Reasonable Accommodations Support Personnel

This sources sought notice is issued to request industries' capabilities, experiences, and feedback for the attached performance-based draft Statement of Work, and RFI/questions listed at the footer of this description.  Unsolicited offers will not be accepted.  The Department of State currently has a contract for these services and will solicit on SAM's Contract Opportunites for a recompete in FY23 Q1.  The recompete will be issued as a full and open acquisiton, on an unrestricted basis in a future related notice. The services will be firm-fixed-priced, for a period of a base year, plus four option periods. 

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.

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.

Request for Information:

1. Do you currently provide on-site reasonable accommodation services to support employees remotely while they are working from their personal residence?  If so, please provide details such as the effort involved and agency or client.
2. Do you have the capability of providing reasonable accommodation services to support employees remotely while they are working from their personal residence?  If so, please email your capabilities statement.
3. Is there a cost differential between services provided at a work location as compared to providing services at the employee’s residence during telework.  If so, what is the cost differential attributed towards?
4. What risks does a contractor assume or account for in providing services at personal residences?
5. If residential services become a government requirement for the upcoming recompete, what would industry recommned as best practices for managing contractor employees remotely, and what is the best practice for inspection of workplace environments (DOS employee residences).