Reasonable Accommodations Support Personnel

This is a presolicitaiton notice for Reasonable Accommodations Support Personnel.  This is not a request for proposal.  This is to share the Government's intention to solicit for this project within the next few days.  The solicitation will be available on SAM.gov for approximately 30 days.

The U.S. Department of State intends to award a stand-alone contract containing labor hour and cost reimburseable line items.

The period of performance includes a base year, plus four one-year option periods as follows:
Base: December 30, 2022 through December 29, 2023
Option Year One: December 30, 2023 through December 29, 2024
Option Year Two: December 30, 2024 through December 29, 2025
Option Year Three: December 30, 2025 through December 29, 2026
Option Year Four: December 30, 2026 through December 29, 2027

The principal place of performance for this contract shall be:
U.S. Department of State
2401 E Street NW (or DOS Annexes)
HR/OAA/DRAD, Room H622- (SA-1)
Washington, DC 20522
NOTE: The contractor’s employees may provide reasonable accommodation services at a variety of locations to include but not limited to official DoS worksites and non-government locations (NGOs).

Objective

The objective of this Statement of Work (SOW) is to develop, implement, and support all direct Reasonable Accommodations Support Personnel (RASP) ensuring effective reasonable accommodations for Department of State employees within the Continental United States (CONUS) as well as Outside of the Continental United States (OCONUS).  Services are required in both classified and unclassified settings.

Standard of Effective Reasonable Accommodation

An effective accommodation as it relates to this contract is achieved whenever the service provider satisfies the required skills mentioned in the Statement of Work (SOW) and in conjunction with the program office, professionally tailors the requisite skills to satisfy all the access needs for the person requiring the accommodation while still allowing the employee requiring the accommodation to maintain the integrity and ownership of the work or task.  Professionally tailored accommodations may include the contractor performing tasks that are considered non-essential to the DOS employee’s performance.  These tasks would be performed to assist the employee in having seamless access to their work.  This may include employee directed tasks such as data searches, assisting in troubleshooting IT equipment, identifying punctuation errors in a document, navigating a specific software system, escorting a visitor etc.  Greater than 70 of the tasks performed shall be direct accommodation support.  Less than 30% of the tasks performed shall be employee directed tasks that are deemed non-essential duties for the DOS employee.

General Requirements

The United States Department of State’s Disability and Reasonable Accommodations Division (DRAD) has a regulatory mandate to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities (per Rehabilitation Act of 1973).  The U. S. Department of States contemplates an award of a fixed price labor hour contract with one base year and 4 option years.  Offers must have a valid Top Secret facility clearance and provide personnel who meet the requirements as outlined in the Statement of Work and who are able to individually tailor the services to meet the standard of Effective Reasonable Accommodation.

Background

The United States Department of State’s Bureau of Global Talent Management Office of Accessibility and Accommodations (GTM/OAA) was established to develop Department-wide policies, support agency programs, and provide services to people with disabilities.  These include providing reasonable accommodations, equal access to external and internal technology and information resources, as well as providing equal and effective access to the Department’s public facilities and transportation.

The Department of State has a regulatory mandate to provide reasonable accommodations to eligible employees and applicants with disabilities per Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C. 791 et seq.  Reasonable accommodations involve modifications or adjustments that allow otherwise, eligible employees or applicants with disabilities to participate in the application process or to perform the essential duties of the position for which they were hired.  The Disability and Reasonable Accommodations Division (DRAD) implements reasonable accommodations so that employees with disabilities can enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment equal to those enjoyed by similarly situated employees without disabilities.

Requirements 

The Government has issued this contract to meet its legal mandate for providing reasonable accommodation support services to qualified DOS employees as determined by DRAD.  The Reasonable Accommodations Support Personnel outlined in this contract provide direct services to DOS employees.  The Contractor shall possess the following requirements at the onset of the award:  

1. The organizational structure and capacity necessary to recruit, hire and retain qualified personnel for the successful execution of the Statement of Work.
2. The Contractor’s recruitment/hiring process shall include a plan that allows the employee with the disability to have an integral role in the selection of contractor providing services as a Reasonable Accommodation Support Specialist (RASS) or as a Personal Assistance Services provider (PAS).
3. Strategic training plans shall be developed and executed for all contractors fulfilling customer directed roles prior to assignment to maximize readiness for customer tailored roles while minimizing disruptions.
4. The Contractor shall be responsible for planning and scheduling its work in such a manner as to account for facility and technology access issues.  Difficulties encountered by the Contractor in gaining access to facilities by its employees shall not be an excuse to any Contractor performance under the contract.
5. A strategic security plan outlining how the contractor will comply with all administrative, physical, and technical security controls to ensure all Government security requirements are followed.
6. A valid Top Secret facility clearance is required.
7. The Contractor shall have the ability to secure practice professionals to successfully execute services across a wide spectrum of work environments including political appointees, senior level advisors, human resources, law-enforcement, foreign services, and legal consultations to name a few.
8. The Contractor shall also be able to execute services for high-ranking officials and principles including the Secretary of State, the Vice President of the United States, Ambassadors, Foreign Service dignitaries at a range of events world-wide.
9. The Contractor shall possess the technical capabilities to execute services in a hybrid work environment remotely being able to provide support in person, on site, and the flexibility to toggle between the two, as necessary.
10. The Contractor shall have the ability to provide services within the Continental United States (CONUS) as well as Outside of the Continental United States (OCONUS)
11. The organizational structure and capacity to execute required reports and to submit accurate invoices as outlined in the QASP and the Administrative Responsibilities of the Contractor sections. 
12. The Contractor shall ensure that the contractually required level of support for this requirement is always maintained and that all contracted support personnel are present for all hours of the workday.

Key Personnel

The following key personnel are essential to executing the contract.  The contractor shall always have at minimum the following key personnel during the performance period of this contract:

Reasonable Accommodation Support Personnel:

1. Program Manager – Responsible for all Contractor work performed under this SOW.
2. Reasonable Accommodations Support Specialist (RASS-I) – Employee directed services provided to employees who are blind or have low-vision.
3. Reasonable Accommodations Support Specialist – II (RASS-II) - Employee directed services provided to employees who are blind or have low-vision in positions that require services at a higher level of commitment and access.
4. Personal Assistance Services (PAS) – PAS services are provided to employees with targeted disabilities to assist with performing activities of daily living.

See attached Solicitation Draft for additional information.