Training Suicide Gate Keeper PWS.docx

2024 Suicide Gatekeeper Training Division of Worklife and Engagement

PART 1 - General Information

This is a non-personnel services contract to provide training services for Department of Labor (DOL) employees. The Government shall not exercise any supervision or control over the contract service providers performing the services herein. Such contract service providers shall be accountable solely to the Contractor who, in turn is responsible to the government. The Department is looking for a contractor to provide Suicide Gatekeeper Training (SGT) (and applicable certification) for DOL employees.

Volunteers throughout the organization will receive a blend of in person and virtual training, with a self-paced option, on evidence-based practical techniques to significantly assist in helping employees transition from stress to well-being.

1.1 Description of Services/Introduction:

The contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and non- personal services necessary to perform 2024 Suicide Gatekeeper Training as defined in this Performance Work Statement (PWS), except as specified in section C-3 as government furnished property and services. The contractor shall perform to the standards in this contract action.

1.2 Background:

Suicide prevention is an immediate need of DOL, as the agency looks to actively increase employee well-being as part of its mental health initiative. Suicide Gatekeeper Training is specifically for volunteers as DOL strives towards overall improved performance, employee engagement, organizational effectiveness, efficiency, and oversight responsibilities while accomplishing the DOL mission.

The agency has an interest in extending training to employees on how to identify individuals showing warning signs of suicide risk and how to assist employees in obtaining the services they need.

1.3 Objectives:

The objective of this procurement consists of a contractor providing certification and webinars related to suicide awareness and prevention. Within the webinars/training sessions, the contractor shall provide a multi-level scientifically validated approach, or roadmap, to help volunteers identify and assist in transitioning an employee in crisis from stress to well-being, and overall improved relationships and health.

Key components covered in training include:

· How to question, persuade and refer someone who may be suicidal.

· How to get help for yourself or learn more about preventing suicide.

· The common causes of suicidal behavior.

· The warning signs of suicide.

· How to get help for someone in crisis.

1.4 Scope:

The scope of work shall include training services for DOL employee volunteers. Services include in person or online training for participating employees to begin before September 30, 2024, and commence in FY 25. The contractor shall establish a curriculum development program at least 30 days before the first training session.

1.5 Period of Performance:

Six months from the date of contract award.

1.6 General Information:

1.6.1 Quality Control:

The contractor shall develop and maintain an effective quality control plan (QCP) to ensure services are performed in accordance with this PWS. The QCP shall document the overall approach to quality assurance activities. The QCP shall provide specifics regarding how the contractor defines, implements, and assures quality during the Period of Performance. The contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure non-recurrence of defective services. The contractor's QCP is the means by which the contractor is assured that the work complies with the requirement of the resulting order. The QCP is to be delivered with the contractor's quotation. After acceptance of the QCP the contractor shall receive the Contracting Officer's acceptance in writing of any proposed change to his QCP.

1.6.2 Quality Assurance:

The Government shall evaluate the contractor's performance under this order in accordance with the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan. This plan is primarily focused on what the Government must do to ensure that the contractor has performed in accordance with the performance standards. It defines how the performance standards will be applied, the frequency of surveillance, and the minimum acceptable defect rate(s). The Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan will be established within 10 days of award.

1.6.3 Government Remedies:

The Contracting Officer shall follow FAR 52.212-4, “Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items” or 52.246-4, “Inspection of Services-Fixed Price” for contractor’s failure to perform satisfactory services or failure to correct non-conforming services.

1.6.4 Recognized Holidays:

Contractor is not required to perform services on holidays.

1.6.5 Hours of Operation:

The contractor is responsible for conducting performance between the hours of approximately 8:00 am to 5:00 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays or when the government facility is closed due to local or national emergencies, administrative closings, or similar government directed facility closings. The contractor must at all times maintain an adequate work force for the uninterrupted performance of all tasks defined within this statement of work when the government facility is not closed for the above reasons. When hiring personnel, the contractor shall keep in mind that the stability and continuity of the work force are essential. Telecommuting or “work at home” is authorized under this contract action unless onsite presence for the event is required by the Department of Labor.

1.6.6 Place of Performance:

For the in-person portion of the training, the work shall be performed at a DOL location and training may also be provided online as determined by the agency.

1.6.7 Type of Contract:

The government anticipates award of a fixed price task order.

1.6.8 Security Requirements:

The contractor shall be responsible for safeguarding all Government equipment, information, and property provided for contractor use.

