G099--Housing Placement Services

SOURCES SOUGHT This is a Sources Sought Synopsis (SSS) ONLY. The U.S. Government is conducting market research only to determine the availability of qualified sources capable of providing Housing Placement Services. Potential Contractors are invited to provide a response via e-mail to Contract Specialist at contact@example.gov by July 16, 2021 12:00 pm (PT). Responses will be used to determine the appropriate strategy for a potential acquisition. Please clearly identify any information your company considers sensitive or proprietary. This notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes - it does not constitute a Request for Quotation (RFQ), or a promise to issue an RFQ in the future. This notice does not commit the U.S. Government to contract for any supply or service. Further, the U.S. Government is not seeking quotes, or proposals at this time and will not accept unsolicited quotes in response to this sources sought synopsis. The U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this notice. Submittals will not be returned to the responder. Not responding to this notice does not preclude participation in any future RFQ, if any is issued. BACKGROUND: The VA Puget Sound Healthcare System, Seattle Washington, has a requirement for a Contractor to provide Housing Placement Services. Please see draft Performance Work Statement for requirements. NAICS: 224229, Other Housing Services Interested potential Contractors please provide the following. 1) Company Name, address, point of contact, phone number, email address, and DUNS Please indicate business size: Small Disadvantage Business (SDB)____ 8(a)____ Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone)____ Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB)____ Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB)_____ Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB)_____ Women-Owned Small Business concerns (WOSB)_____ Small Business_____ Large Business_____ Federal Supply Schedule______ 2) Please submit a brief capability statement (maximum two pages) with enough information to demonstrate to the Veterans Affairs that you have the resources, personnel, and qualifications as required in the Draft Performance Work Statement to provide the required housing placement services. **Draft Statement of Work PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT FOR HOUSING PLACEMENT CONTRACT 1. OVERVIEW 1.1. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is seeking a Contractor to assist with the provision of housing placement assistance via Housing Specialists coordinating services through the US Department of Housing and Urban Development Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program for King County, WA 1.2. HUD-VASH is designed to serve homeless Veterans and their families. Many of these Veterans have co-morbid conditions that include serious mental illnesses, substance abuse disorders, and other serious medical conditions. VA intends to engage a Contractor to provide housing placement services to VA referred Veterans and their families. 1.3. Entities that are interested in providing Veterans and their families these services should be aware that HUD-VASH is a national program serving Veterans and their families throughout the country. This program continues to expand and has become one of the largest VA interventions to assist homeless Veterans. It is also the first VA homeless program that offers services to both the Veteran and their family. It represents one of VA s most significant efforts to achieve the President s goal of ending homelessness among Veterans. 1.4. Through this contract, the VA seeks to support HUD-VASH by expediting placement of Veterans and their families in affordable, permanent housing through using this contract for specialized assistance in leasing up Veterans in housing before then transferring the Veterans back to the VA Puget Sound Health Care System (VAPSHCS) for long term case management. This contract is specific to the VISN 20 regions listed above. This is a short-term contract is expected to last only through March 29th of 2022, and does not include the ability to exercise option years. 2. BACKGROUND 2.1. Through HUD-VASH, VA provides homeless services to Veterans and their families and facilitates their placement into subsidized housing through the Section 8 voucher program administered by HUD. 2.2. VA s goals and objectives for this contract include housing placement and then the transfer of care to VAPSHCS for the provision of supportive services designed to enhance the housing stability and independent living skills of Veteran families experiencing homelessness across our region. At a minimum, the housing placement Contractor working with HUD-VASH is expected to provide the following housing placement assistance to facilitate the transition of Veterans and their families out of homelessness: coordination with the local Public Housing Authority (PHA); identification of landlords with available housing eligible for Section 8 rental; assistance with housing application process; identification of placement barriers for referred Veterans (including credit and/or unresolved legal issues found during application process); identification and assistance in obtaining resources to facilitate move into Section 8 housing (including funds for security deposits and utility turn-ons), and then a smooth transfer of care to VAPSHCS to for long term case management to ensure success in housing. 