Management and Administration of the REE Child Care Tuition Assistance Program

The purpose of this amendment is to incorporate the solicitation questions and answers. The questions and answers document is attached..

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Research, Education, and Economics (REE) Agencies has a requirement for the management and administration of the REE Child Care Tuition Assistance Program.

The associated NAICS code is 561110, Office Administrative Services. The small business size standard is $7.5 Million.

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a separate solicitation notice will not be issued. Solicitation #1232SA19Q0013 is issued as a Request for Quote (RFQ). The solicitation document, with the incorporated terms and conditions, is issued in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and will be incorporated in the awarded contract. The following clauses and provisions, included in the solicitation document, are applicable to this procurement: 52.212-1, 52.212-2, 52.212-3, 52.212-4, and 52.212-5. Please note that this list is not all-inclusive and interested vendors should reference the solicitation document for all relevant clauses and provisions. All interested parties are responsible for monitoring this website to ensure they have the most current information (i.e. Amendments) for the solicitation. No paper solicitation will be available.

Overview:
The REE Agencies offer eligible employees the CCTAP. The REE agencies include the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the Economic Research Service (ERS), the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

The CCTAP was established as a complement to other REE Work/Life Programs to help REE employees better balance their work responsibilities and family obligations. The CCTAP provides subsidies for child care services provided by licensed or accredited child care providers. The program is designed to encourage eligible employees and their families to use quality child care services by offsetting a portion of their costs.

See the attached Statement of Work (SOW) for the complete requirement. Vendors that are able to provide the required services are encouraged to submit a quote in accordance with FAR 52.212-1.

Period of Performance (POP):
Base Year: May 6, 2019 - March 31, 2020
Option Year I: April 1, 2020 - March 31, 2021
Option Year II: April 1, 2021 - March 31, 2022
Option Year III: April 1, 2022 - March 31, 2023
Option Year IV: April 1, 2023 - March 31, 2024

Notice of Set-Aside for Small Business Concerns:
This requirement is a Total Small Business Set Aside.

Questions:
All questions regarding the solicitation must be submitted in via email to the Contracting Specialist, Molly Jackson, at Molly.Jackson@ars.usda.gov. Questions must be submitted no later than 10am EST, April 11, 2019.

Quote Submission Instructions:
1. Read the solicitation in its entirety.

2. Quotes are required to be submitted via email to the Contract Specialist, Molly Jackson, at Molly.Jackson@ars.usda.gov. Quotes shall be submitted in two separate volumes; Technical and Price. The technical volume shall include a completed and signed copy of page one of the solicitation, the Standard Form 1449 (SF-1449).

3. Quotes must be submitted via email by 12pm EST, April 19, 2019, to Molly Jackson at Molly.Jackson@ars.usda.gov.

Contractor shall have an active account in the SAM (System for Award Management) at https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/ prior to the offer receipt time. Quotes received from vendors without active SAM accounts by the submission deadline will be rejected and not considered for award.

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