1.6.9 Special Qualifications:

Not applicable

1.6.10 Post Award Conference/Periodic Progress Meetings:

The contractor agrees to attend any post award conference convened by the contracting activity or contract administration office in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 42.5. The Contracting Officer, Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), and other government personnel, as appropriate, may meet periodically with the contractor to review the contractor's performance. At these meetings, the Contracting Officer will apprise the contractor of how the government views the contractor's performance and the contractor will apprise the government of problems, if any, being experienced. Appropriate action shall be taken to resolve outstanding issues. These meetings shall be at no additional cost to the government.

1.6.11 Contracting Officer’s Representative:

A COR will be delegated separately.

1.6.12 Key Personnel:

The following personnel are considered key personnel by the government: Contract Manager.

The contractor shall provide a Contract Manager who shall be responsible for the performance of the work. The name of this person and an alternate who shall act for the contractor when the manager is absent shall be designated in writing to the Contracting Officer. The Contract Manager or alternate shall have full authority to act for the contractor on all contract matters relating to daily operation of this contract action. The Contract Manager or alternate shall be available between 8:00 a.m. to 5:00p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays or when the government facility is closed for administrative reasons.

1.6.13 Identification of Contractor Employees:

All contract personnel attending meetings, answering government telephones, and working in other situations where their contractor status is not obvious to third parties are required to identify themselves as such to avoid creating an impression in the minds of members of the public that they are government officials. They must also ensure that all documents or reports produced by contractors are suitably marked as contractor products or that contractor participation is appropriately disclosed. Contractor personnel will be required to wear badges in the performance of this service.

1.6.14 Organizational Conflict of Interest:

Contractor and subcontractor personnel performing work under this contract action may receive, have access to or participate in the development of proprietary or source selection information (e.g., cost or pricing information, budget information or analyses, specifications or work statements, etc.) or perform evaluation services which may create a current or subsequent Organizational Conflict of Interests (OCI), as defined in FAR Subpart 9.5. The contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer immediately whenever it becomes aware that such access or participation may result in any actual or potential OCI and shall promptly submit a plan to the Contracting Officer to avoid or mitigate any such OCI. The contractor’s mitigation plan will be determined to be acceptable solely at the discretion of the Contracting Officer and in the event the Contracting Officer unilaterally determines that any such OCI cannot be satisfactorily avoided or mitigated, the Contracting Officer may affect other remedies as he or she deems necessary, including prohibiting the contractor from participation in subsequent contracted requirements which may be affected by the OCI.

1.6.15 Phase In/Phase Out Period:

Not applicable

PART 2 - Definition & Acronyms

Contracting Officer’s Representative. A representative from the requiring activity assigned by the Contracting Officer to perform surveillance and to act as liaison to the contractor

Defective Service. A service output that does not meet the standard of performance associated with it in the Performance Work Statement.

Quality Assurance. Those actions taken by the government to assure services meet the requirements of the Performance Work Statement.

Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan. An organized written document specifying the surveillance methodology to be used for surveillance of contractor performance.

Quality Control. Those actions taken by a contractor to control the performance of services so that they meet the requirements of the PWS.

PART 3 - Government Furnished Property, Equipment, And Services

3.1 General:

The government will provide, the facilities, equipment, materials, and/or services listed. below.

An initial meeting space for in-person participants at the Frances Perkins Building as well as appropriate online interaction for virtual participants.

3.2 Equipment:

The government will provide equipment and online videoconference services for all attendees.

3.3 Services:

The government will coordinate the list of participants for this training session and provide the participant list to the contractor.

3.3.1 Utilities:

Not applicable

3.4 Facilities:

The hybrid approach will include onsite and online training for employees from an approved telework location. The government will furnish all necessary workspace required for the contractor to support the effort(s) outlined in this PWS, to include desk space, telephones, computers and other items necessary to maintain an office environment suitable to participate in this specific training.

PART 4 - Contractor Furnish Items and Services

4.1 General:

Except for those items specifically stated to be government furnished in Part 3, the contractor shall furnish all other items required to perform the services in this PWS.

4.2 Clearance:

Not applicable

PART 5 - Specific Tasks

5.1 Services:

The contractor is expected to provide the following deliverables in accordance with the scope of work.

· The Contractor will provide all promotional materials for DOL SGT advertising and marketing.

· The Contractor shall provide accurate, courteous and efficient customer service.

· The Contractor shall meet required deadlines.

· The Contractor shall meet the requirement as described on the PWS to provide evaluation and analysis of training programs/courses.

5.1.1 Technical Requirements: The Contractor shall provide training product and delivery methods that:

Have been evaluated, reviewed, and certified or recommended by a recognized professional organization, (e.g. Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC), Best Practices Registry (BPR), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA), and or National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP).