2.3. How Veterans enter care under this contract: Veterans currently referred to HUD-VASH, and in need of assistance in finding housing will be referred to the contractor by VAPSHCS to secure housing using their HUD-VASH section 8 voucher. 3. TASKS AND ASSOCIATED DELIVERABLES 3.1.1. Task 1A: Contractor shall identify staff, draft implementation plan and be available for a one-hour weekly conference call with VA Liaisons. The implementation plan will outline the steps needing to be accomplished prior to Task 1C. 3.1.2. Deliverable 1A: The contractor shall provide a staffing report, the current implementation plan incorporating VA comments and meeting minutes. These items will be due on a weekly basis until Task 1B is completed. 3.1.3. Task 1B: The contractor shall ensure that each Housing Specialist has completed VA s VASH orientation and training and has gone through all required security procedures. The Contractor shall complete the medical center s outlined VASH orientation: The Contractor shall complete the medical center s WOC status security measures Background screening Privileging and credentialing process Medical record access and training HOMES access and training 3.1.4. Deliverable 1B: The Contractor shall provide a detailed report of the completion of the above task elements prior to the start of Task 1C. Deliverable 1B is due no later than 60 days from Notice of Award. 3.1.5. Task 1C: The Contractor shall provide housing placement services that shall conform to the following required elements for all enrolled Veterans: a. The Contractor shall engage the Veteran in the initial part of the HUD-VASH process: Contractor carries responsibility for interviewing, counseling and housing placement of identified Veterans who are at risk - providing basic, time limited interventions as needed and establish treatment goals while completing housing searches. Utilize counseling strategies to include crisis intervention, and being prepared to refer to VAPSHCS for long term case management, and other care as clinically indicated (healthcare, chemical dependency treatment, mental healthcare, etc.). b. The Contractor shall assess the psychosocial and environmental needs or dysfunction secondary to or exacerbating the social, substance or psychiatric problems, which might contribute to readjustment to community and impact successful housing placement. Establishes and maintains a consistent number of contacts based on individual treatment plan, which should not dip below one visit every other week (stabilization phase of Critical Time Intervention), as the contract will not support long term case management, only housing placement services. The contractor is responsible to formulate Veteran-centric treatment plan goals that address self-identified needs, stressors and problems. c. The Contractor shall conduct high-risk screening, psychosocial assessment and treatment planning; actively involving the Veteran and their family or significant others, in coordination with the team members, based on the psychosocial assessments, with a focus on goals for successful housing placement. The Contractor coordinates and documents housing placement and psychosocial services and documents the overall effectiveness of the services provided. The above is not limited to: Develop with Veteran and VA liaison an Individual Service Plan to be signed by all parties. Plan shall be written within the first 2 weeks of program admission. Changes in plan/discharge from the program must be done in consultation with the VA liaison: Contractor shall maintain professional boundaries with Veteran Contractor shall document of any and all contacts with Veteran and any ancillary contacts in the Veteran s electronic health record. Any paper records will be kept in a secured locked area and disposed of in a secure manner (shredded) after they are no longer clinically relevant. Contractor shall integrate treatment planning with relevant VA health and mental health services. Number of encounters/visits with the Veteran per month will be based on Critical Time Intervention model, per HUD-VASH Directive 1162.50(1), and will be subject to review during a joint clinical case conference with VA liaison to take place every 30 days. d. Helping/completing PHA/SSA paperwork; The Contractor shall help/assist Veterans to obtain the needed documentation required by the PHA to include but not limited to, birth certificates, driver s license, income verification and any additional information required by housing authority and or potential landlord. If these documents cannot be obtained, efforts made to obtain them must be clearly documented in the Veteran s electronic health record. e. The Contractor shall accompany/ensure the Veteran attends voucher sessions. If unable to accompany the Veteran, efforts are made to accommodate Veteran s attendance and these efforts are