever license is renewed.

Accreditation by the Joint Commission and/or Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) is evidence of internal quality assurance mechanisms is desirable, but is not required. Where applicable, the setting must have a current occupancy permit issued by the local authority having jurisdiction.

The notification and contract clauses entitles “Privacy Act Notification”, as specified in the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) 52.224-1 and 52.224-2, is incorporated into this contract.

2. The contractor’s facility shall be Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant.

3. Medical Records

The contractor shall maintain an individual clinical record on each veteran outplaced under this contract. The contractor must comply with the requirements of the Confidentiality of Drug Abuse, Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection, and Sickle Cell Anemia Medical Records, 38 U.S.C. 7332, implemented by 38 CFR Section 1.460-

1.496 when appropriate, and shall be part of the contract. All case records will be maintained with such security and confidentiality as required, and will be made available on a need-to-know basis to appropriate VA staff members involved with the treatment program of the veterans concerned. The contractor is subject to annual security inspections by the VA Security department. . In addition to reasons for referral, the clinical record maintained by the contract facilities will include:

1. All essential identifying data relevant to the resident and his/her family, including a socio-cultural vocational assessment.

2. Data relating to the resident's admission to include the targeted goals for constructive changes which are to be attained during the residential rehabilitation episode, and the anticipated length of stay, if known.

3. Copies of any medical prescriptions issued by physicians, including orders, if any, for medications to be taken.

4. Reports of periodic re-evaluation by program staff, to include any measures of movement toward rehabilitation goals, with particular focus on the attainment of self-help skills.

5. Final summaries on each resident who leaves the program, to include a description of beneficial changes realized during the residential period, reasons for leaving, the resident's future plans, and follow-up locator information.

6. Upon discharge or death of the patient, the medical records for all VA beneficiaries will be retained by the residential treatment center for a period of at least three years following termination of care.

7. The C&A requirements do not apply, and that a Security Accreditation Package is not required.

5. Medications

The Veteran must be able to self-medicate. No medication services (other than storage and monitoring) will be provided by the Contractor.

6. Standard Performance Expectations

Contractor shall comply with Fire, safety and sanitation codes and practices. Acceptable safety and sanitation practices shall be observed throughout the facility. The building shall comply with the VHA HANDBOOK 1162.01 August 8, 2007 16. (3) Fire and Safety Compliance. The facility must comply with codes relevant to operations and level of care provided. Recipients of grants and recipients of per diem must comply with the Life Safety Checklist (LSC), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Life Safety Code 101 and all applicable State and local housing codes, licensing requirements, fire and safety requirements, and any other requirements in the jurisdiction in which the project is located regarding the condition of the structure and the operation of the supportive housing or service center in effect on the date of award of the contract.

a. Contractor shall comply with established VA guidelines pertaining to Patient Right to Privacy, particularly pertaining to patient mail delivery without hindrance.

General Contract Requirements

1. Personnel Policy:

a. KEY PERSONNEL AND TEMPORARY EMERGENCY SUBSTITUTIONS:

1. The Contractor shall assign to this contract the following key personnel:

Full-time administrative staff member on duty 24/7:

Director of Program on call 24/7:

Professional credentialed clinical supervisor on call and available 24/7:

Sufficient case management personnel:

Security Staff 24/7:

Staff or security with CPR certification- onsite 24/7:

2. During the first ninety (90) days of performance, the Contractor shall make NO substitutions of key personnel unless the substitution is necessitated by illness, death or termination of employment. The contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer Representative (COR), in writing, within 15 calendar days after the occurrence of any of these events. After the initial 90-day period of the contract, the Contractor shall submit changes to the above key personnel staff to the Outpatient Substance Abuse Clinic (OSAC) Program Manager or COR at least 15 days prior to making any permanent substitutions.

3. The performance of all assigned personnel must be acceptable to both parties.

The VA reserves the right to substitute personnel in order to meet the needs of the service and/or patient population.

b. The contractor shall be responsible for protecting and providing for the personnel furnishing services under this contract.

c. The parties agree that the contractor, its employees, agents and subcontractors shall not be considered VA employees for any purpose.

d. The contractor furnishing services under the contract shall cooperate fully with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Justice in the defense of any allegations of negligence brought against the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States relating to services rendered during the term of the contract.

This obligation shall survive the term of this contract. This includes, but is not limited to providing information as requested to attorneys from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Justice as well as being available for deposition and trial. This applies to derivative claims brought by a Veteran/patient, spouse, friend, relative or companion of such patient, alleging bodily injury and/or death or similar claim, suit, proceeding or cause of action.

