S05- Questions to RFQ.docx

· Are there any specific licenses or certifications that are required to meet the area focus in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)? Must be a certified trainer in Emotionally Focused Therapy.

· What is the expected training schedule reoccurrence for the time of the contract? Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Annually? RCS (Readjustment Counseling Service) District 1 will coordinate with the contractor to schedule training and consultation.

· Will any of the training require in-person meetings? No

· Will this one training session include all 40 training recipients, or will there be an instance where additional sessions will need to be scheduled due to absences? This one training session will include all 40 training recipients. There will be no instances where additional sessions will need to be scheduled due to absences.

· For post-training consultation, is this four one-hour sessions PER PARTICIPANT, or four one-hour sessions in total? Post-training consultation is four one-hour sessions in total.

· Will an on-site instructor be required or will this training be 100% virtual with a live instructor? This training will be 100% virtual with a live instructor.

· Will you require training materials to be physically delivered to the performance location, or will electronic materials suffice (e.g. PDF, Word docs, videos, etc)? Downloadable Electronic training materials will suffice. Attendees will reference materials post training.

· How can ongoing consultation and support be structured to best meet the needs of the participants post-training? To best support the needs of participants post-training, consultation can be structured to provide guidance and direction on the practical use of Emotionally Focused Therapy interventions and tools in the treatment Veteran and servicemember couples and families during consultation post training. Could we ask the contractor to provide a consultation call to give counselors a chance to have discussion after they have put EFT into practice.

· Are there preferred modes of communication for follow-up consultations (e.g., virtual meetings, email)? Consultations will be scheduled at the same time as the initial training and be conducted via virtual meetings.

· What resources or materials would be most helpful for participants to reference after the training? Any resources and/or materials related to EFT and the training objectives listed in the Statement of Work.

· What level of familiarity do the participants have with Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)? Most participants will have a basic understanding and familiarity with Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT).

· What is the extent of their experience in working with Veterans, servicemembers, and their families? All participants have 1+ years providing direct readjustment counseling services to Veterans, servicemembers and their families.

· Have they received any previous training in trauma-informed care or evidence-based therapies? Most participants have previous training in trauma-informed care and evidence-based therapies.

· Is there an incumbent/current contract ISO this requirement? If so, who is the incumbent/contract number? No

· In order to provide more specific and accurate pricing: is the intent for this program to be exclusive to VISN 5? Or will it expand VA-wide? Are there a particular number of FTEs required, or will one trainer suffice? The intent of this program is to be exclusive to the VA Readjustment Counseling Service, North Atlantic District 1. It will not expand VA-wide. One trainer will suffice.

· Aside from course completions, are there any specific KPIs or performance metrics that will be used to evaluate the success of the program? No.

· Per the SOW, the training instructor must be “a certified trainer in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT).” What is the certifying body for this requirement? The certifying body for this requirement is the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT) https://iceeft.com/

· What related training has this audience had in the past? Can you provide an overview of counselors’ current level of training/expertise? Most participants have will have familiarity with this intervention but no formal training in EFT. This requirement is meant to be introductory. Training and expertise on other, interventions and evidence-based practices will vary across participants given licensure, years of experience and specialty.

· Do participants have hands on, professional experience with EFT? Or is it brand new? Most participants have will have familiarity with EFT but no formal training in EFT.

· Do you/RCS Vet Center have a preferred Learning Management System (LMS)? No.

· Do you prefer printed course content (handouts, manuals, etc.) or can we provide links to pdf material online? Links to downloadable pdf materials and documents will suffice. The participants must be able to have the material for reference after the training.

· Do you have a preferred virtual training platform (Teams, Google Meet, Zoom, etc.)? Zoom.

· Re: p31 of the SOW: “Training Platform - The Offeror’s proposal must, at a minimum, clearly specify the technical approach, method, or plan for the implementation of a training schedule and development of a M-WZOT course based on the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that will meet the needs of the tasks outlined in the statement of work.” Do we need to speak to this course or solely EFT? Speak solely to EFT training and the related Statement of Work.

· Are post-training one-hour virtual sessions conducted one-on-one for each of the 40 counselors? Or will they be conducted in a virtual group setting? Post-training one-hour virtual sessions will be conducted in a virtual group setting.

· Are there any other goals for post-training consultations, in addition to “guidance and direction on the practical use” of EFT interventions/tools in practice? Will the instructor be required to respond to counselors’ specific patient-based requests for advice? Or will the discussion remain generic? The discussion will remain generic and focused on use of EFT interventions and tools given questions and informal case presentations. Any disclosure of information in informal case presentations will be related to the practice of EFT and will not include disclosure of Personally Identifiable Information/Protected Health Information (PHI).

Re: CEUs… is there a particular accrediting institution/agency you favor (APA, AMA, Association of Social Workers, etc.)? The training package we develop will be new and specific to this VA audience and has not yet been sanctioned by ICEEFT or any other agency. Per our primary instructor, in the past, VA has processed CEUs via the VA education department. For example, instructors provide documentation to VA education managers for approval/submission to an accrediting body. The contractor/trainer is expected to provide to CEU for the following accrediting bodies. National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), American Psychological Association (APA), New York State Education Department (NYSED) State Board for Psychology, Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB), New York State Education Department (NYSED) Social Work Board, Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Board.

Is an ICEEFT EFT Certified Supervisor, who is authorized by ICEEFT to provide up to 7 hours of training, acceptable for this requirement? Or is only an ICEEFT "Certified EFT Trainer" acceptable? Certified EFT Traininer

No. Training to be provided by a Certified EFT Trainer.

With regards to the CEs or CEUs to be provided.

1. Would American Psychological Association (APA) CEs or CEUs be acceptable?

The contractor/trainer is expected to provide to CEU for the following accrediting bodies. National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), American Psychological Association (APA), New York State Education Department (NYSED) State Board for Psychology, Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB), New York State Education Department (NYSED) Social Work Board, Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Board.

2. Would state-level licensing board CEUs be acceptable?

The contractor/trainer is expected to provide to CEU for the following accrediting bodies: National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), American Psychological Association (APA), New York State Education Department (NYSED) State Board for Psychology, Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB), New York State Education Department (NYSED) Social Work Board, Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Board.

3. If a specific accreditation of the training is required to deliver the CEs or CEUs you are looking for, can you specify the accrediting body?

The contractor/trainer is expected to provide to CEU for the following accrediting bodies. National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), American Psychological Association (APA), New York State Education Department (NYSED) State Board for Psychology, Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB), New York State Education Department (NYSED) Social Work Board, Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Board.

4. If you do specify an accrediting body, and our training is not already accredited by the specified source, will we be afforded time after the award to have it accredited prior to delivering the training? The stated period of performance in the solicitation is between May 01, 2024 -and April 30, 2025, which should be ample time to get the training accredited by any accrediting source that may be specified.

Per the Statement of Work, training will not be scheduled after September 30, 2024.