SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE August 2 - Sam.gov.docx

Mobile Deployable Biometric and Identity Document Collection Services Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)

1. Purpose The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), is conducting market research to identify qualified contractors.

This Sources Sought Notice (SSN) / Request for Information (RFI) is issued solely to obtain information regarding industry capability, commercial practices, available technologies, and contractor interest in the contemplated requirement. Responses will assist the Government in refining the Performance Work Statement (PWS), validating the acquisition strategy, determining the availability of qualified contractors.

2. Background ORR is responsible for ensuring that Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) are released only to suitable sponsors after completion of all required sponsor suitability activities. To support this mission, ORR requires a nationwide capability to collect, process, transmit, and manage biometric and identity information used during sponsor verification and adjudication, including sponsor fingerprinting, identity proofing, identity document validation, criminal history processing, and related operational support.

3. Requirement Overview The Contractor will be expected to design, operate, maintain, and support an integrated nationwide capability that includes, at a minimum:

· Identity proofing and biometric enrollment;

· Mobile and field-deployable biometric collection services;

· Digital fingerprint capture;

· Facial image capture;

· Identity document collection, scanning, validation, and authentication;

· Electronic Biometric Transmission Specification (EBTS) payload construction and transmission to the FBI Next Generation Identification (NGI) system;

· Integration with Government systems through secure Application Programming Interfaces (APIs);

· Support for adjudication workflows;

· Nationwide scheduling and field operations;

· Quality assurance, reporting, training, and program management;

· Transition-in and transition-out support; and

· Optional Rapid DNA collection and laboratory processing for kinship verification.

The complete scope of work is described in the attached draft Performance Work Statement (PWS).

4. Anticipated Acquisition Strategy

TBD

5. Requested Information The Government requests capability statements from interested contractors addressing the questionnaire included in this notice. Responses should demonstrate the respondent's capability to perform the contemplated requirement and provide sufficient information for the Government to evaluate organizational experience, technical capability, operational capacity, and commercial practices.

Responses should be concise and should not exceed 20 pages, excluding cover pages, corporate brochures, resumes, product literature, and responses to Question 27.

6. Response Instructions Interested contractors are requested to submit responses electronically no later than 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time on August 10, 2026 Responses should include:

· Completed Vendor Information;

· Responses to each capability question;

· Comments regarding the draft PWS, if applicable;

· Questions concerning the contemplated requirement; and

· Recommendations that may improve the acquisition while continuing to satisfy the Government's minimum needs.

Respondents are encouraged to identify any areas of the draft PWS they believe are unclear, commercially unavailable, inconsistent with commercial practices, or unnecessarily restrictive to competition, and to provide recommended revisions.

Following the close of the response period, the Government will review all timely responses and questions received. The Government anticipates preparing consolidated questions and responses addressing matters determined to be relevant to the contemplated acquisition.

The Government reserves the right to determine which questions warrant a response, whether responses will be provided in a consolidated format, and whether any resulting comments or recommendations will be incorporated into the Solicitation . Submission of questions or comments does not obligate the Government to provide a response, revise the draft PWS, issue an, or modify the contemplated acquisition strategy. Questions received after the response due date may not be considered.

7. Notice to Respondents This SSN/RFI is issued solely for market research purposes. This notice is not a solicitation, and shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation, award a solicitation or otherwise pay for information requested.

Responses are voluntary. The Government will not reimburse respondents for any costs incurred in preparing or submitting responses or participating in any subsequent exchanges related to this market research effort. Any costs associated with responding to this notice are solely the responsibility of the respondent.

Submission of a response does not obligate the Government to provide feedback, conduct discussions, respond to every question submitted, issue an solicitation, or award a contract. The Government reserves the right to modify, revise, postpone, or cancel the contemplated acquisition at any time.

The Government may use information received in response to this notice to support acquisition planning, refine the draft PWS, validate the acquisition strategy, assess commercial practices, determine the availability of qualified sources, and support other market research objectives.

Respondents should clearly identify any proprietary information submitted. Proprietary information should be minimized to the greatest extent practicable and clearly marked to facilitate appropriate handling.

