Notice of Intent to Sole Source: Technical Assistance for Indian Health Service (IHS) Maternal and Child Health Program
Closed Pre-Solicitation Posted
- Solicitation number
- IHS-25-NOI-1512784
- Agency
-
Indian Health Service
Department of Health and Human Services
- Responses due
- Set-aside
- No set-aside
Opportunity facts
- NAICS code
- 611710 Educational Support Services
- PSC
- U099 Education/Training- Other
- Place of performance
- Rockville, Maryland, United States
- Points of contact
Notice details come from SAM.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The Indian Health Service (IHS) has issued a Notice of Intent to Sole Source for technical assistance services to support their Maternal and Child Health Program's clinic-based early child literacy initiative. The agency intends to award a Firm Fixed Price contract to Reach Out and Read (ROR), located in Boston, Massachusetts, for implementing a comprehensive literacy program within Indian Health Service/Tribal/Urban (I/T/U) healthcare facilities. The contract requires the contractor to provide site-based training for healthcare providers, deliver technical assistance to I/T/U healthcare sites, and implement quality improvement measures for facilities serving children and their families to promote literacy development. The sole source justification is based on ROR's unique expertise with the existing IHS Child Literacy Program, including their specialized knowledge of incorporating books into pediatric care and their resources featuring Native American themes and Native language materials. Interested firms may submit capability statements by 1:00 PM Eastern Time on August 1, 2025, to Contracting Officer Christopher McGucken, though the government reserves the right to proceed with sole source procurement regardless of responses.
This procurement does not utilize any set-aside designations and specifically targets Reach Out and Read as the sole capable contractor due to their established relationship with IHS's existing Child Literacy Program. ROR currently maintains over 220 active I/T/U sites that have served more than 58,000 children through their clinic-based literacy initiatives, demonstrating their extensive experience and established infrastructure. The contract structure includes one base period valued at $867,320 and four one-year option periods, with a total potential ceiling value of $4.46 million over five years if all options are exercised. The government emphasizes that selecting another contractor would necessitate restarting the Child Literacy Program, resulting in substantial duplication of costs and unacceptable program delays. The anticipated performance period spans five years total, with the base period followed by four consecutive annual option periods that would extend the program's implementation and support services.
Notice text
This synopsis is hereby issued in accordance with FAR Part 5.203 and FAR Part 13.5 in response to the mandatory requirement for a 15-day notification. The purpose of this synopsis is to announce the Indian Health Service’s (IHS) intent to negotiate a Firm Fixed Price sole source contract with Reach Out and Read located at 89 South St., Boston, MA 02111 to provide technical assistance for the Indian Health Services’ (IHS), Office of Clinical and Preventative Service (OCPS) Maternal Health Program to establish a program to implement a clinic-based early child literacy program.
Under the anticipated acquisition, the contractor shall provide site-based training for providers to implement the intervention, provide technical assistance to the Indian Health Service/Tribal/Urban (I/T/U) healthcare sites, and provide quality improvement for I/T/U healthcare facilities serving children and their families to promote literacy.
Only one (1) source, Reach Out and Read (ROR), is capable of fulfilling the Government’s requirement for these services. ROR currently is the only source with knowledge of the current IHS program that incorporates books into pediatric care (known as the IHS Child Literacy Program) to encourage families to read together and has a unique fidelity of the national literacy program and resources, inclusive of books that have Native American themes and/or are written in Native languages to promote early literacy skills. In addition, ROR has a unique experience in training pediatricians, nurse practitioners, and public health nurses in implementing the early child literacy program.
IHS has a long-standing history with ROR in recruiting and maintaining more than 220 active I/T/U ROR sites that served more than 58,000 children through clinics. Should another source be considered, it would require restarting the Child Literacy Program, resulting in a substantial duplication of costs to date for work already performed to date, as well as result in unacceptable delays to the program during reestablishment.
The anticipated period of performance is inclusive of one (1) base period, and four (4) 1-year option periods.
The total estimated value of this action is $867,320.00 for the base period, and a potential ceiling amount of $4.46M over 5 years should all options be exercised.
THIS NOTICE OF INTENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS, however, interested firms may submit a capability statement in response to the above requirement by 1:00 PM Eastern Time on August 1st, 2025 to Christopher McGucken, Contracting Officer, Phone: (240) 478-3347, Email: Christopher.McGucken@ihs.gov . A determination not to open competition-based responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.
Files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| IHS-25-NOI-1512784.pdf |
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