3. HHS/OIG:

To ensure that the individuals providing services under the contract have not engaged in fraud or abuse regarding Sections 1128 and 1128A of the Social Security Act regarding federal health care programs, the contractor shall be required to check the Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General (HHS/OIG) List of Excluded Individuals/Entities on the OIG website (www.hhs.gov/oig) for each person providing services under this contract. Further, the contractor shall be required to certify in its proposal that all persons listed in the contractor’s proposal have been compared against the OIG list and are NOT listed. During the performance of this contract, the Contractor shall be prohibited from using any individual or business listed on the List of Excluded Individuals/Entities.

4. Confidentiality:

VA will provide the contractor access to pertinent patient medical information, within the existing privacy rules and regulations, for the purpose of providing coordinated comprehensive primary care. The contractor shall ensure the confidentiality of all patient information. Patient information is Protected Health Information (PHI). The term “Protected Health Information” or the abbreviation “PHI” shall include the term” Electronic Protected Health Information” and the abbreviation “EPHI”.

The contract shall be subject to the regulations issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, as mandated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996, Business Associates Agreement (BAA) in accordance with IL 049-03-7 and the Privacy Act of 1974. Federal Acquisition Regulations 52.224-1 Privacy Act Notification and 52.224-2 Privacy Act are provided in full text in the Addendum to FAR clause 52.212-4.

The Contractor is not authorized to release any medical record information. The VA is the sole entity authorized to release this information upon written request from the patient.

Reference Policy Memorandum No. 136-48-06, dated Sept. 8, 2006, Release of Medical Information (available upon request).

5. Records:

Contractor personnel who obtain access to hardware or media which may manipulate or store drug or alcohol abuse data, sickle cell anemia treatment records, records or tests or treatment for or infection with HIV/AIDS, medical quality assurance records, or any other sensitive information protected under 38 U.S.C. 7332, as defined by the Department of Veterans Affairs shall not have access to the records unless absolutely necessary to perform their contractual duties. Any individual who has access to these data shall disclose them to no one, including other employees of the contractor not involved in the performance of the particular contractual duty for which access was obtained. Violation of these statutory provisions, as stated in department regulations by which the contractor’s employees must agree to abide may involve imposition of criminal penalties.

6. Other Special Contract Requirements

Contractor shall insure their in-house employee records are compliant.

a. The Contractor shall be responsible to ensure that Contractor employees providing work on this contract are fully trained and completely competent to perform the required work.

b. The Contractor shall be required to maintain records that document competence/performance level of contractor employees working on this contract in accordance will regulatory body requirements. The Contractor shall provide a current copy of the competency assessment checklist and annual performance evaluation to the COR for each Contractor employee working on this contract.

c. VAMHCS will monitor the Contractor employees work to ensure contract compliance.

d. Not withstanding other contract requirements, upon request of the Contracting Officer, the Contractor shall remove from the work site, any Contractor employee who fails to comply with orientation requirements or meet competency requirements for the work being performed.

e. Where the contract does not require Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) accreditation or other regulatory requirements regarding worker competency, the Contractor must perform the required work in accordance with CARF standards.

7. Contract Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS)

a. This contract will require reporting in Contractor Performance Assessment

Reporting System (CPARS); therefore, the contractor shall provide a Point of Contact

(POC) to the contracting officer at time of award who will be responsible for managing reports/CPARs on this contract and will be assigned the role as “contractor representative” within CPARS.

This system is used Federal-agency wide as a solution for the collection of Contractor

Past Performance Information (PPI). This is being implemented throughout Veterans

Health Administration (VHA) in an attempt to be in compliance with the requirements of

FAR part 42 for documenting contractor performance assessments and evaluations.

Past performance information is relevant information for future source selection purposes regarding a contractor’s actions under previously awarded contracts. It includes, for example, the contractor’s record of conforming to contract requirements and to standards of good workmanship; the contractor’s record of forecasting and controlling costs; the contractor’s adherence to contract schedules, including the administrative aspects of performance; the contractor’s history of reasonable and cooperative behavior and commitment to customer satisfaction; the contractor’s record of integrity and business ethics, and generally, the contractor’s business-like concern for the interest of the customer. Each contractor is required to register in the Contractor

Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) @ https://www.cpars.gov. The

Contracting Officer/Contracting Officer Representative will evaluate the contractor's performance annually. The report shall be assigned in CPARS to the contractor's designated representative (contractor representative) for comment. The contractor representative will have thirty (30) days to submit any comments and then re-assign the report to the VA Contracting Officer acting as the Assessing Official within CPARS. Failure to register and respond within the thirty days will result in the Government's evaluation being placed on file in the database with a statement that the contractor failed to respond.