documented. f. Provide hands on assistance to enable Veteran to find suitable housing, assistance to include but not limited by, transporting Veteran around neighborhoods to locate vacant apartments, and helping Veterans do on line housing searches if locally available; advocacy with potential landlords; assisting with Veteran obtaining necessary accoutrements to establish a household. g. The Contractor shall provide life skills education/support to Veterans either through individual or group sessions (if not done at the Veteran s residence, contractor must arrange for transportation) in areas, not limited to: i. Budgeting ii. Apartment maintenance, for instance how to keep clean and maintain residence iii. How to be a good neighbor/tenant iv. Relapse prevention (if applicable) v. Healthy lifestyle/living vi. Community resources and how to access h. The Contractor shall provide transportation for clients to attend appointments, PHA, SSA, landlords and benefits, which also includes assistance in obtaining bus passes, subsidized transportation services, and other identified needed services and entitlements. i. The Contractor shall advocate with potential landlords on behalf of the Veteran. Contractor shall advise any potential landlord that their agency shall be following the Veteran once housed. j. The Contractor shall assist Veteran in securing necessary funding for move in costs, not limited to accessing outside funding for deposits, utility deposits, and furnishings as well as budgeting for this. k. The Contractor shall assist Veteran in the establishment of utilities. l. The Contractor shall notify VA of any adverse events incident occurring with Veteran within 24 hours of being informed/aware of the incident, if not sooner. Contractor shall complete a written incident report within 48 hours of notification. m. The Contractor shall attend all subsequent meetings between the Veteran and the housing authority including annual certifications, MOVE briefings, interim appointments, etc. 3.1.6. Deliverable 1C: Please see the deliverables under 3.1.9. Deliverable 1D as they are applicable to this section. 3.1.7. Task 1D: The contractor shall provide follow up housing placement services to enrolled Veterans to ensure that eligible Veterans remain in suitable housing until transferred to VAPSHCS for long term case management. Veterans discharged from housing placement services due to lack of participation, behavior, contact, or other issues must be approved by the VA liaison. 3.1.8 Task 1D: The contractor shall be prepared to transfer Veterans enrolled to receive housing placement services under this contract back to the VA Puget Sound HUD-VASH Program for long-term case management, and develop a transfer process that involves a warm hand off and as minimal disruption in services provided to the Veteran as possible. 3.1.9. Deliverable 1D: The contractor shall provide to the COR a monthly report detailing the activities and progress at monitoring that Veterans enrolled in the in the housing placement program maintain suitable housing until formally transferred to the VAPSHCS for long term case management. The report will contain the Veteran s name and social security number and admit date. It will contain all clinical activity that has taken place in regard to the Veterans care for that month which includes: Dates and note title of every clinical note entry made in the clinical chart Summary of any adverse events that have taken place with Veteran in the past month and follow-up action taken Transfer plans for Veterans to VA Puget Sound for long-term case management, if applicable. Veterans will be transferred to VAPSHCS for long term case management upon successful housing placement. Veterans discharged from housing placement services due to lack of participation, behavior, contact, or other issues must be approved by the VA liaison. 3.2. Evaluation of Services/ Evaluation of performance: Contractor services performance shall be evaluated by the Government using the attached Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP). This QASP provides a systematic method to evaluate performance for the stated contract. 4. CONTRACTOR REQUIRMENTS 4.1. Contractor shall be staffed by the following: a. Licensed Clinical Social Worker either full time or part time on staff. Schedule must permit adequate supervision of contract personnel, for the purposes of clinical oversight, documentation, crisis management. Must be available for team conferences. i. Agree to Without Compensation (WOC) status within the VA system ii. Agree to entering information into the HOMES system iii. Supervise all non-clinical/non-licensed employees to ensure quality of care. b. Housing Specialists shall be licensed to practice independently, OR be supervised by a licensed clinical social worker. VA Puget Sound Health Care System requires Housing Specialists hold a Master s Degree in a human service field. c. Housing Specialists with experience working with homeless individuals and with Public housing Authorities. The Housing Specialists must be knowledgeable in the area of community resources and have experience in housing placement. The Contractor shall ensure that sufficient