All interventions will have met NREPP registry’s minimum requirements for review and have been independently assessed and rated for quality of research for readiness to disseminate.

5.1.2 In-Person and Virtual Instructor led Training Requirements The Contractor shall provide instructor led in-person or virtual QPR Gatekeeper training sessions for the one-hour Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Training sessions for a class with no more than 35 volunteer participants per class.

· In-Person Instructor led QPR Training Requirements:

· The Contractor shall provide one (1) in-person instructor led training class at the Government’s facility.

· The Contractor shall coordinate scheduling with the COR or designee to schedule the training class within three-weeks of being notified of the class need. The notice will be by email and include the number of participants.

· The Contractor shall provide a QPR certified trainer in QPR Gatekeeper Training.

· Each training class shall cover a curriculum that includes:

· How to Question, Persuade and Refer someone who may be suicidal

· How to get help for yourself or learn more about preventing suicide

· The common causes of suicidal behavior

· The warning signs of suicide

· How to get help for someone in crisis

· A peer-to-peer practice-role play session for the participants to practice QPR.

· Upon completion of training, each participant shall receive:

· A paper certificate of completion effective for one (1) year.

· QPR Gatekeeper booklet and card.

· Virtual Instructor led QPR Training Requirements:

· The Contractor shall provide two (2) virtual instructor led training classes.

· The Contractor shall provide the hosting software such as Zoom, WebEx, or Team to host the class and provide a link for the class to the Government at least one-week prior to the training.

· The Contractor shall coordinate scheduling with the COR or designee to schedule the training class within three-weeks of being notified of the class need. The notice will be by email and include the number of participants.

· The Contractor shall provide a QPR certified trainer in QPR Gatekeeper Training.

· Each training class shall cover a curriculum that includes:

· How to Question, Persuade and Refer someone who may be suicidal

· How to get help for yourself or learn more about preventing suicide

· The common causes of suicidal behavior

· The warning signs of suicide

· How to get help for someone in crisis

· A peer-to-peer practice role-play session for the participants to practice QPR.

· Upon completion of training, each participant shall receive:

· A digital certificate of completion effective for one (1) year.

· A digital QPR Gatekeeper booklet and card.

· Digital course materials

· Online Self-Paced QPR Gatekeeper for Suicide Prevention Training Requirements:

· The Contractor shall provide one (1) year of access from the effective date of this contract to a training portal that includes:

· 10,000 self-paced (self-completed) trainee accounts for QPR Gatekeeper suicide prevention training course

· Portal landing page where participants can register, enroll, and access the QPR Gatekeeper training online course, at will, no matter the location or time zone.

· Administrative tool/dashboard accessible by two (2) DOL officials. This tool will enable the DOL official to enroll volunteers into the training and see completion reports.

· Ability for DOL to customize and access to the training course’s pre-survey, post-survey, and training evaluation survey response data.

· Ability for DOL to customize or edit the course’s QPR practice role-play to fit the DOL environment.

· Available help desk or customer service response process for issues related to the online training program.

· Securely accessible by individual pass code or similar access protections.

· Taught in a clear, concise format using the latest in educational technology and practices.

· Take approximately one, but less than 3 hours to complete

· With key components in training:

· How to Question, Persuade and Refer someone who may be suicidal

· How to get help for yourself or learn more about preventing suicide

· The common causes of suicidal behavior

· The warning signs of suicide

· How to get help for someone in crisis

· Role-play scenario that allows the participant to practice the QPR method

· Pre and post surveys and a course evaluation survey.

· The training is expected to be structured as a hybrid of in person and online training, with an option of self-paced learning.

The Contractor will provide DOL’s Division of Worklife and Engagement (DWE) with a proven best approach and detailed plan for implementing SGT, most suitable for a hybrid work environment, prior to the end of FY 24.

The goal of this training is to recognize participants as:

Workers on the front line of crisis who will be trained with the necessary skills to identify individuals who are in crisis or suicidal and provide/seek appropriate assistance.

PART 6 - Applicable Publications

6.1 Publications Applicable to this PWS:

1) CFR Part 410 – TRAINING https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-5/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-410

2) CFR Part 412 - SUPERVISORY, MANAGEMENT, AND EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-5/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-412

Technical Exhibit 1 Performance Requirements

PRS # 1.

The Contractor shall provide accurate, courteous and efficient customer service.

PRS # 2

The Contractor shall meet required deadlines.

PRS # 3

The Contractor shall meet the requirement as described in the PWS to provide evaluation and analysis of training programs/courses.

Technical Exhibit 2 Deliverables Schedule