B.4 CONTRACTOR’S RESPONSIBILITY – CPARS

Information Regarding Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS)

– CONTRACTOR’S Responsibility

This contract will require reporting by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) in the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS); therefore, at the time of award the contractor shall provide to the Contracting Officer a Point-of-Contract (POC) individual who will be responsible for managing reports within CPARS on this contract and will be assigned the role as “contractor representative” (CR) within CPARS.

CPARS is a Federal-agency wide system for the collection of Contractor Past Performance Information (PPI). Reporting PPI through CPARS is being implemented throughout VHA to be in compliance with the requirements of FAR Part 42 for documenting contractor performance assessments and evaluations.

PPI is relevant information for future source selection purposes regarding a contractor’s actions under previously awarded contracts. It includes, for example, the contractor’s record of conforming to contract requirements and to standards of good workmanship; the contractor’s record of forecasting and controlling costs; the contractor’s adherence to contract schedules, including the administrative aspects of performance; the contractor’s history of reasonable and cooperative behavior and commitment to customer satisfaction; the contractor’s record of integrity and business ethics, and, generally, the contractor’s business-like concern for the interest of the customer. Reporting PPI through CPARS facilitates compliance with the requirements of Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) memorandum, “Improving the Collection and Use of Information about Contractor Performance and Integrity”.

After award, the contractor’s CR will receive an email notification that access to the contract has been given to them. The CR should ensure that their contact information is accurate in CPARS at http://www.cpars.gov. The Contracting Officer/Contracting Officer Representative will evaluate the contractor's performance throughout the life of the contract, generally every 365 days, and at the end of contract performance. The report shall, then, be assigned in CPARS to the contractor's designated CR for comment.

The contractor’s CR will have up to 60 days to submit any comments and then re-assign the report to the VA Contracting Officer/contract specialist acting as the Assessing Official within CPARS.

Failure to register and respond within the 60 days will result in the Government's evaluation being placed on file in the database with a statement that the contractor failed to respond. The contractor should note that the government’s evaluation will appear in the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) on day 15 in a pending status if the CR has not commented by day 15.

After the CR has either commented or failed to respond within 60 days, the evaluation will become final in PPIRS.

It is the responsibility of the contractor to contact the contracting officer and request a change if, at any time, the contractor wishes to change the person assigned as the contractor representative on this contract.

In order to ensure the timely completion of contractor performance evaluations within the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS), the following individuals are assigned these specific roles within the system:

Assessing Official’s Representative– (person from the requiring activity responsible for writing the CPAR/report and rating the contractor’s performance). Tracy Modlin, LCSW, tracy.modlin@va.gov

Assessing Official – (Contracting Officer/contract specialist responsible to act as a check and balance and review, sign, and send the CPAR/report to the Contractor Representative). George Sherrin, Contracting Officer; George.sherrin@va.gov

Contractor Representative – (person from the contractor’s office with the responsibility of receiving, reviewing and/or commenting on the reports/assessments). TBD

Name Date

Training for all persons responsible for the preparation and review of performance assessments is available online at: https://www.cpars.gov by clicking on the tab “Training”.

B.5 IT CONTRACT SECURITY

NOTE: APPLICABLE SECTIONS 1,2,6,7,8 AND 9.

VA INFORMATION AND INFORMATION SYSTEM SECURITY/PRIVACY

1. GENERAL

Contractors, contractor personnel, subcontractors, and subcontractor personnel shall be subject to the same Federal laws, regulations, standards, and VA Directives and Handbooks as VA and VA personnel regarding information and information system security.

2. ACCESS TO VA INFORMATION AND VA INFORMATION SYSTEMS

a. A contractor/subcontractor shall request logical (technical) or physical access to VA information and VA information systems for their employees, subcontractors, and affiliates only to the extent necessary to perform the services specified in the contract, agreement, or task order.

b. All contractors, subcontractors, and third-party servicers and associates working with VA information are subject to the same investigative requirements as those of VA appointees or employees who have access to the same types of information. The level and process of background security investigations for contractors must be in accordance with VA Directive and Handbook 0710, Personnel Suitability and Security Program. The Office for Operations, Security, and Preparedness is responsible for these policies and procedures

c. Contract personnel who require access to national security programs must have a valid security clearance. National Industrial Security Program (NISP) was established by Executive Order 12829 to ensure that cleared U.S. defense industry contract personnel safeguard the classified information in their possession while performing work on contracts, programs, bids, or research and development efforts. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not have a Memorandum of Agreement with Defense Security Service (DSS).