staff is available to provide the documented needs of the Veterans as well as the ability to make appointments (community or office) consistent with treatment plans and the needs of the Veteran. The VA staffing standard is 35 to 1, though when housing Veterans, this standard drops to 20 to 25 Veterans depending on the acuity of the population the Housing Specialist is working with. Contractor proposals shall meet or exceed this standard. The Contractor shall have procedures in place to ensure Veterans/clients have 24/7 access to services which shall include crisis management and referral. Confidentiality and Record keeping (please see FAR 52.224-1 and 52.224-2): The Contractor is a VA contractor and shall assist in the provision of health care to patients seeking such care from or through VA. As such, the Contractor is considered as being part of the Department health care activity. Contractor is considered to be a VA contractor for purposes of the Privacy Act, Title 5 U.S.C. 552a. Further, for the purpose of VA records access and patient confidentiality, Contractor is considered to be a VA contractor for the following provisions: Title 38 U.S.C. 5701, 5705, and 7362. Therefore, Contractor may have access, as would other appropriate components of VA, to patient medical records including patient treatment records pertaining to drug and alcohol abuse, HIV, and sickle cell anemia, to the extent necessary to perform its contractual responsibilities. However, like other components of the Department, and notwithstanding any other provisions of the contract, the Contractor is restricted from making disclosures of VA records, or information contained in such records, to which it may have access, except to the extent that explicit disclosure authority from VA has been received. The Contractor is subject to the same penalties and liabilities for unauthorized disclosures of such records as VA. The records referred to above shall be and remain the property of VA and shall not be removed or transferred from VA except in accordance with U.S.C.551a (Privacy Act), 38 U.S.C. 5701 (Confidentiality of claimants records), 5 U.S.C. 552 (FOIA), 38 U.S.C. 5705 (Confidentiality of Medical Quality Assurance Records) 38 U.S.C. 7332 (Confidentiality of certain medical records) and federal laws, rules and regulations. Subject to applicable federal confidentiality or privacy laws, the Contractor, or their designated representatives, and designated representatives of federal regulatory agencies having jurisdiction over Contractor, may have access to VA s records, at VA s place of business on request during normal business hours, to inspect and review and make copies of such records. 5. SECURITY REQUIREMENTS: GENERAL Contractors, contractor personnel, subcontractors, and subcontractor personnel shall be subject to the same Federal laws, regulations, standards, and VA Directives and Handbooks as VA and VA personnel regarding information and information system security. ACCESS TO VA INFORMATION AND VA INFORMATION SYSTEMS A contractor/subcontractor shall request logical (technical) or physical access to VA information and VA information systems for their employees, subcontractors, and affiliates only to the extent necessary to perform the services specified in the contract, agreement, or task order. All contractors, subcontractors, and third-party servicers and associates working with VA information are subject to the same investigative requirements as those of VA appointees or employees who have access to the same types of information. The level and process of background security investigations for contractors must be in accordance with VA Directive and Handbook 0710, Personnel Suitability and Security Program. The Office for Operations, Security, and Preparedness is responsible for these policies and procedures. Contract personnel who require access to national security programs must have a valid security clearance. National Industrial Security Program (NISP) was established by Executive Order 12829 to ensure that cleared U.S. defense industry contract personnel safeguard the classified information in their possession while performing work on contracts, programs, bids, or research and development efforts. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not have a Memorandum of Agreement with Defense Security Service (DSS). Verification of a Security Clearance must be processed through the Special Security Officer located in the Planning and National Security Service within the Office of Operations, Security, and Preparedness. Custom software development and outsourced operations must be located in the U.S. to the maximum extent practical. If such services are proposed to be performed abroad and are not disallowed by other VA policy or mandates, the contractor/subcontractor must state where all non-U.S. services are provided and detail a security plan, deemed to be acceptable by VA, specifically to address mitigation of the resulting problems of communication, control, data protection, and so forth. Location within the U.S. may be an evaluation factor. The contractor or subcontractor must notify the Contracting Officer immediately when an employee working