Part I – Vendor Information

1. Company Information Provide the following information:

· Company Name;

· Business Address;

· Primary Point of Contact (Name, Title, Telephone Number, and Email Address);

· Unique Entity Identifier (UEI);

2. Business Size Identify your business size and socioeconomic status, as applicable:

· Small Business

· SBA 8(a)

· HUBZone Small Business

· Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB)

· Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB)

· Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB)

· Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB)

· Other Than Small Business

· Non-Profit

· Other (please specify)

3. Anticipated Participation If a solicitation is issued, does your organization anticipate participating as:

· Prime Contractor

· Subcontractor

· Other (please explain) Part II – Capability Questions

4. Describe your organization's experience providing mobile or field-deployable biometric collection services for Federal, state, tribal, or commercial customers.

5. Describe your experience collecting the following during a single appointment: FBI Appendix F-compliant fingerprints; biometric facial photographs; and identity document images.

6. Describe your experience operating nationwide mobile biometric collection services, including geographic coverage; number of field collection locations; number of mobile collection teams; and approximate annual biometric collection volume.

7. Describe your organization's experience supporting overseas biometric collection operations, including any international collection capabilities.

8. Describe your experience constructing, validating, and transmitting EBTS transactions to the FBI NGI system or comparable law enforcement systems.

9. Describe your experience integrating biometric collection systems with Government case management systems using secure APIs or similar integration technologies.

10. Describe your experience supporting adjudication workflows involving Criminal History Record Information (CHRI); fingerprint-based background investigations; criminal history adjudication; or similar law enforcement screening activities.

11. Describe your experience scanning, validating, and authenticating government-issued identity documents, including Optical Character Recognition (OCR); PDF417 barcode extraction; identity document validation; fraud detection; and identity verification technologies.

12. Describe your organization's experience implementing and maintaining chain-of-custody controls for biometric evidence, identity documents, and other sensitive information.

13. Describe your ability to provide mobile biometric collection services within three (3) business days of Government request throughout the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories, if applicable.

14. Describe your experience operating in compliance with the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Security Policy, including CJIS-certified personnel; CJIS audits; Criminal Justice Information handling; and CJIS security controls.

15. Describe your organization's experience operating FedRAMP-authorized Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) or cloud-hosted solutions supporting Federal agencies.

16. Describe your experience implementing FISMA Moderate security controls and obtaining or maintaining an Authority to Operate (ATO) for Federal information systems.

17. Describe your experience integrating identity management; Role-Based Access Control (RBAC); Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA); secure authentication services; and Zero Trust architecture components.

18. Describe your organization's experience developing, implementing, or operating Section 508-compliant software applications, web portals, mobile applications, or user interfaces.

19. Describe your ability to provide multilingual scheduling; language assistance services; customer support; nationwide field operations; and appointment coordination for geographically dispersed applicants.

20. Describe your ability to support surge operations, including surge staffing; additional mobile collection teams; expanded operating hours; emergency deployments; and business continuity planning.

21. Describe your quality assurance program for biometric collection operations, including processes used to monitor fingerprint quality; photograph quality; identity document quality; transmission accuracy; data integrity; operational performance; and corrective action processes.

22. Describe your reporting capabilities, including executive dashboards; operational dashboards; performance metrics; program management reports; real-time monitoring; and Government oversight reporting.

23. Describe your experience transitioning comparable Federal programs into full operational capability, including typical transition period; transition methodology; transition staffing; risks encountered; lessons learned; and risk mitigation strategies.

24. If your organization proposes Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities, describe your experience implementing AI governance; explainability; bias mitigation; human oversight; AI risk management; and compliance with applicable Federal AI guidance and policies.

25. If capable, describe your organization's experience providing Rapid DNA collection, laboratory processing, and kinship verification services, including laboratory accreditations; collection methodology; chain-of-custody procedures; typical turnaround times; and reporting capabilities.

26. Describe your current organizational capacity to support a nationwide requirement involving approximately 20,000 biometric collection events annually, including available personnel; mobile biometric collection equipment; operational infrastructure; geographic coverage; surge capacity; and current workload.

27. Based on your review of the attached draft PWS, identify any requirements that you believe are unclear; commercially unavailable; inconsistent with commercial practices; unnecessarily restrictive to competition; or better addressed through an alternative commercial approach. For each item identified, explain the basis for your recommendation and describe how your recommended approach would continue to satisfy the Government's minimum requirements while improving competition, efficiency, or performance. (Responses to this question are excluded from the 20-page limit.)