Verification of a Security Clearance must be processed through the Special Security Officer located in the Planning and National Security Service within the Office of Operations, Security, and Preparedness.

d. Custom software development and outsourced operations must be located in the U.S.

to the maximum extent practical. If such services are proposed to be performed abroad and are not disallowed by other VA policy or mandates, the contractor/subcontractor must state where all non-U.S. services are provided and detail a security plan, deemed to be acceptable by VA, specifically to address mitigation of the resulting problems of communication, control, data protection, and so forth. Location within the U.S. may be an evaluation factor.

e. The contractor or subcontractor must notify the Contracting Officer immediately when an employee working on a VA system or with access to VA information is reassigned or leaves the contractor or subcontractor's employ. The Contracting Officer must also be notified immediately by the contractor or subcontractor prior to an unfriendly termination.

3. VA INFORMATION CUSTODIAL LANGUAGE

a. Information made available to the contractor or subcontractor by VA for the performance or administration of this contract or information developed by the contractor/subcontractor in performance or administration of the contract shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the prior written agreement of the VA. This clause expressly limits the contractor/subcontractor's rights to use data as described in Rights in Data - General, FAR 52.227-14(d) (1).

b. VA information should not be co-mingled, if possible, with any other data on the contractors/subcontractor's information systems or media storage systems in order to ensure VA requirements related to data protection and media sanitization can be met. If co-mingling must be allowed to meet the requirements of the business need, the contractor must ensure that VA's information is returned to the VA or destroyed in accordance with VA's sanitization requirements. VA reserves the right to conduct on site inspections of contractor and subcontractor IT resources to ensure data security controls, separation of data and job duties, and destruction/media sanitization procedures are in compliance with VA directive requirements.

c. Prior to termination or completion of this contract, contractor/ subcontractor must not destroy information received from VA, or gathered/ created by the contractor in the course of performing this contract without prior written approval by the VA. Any data destruction done on behalf of VA by a contractor/subcontractor must be done in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements as outlined in VA Directive 6300, Records and Information Management and its Handbook 6300.1 Records Management Procedures, applicable VA Records Control Schedules, and VA Handbook 6500.1, Electronic Media Sanitization. Self-certification by the contractor that the data destruction requirements above have been met must be sent to the VA Contracting Officer within 30 days of termination of the contract.

d. The contractor/subcontractor must receive, gather, store, back up, maintain, use, disclose and dispose of VA information only in compliance with the terms of the contract and applicable Federal and VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies. If Federal or VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies become applicable to the VA information or information systems after execution of the contract, or if NIST issues or updates applicable FIPS or Special Publications (SP) after execution of this contract, the parties agree to negotiate in good faith to implement the information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies in this contract.

e. The contractor/subcontractor shall not make copies of VA information except as authorized and necessary to perform the terms of the agreement or to preserve electronic information stored on contractor/subcontractor electronic storage media for restoration in case any electronic equipment or data used by the contractor/subcontractor needs to be restored to an operating state. If copies are made for restoration purposes, after the restoration is complete, the copies must be appropriately destroyed.

f. If VA determines that the contractor has violated any of the information confidentiality, privacy, and security provisions of the contract, it shall be sufficient grounds for VA to withhold payment to the contractor or third party or terminate the contract for default or terminate for cause under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 12.

g. If a VHA contract is terminated for cause, the associated BAA must also be terminated and appropriate actions taken in accordance with VHA Handbook 1600.01, Business Associate Agreements. Absent an agreement to use or disclose protected health information, there is no business associate relationship.

h. The contractor/subcontractor must store, transport, or transmit VA sensitive information in an encrypted form, using VA-approved encryption tools that are, at a minimum, FIPS 140- 2 validated.

i. The contractor/subcontractor's firewall and Web services security controls, if applicable, shall meet or exceed VA's minimum requirements. VA Configuration Guidelines are available upon request.

j. Except for uses and disclosures of VA information authorized by this contract for performance of the contract, the contractor/subcontractor may use and disclose VA information only in two other situations: (i) in response to a qualifying order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or (ii) with VA's prior written approval. The contractor/subcontractor must refer all requests for, demands for production of, or inquiries about, VA information and information systems to the VA contracting officer for response.

k. Notwithstanding the provision above, the contractor/subcontractor shall not release VA records protected by Title 38 U.S.C. 5705, confidentiality of medical quality assurance records and/or Title 38 U.S.C. 7332, confidentiality of certain health records pertaining to drug addiction, sickle cell anemia, alcoholism or alcohol abuse, or infection with human immunodeficiency virus.