on a VA system or with access to VA information is reassigned or leaves the contractor or subcontractor s employ. The Contracting Officer must also be notified immediately by the contractor or subcontractor prior to an unfriendly termination. VA INFORMATION CUSTODIAL LANGUAGE Information made available to the contractor/subcontractor by VA for the performance or administration of this contract or information developed by the contractor/subcontractor in performance or administration of the contract will be used only for those purposes & shall not be used in any other way without the prior written agreement of the VA. This clause expressly limits the contractor/subcontractor's rights to use data as described in Rights in Data - General, FAR 52.227-14(d) (1). VA information should not be co-mingled, if possible, with any other data on the contractors/subcontractor s information systems or media storage systems in order to ensure VA requirements related to data protection and media sanitization can be met. If co-mingling must be allowed to meet the requirements of the business need, the contractor must ensure that VA s information is returned to the VA or destroyed in accordance with VA s sanitization requirements. VA reserves the right to conduct on-site inspections of contractor and subcontractor IT resources to ensure data security controls, separation of data and job duties, and destruction/media sanitization procedures are in compliance with VA directive requirements. Prior to termination or completion of this contract, contractor/subcontractor must not destroy information received from VA, or gathered/created by the contractor in the course of performing this contract without prior written approval by the VA. Any data destruction done on behalf of VA by a contractor/subcontractor must be done in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements as outlined in VA Directive 6300, Records and Information Management and its Handbook 6300.1 Records Management Procedures, applicable VA Records Control Schedules, and VA Handbook 6500.1, Electronic Media Sanitization. Self-certification by the contractor that the data destruction requirements above have been met must be sent to the VA Contracting Officer within 30 days of termination of the contract. The contractor/subcontractor must receive, gather, store, back up, maintain, use, disclose and dispose of VA information only in compliance with the terms of the contract and applicable Federal and VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies. If Federal or VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies become applicable to the VA information or information systems after execution of the contract, or if NIST issues or updates applicable FIPS or Special Publications (SP) after execution of this contract, the parties agree to negotiate in good faith to implement the information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies in this contract. The contractor/subcontractor shall not make copies of VA information except as authorized and necessary to perform the terms of the agreement or to preserve electronic information stored on contractor/subcontractor electronic storage media for restoration in case any electronic equipment or data used by the contractor/subcontractor needs to be restored to an operating state. If copies are made for restoration purposes, after the restoration is complete, the copies must be appropriately destroyed. If VA determines that the contractor has violated any of the information confidentiality, privacy, and security provisions of the contract, it shall be sufficient grounds for VA to withhold payment to the contractor or third party or terminate the contract for default or terminate for cause under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 12. If a VHA contract is terminated for cause, the associated BAA must also be terminated and appropriate actions taken in accordance with VHA Handbook 1600.01, Business Associate Agreements. Absent an agreement to use or disclose PHI, there is no business associate relationship. The contractor/subcontractor must store, transport, or transmit VA sensitive information in an encrypted form, using VA-approved encryption tools that are, at a minimum, FIPS 140-2 validated. The contractor/subcontractor s firewall and Web services security controls, if applicable, shall meet or exceed VA s minimum requirements. VA Configuration Guidelines are available upon request. Except for uses and disclosures of VA information authorized by this contract for performance of the contract, the contractor/subcontractor may use and disclose VA information only in two other situations: (i) in response to a qualifying order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or (ii) with VA s prior written approval. The contractor/subcontractor must refer all requests for, demands for production of, or inquiries about, VA information and information systems to the VA contracting officer for response. Notwithstanding the provision above, the contractor/subcontractor shall not release VA records protected by Title 38 U.S.C. 5705, confidentiality of medical quality assurance records and/or Title 38 U.S.C. 