Sole Source Justificaiton for HUD-VASH Case Management Services - Redacted.pdf

VHAPG Part 813.5 Simplified Acquisition Procedures for Certain Commercial Items Attachment 1: Request for Sole Source Justification Template >SAT-$7.5M under FAR13.5

Effective Date: 02/01/2022 Page 1 of 3

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION UNDER SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN

COMMERCIAL ITEMS IN ACCORDANCE WITH FAR 13.5

Acquisition Plan Action ID: 36C261-24-AP-0851 JOFOC Tracker: FY24-NCO 21-495

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Regional Procurement Office West

(RPOW), Network Contracting Office (NCO) 21 on behalf of the Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISN) 21, San Francisco VA Health Care System (SFVAHCS).

Purchase Request: 662-24-2-565-0006

2. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Processed: The procurement is for case management services in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.5 Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items and specifically FAR 13.501 Special Documentation Requirements, where acquisitions conducted under Simplified Acquisition Procedures are exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6, but still require a justification using the format of FAR 6.303-2.

The action will be awarded as a new firm fixed price contract, which is estimated to be awarded by January 1, 2024.

3. Description of Supplies/Services Required to Meet the Agency’s Needs: San Francisco VA Health

Care System has an urgent requirement for case management services for Veteran beneficiaries participating in the Department of Housing and Urban Development and VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program.

The HUD-VASH program focuses on placing and maintaining homeless Veterans in permanent, community-based housing using HUD Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers and ongoing VA case management services. These essential services are provided to Veterans who may experience serious mental illness, substance use disorders, and other serious medical conditions. Currently, the San Francisco VA Health Care System does not have sufficient case managers needed to support the number of Veterans who are in the HUD-VASH program. Insufficient case managers may result in lower quality of care and unmet case management encounters/visits. Therefore, a short-term contract for case management services is needed in order to prevent a disruption in the quality of services provided to our Veterans in need of permanent housing and the support to maintain permanent housing.

The acquisition will result in a short-term contract to support case management encounters/visits for a 6-month period. The estimated value of acquisition is approximately $ and the period of performance is from January 1, 2024 – June 30, 2024.

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Restricted Competition:

FAR 13.5 Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items. The statutory authority for applying the Simplified Procedures for Commercial Items of FAR 13.5 is 41 U.S.C. § 1901 and is implemented by FAR 13.106-1(b)(2) for restricting competition on this procurement. Competition is restricted on this procurement for the reason below:

(X) Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements

( ) Unusual and Compelling Urgency

Effective Date: 02/01/2022 Page 2 of 3

( ) Industrial Mobilization, Engineering, Developmental or Research Capability or Expert Services

( ) International Agreement ( ) Authorized or Required by Statute ( ) National Security ( ) Public Interest

5. Demonstration that the Contractor’s Unique Qualifications or Nature of the Acquisition

Requires the Use of the Authority Cited Above (applicability of authority): Madison Avenue Support Services is currently the only identified contractor that has the technical capability and capacity to provide HUD-VASH case management services to Veteran beneficiaries within San Francisco county, starting on January 1, 2024. Madison Avenue Support Services is currently providing case management services to Veteran beneficiaries within San Francisco VA Health Care System, specifically within Sonoma, Lake, and Mendocino counties. Madison Avenue Support Services is familiar with all aspects of the requirement and has experience in hiring case managers within Northern California. Furthermore, Madison Avenue Support Services has been performing satisfactorily on the current contract for case management services.

The incumbent contractor, Brilliant Corners, has expressed they will not submit a quote for a follow-on contract. Since the current contract for case management services within San Francisco county is expiring on December 31, 2023, the incumbent’s staffing levels have reduced and case managers have resigned, effective at the end of day on December 31, 2023. On January 1, 2024, the incumbent will not have the staff needed to continue services for an additional 6 months.

6. Description of Efforts Made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as deemed practicable: NCO 21 solicited the requirement for case management services on solicitation 36C26123Q0625. The solicitation was posted on SAM.gov from May 12, 2023 – June 9, 2023 and was cancelled on October 16, 2023 due to a significant change to the requirement’s contract value. As a result, no award was made for case management services. The program office is currently preparing a new long-term procurement package that includes an integrated product team and formal acquisition plan. However, to ensure Veterans do not experience a lapse in service for case management services until a new long-term contract is established, NCO 21 plans to award a bridge contract by January 1, 2024.

7. Determination by the CO that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and

Reasonable: The anticipated costs will be considered fair and reasonable prior to awarding the short-term contract. The award decision that includes the rational of how the Government has determined pricing to be fair and reasonable will be document in the contract file. The basis for price reasonableness will be determined by a comparison of proposed prices with prices found fair and reasonable on previous purchases for case management services.

8. Description of the Market Research Conducted and the Results, or a Statement of the Reasons Market Research Was Not Conducted: Prior to the solicitation for case management services within San Francisco county, market research efforts were conducted through SAM.gov, GSA eLibrary, GSA eBuy, Veterans Small Business Certification (VetCert), and online market research between July 2022 – November 2022 and January 2023 – March 2023. .

Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other than Full and Open Competition: The VA plans to re-solicit the requirement but has a bona fide need for a short-term contract in order to mitigate the disruption in case management services provided to Veteran beneficiaries. The HUD-VASH case management services are essential to the Veteran beneficiaries within San Francisco county. It is important to ensure Veterans are receiving the care needed to find and maintain permanent housing.

Competing the short-term contract will jeopardize care to Veterans who are more vulnerable and

Effective Date: 02/01/2022 Page 3 of 3 potentially at risk of being homeless. Therefore, it is in the best interest to award a 6-month firm fixed price contract to Madison Avenue Support Services for continuity of services as the VA prepares for the procurement of a long-term contract.

9. Listing of Sources that Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the Acquisition:

Madison Avenue Support Services Innovation at Work Del Richardson and Associates STG International

10. A Statement of the Actions, if any, the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome any Barriers to Competition before Making subsequent acquisitions for the supplies or services required:

The VA plans to re-solicit the requirement for case management services within San Francisco, CA county. The re-solicitation will be competitive – unrestricted, allowing both large and small businesses interested and capable of meeting the Government requirements to submit a competitive proposal. The follow-on competitive acquisition is in the planning phase and the anticipated award date will be July 1, 2024.

11. Requirements Certification: I certify that the requirement outlined in this justification is a Bona Fide Need of the Department of Veterans Affairs and that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in the justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Date

San Francisco VA Health Care System

12. Approvals in accordance with the VHAPM Part 806.3 OFOC SOP:

a. Contracting Officer or Designee’s Certification (required): I certify that the foregoing justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Emily Trinh Date Contracting Officer Network Contracting Office (NCO) 21

b. One Level Above the Contracting Officer (Required over SAT but not exceeding $750K): I certify the justification meets requirements for other than full and open competition.

Joleo Dianala Date Branch Chief Network Contracting Office (NCO) 21

12/20/2023

12/20/2023

KIM BABCOCK

Digitally signed by KIM

BABCOCK

Date: 2023.12.20 09:59:25 -08'00'

EMILY

TRINH

Digitally signed by

EMILY TRINH

Date: 2023.12.20 10:37:20 -08'00'

JOLEO DIANALA

Digitally signed by JOLEO

DIANALA

Date: 2023.12.20 11:35:11 -08'00'