7332, confidentiality of certain health records pertaining to drug addiction, sickle cell anemia, alcoholism or alcohol abuse, or infection with human immunodeficiency virus. If the contractor/subcontractor is in receipt of a court order or other requests for the above mentioned information, that contractor/subcontractor shall immediately refer such court orders or other requests to the VA contracting officer for response. For service that involves the storage, generating, transmitting, or exchanging of VA sensitive information but does not require C&A or an MOU-ISA for system interconnection, the contractor/subcontractor must complete a Contractor Security Control Assessment (CSCA) on a yearly basis and provide it to the COR. INFORMATION SYSTEM DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT Information systems that are designed or developed for or on behalf of VA at non-VA facilities shall comply with all VA directives developed in accordance with FISMA, HIPAA, NIST, and related VA security and privacy control requirements for Federal information systems. This includes standards for the protection of electronic PHI, outlined in 45 C.F.R. Part 164, Subpart C, information and system security categorization level designations in accordance with FIPS 199 and FIPS 200 with implementation of all baseline security controls commensurate with the FIPS 199 system security categorization (reference Appendix D of VA Handbook 6500, VA Information Security Program). During the development cycle a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) must be completed, provided to the COTR, and approved by the VA Privacy Service in accordance with Directive 6507, VA Privacy Impact Assessment. The contractor/subcontractor shall certify to the COTR that applications are fully functional and operate correctly as intended on systems using the VA Federal Desktop Core Configuration (FDCC), and the common security configuration guidelines provided by NIST or the VA. This includes Internet Explorer 7 configured to operate on Windows XP and Vista (in Protected Mode on Vista) and future versions, as required. The standard installation, operation, maintenance, updating, and patching of software shall not alter the configuration settings from the VA approved and FDCC configuration. Information technology staff must also use the Windows Installer Service for installation to the default program files directory and silently install and uninstall. Applications designed for normal end users shall run in the standard user context without elevated system administration privileges. The security controls must be designed, developed, approved by VA, and implemented in accordance with the provisions of VA security system development life cycle as outlined in NIST Special Publication 800-37, Guide for Applying the Risk Management Framework to Federal Information Systems, VA Handbook 6500, Information Security Program and VA Handbook 6500.5, Incorporating Security and Privacy in System Development Lifecycle. The contractor/subcontractor is required to design, develop, or operate a System of Records Notice (SOR) on individuals to accomplish an agency function subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, (as amended), Public Law 93-579, December 31, 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) and applicable agency regulations. Violation of the Privacy Act may involve the imposition of criminal and civil penalties. The contractor/subcontractor agrees to: Comply with the Privacy Act of 1974 (the Act) and the agency rules and regulations issued under the Act in the design, development, or operation of any system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function when the contract specifically identifies: The Systems of Records (SOR); and The design, development, or operation work that the contractor/subcontractor is to perform; Include the Privacy Act notification contained in this contract in every solicitation and resulting subcontract and in every subcontract awarded without a solicitation, when the work statement in the proposed subcontract requires the redesign, development, or operation of a SOR on individuals that is subject to the Privacy Act; and Include this Privacy Act clause, including this subparagraph (3), in all subcontracts awarded under this contract which requires the design, development, or operation of such a SOR. In the event of violations of the Act, a civil action may be brought against the agency involved when the violation concerns the design, development, or operation of a SOR on individuals to accomplish an agency function, and criminal penalties may be imposed upon the officers or employees of the agency when the violation concerns the operation of a SOR on individuals to accomplish an agency function. For purposes of the Act, when the contract is for the operation of a SOR on individuals to accomplish an agency function, the contractor/subcontractor is considered to be an employee of the agency. Operation of a System of Records means performance of any of the activities associated with maintaining the SOR, including the collection, use, maintenance, and dissemination of records. Record means any item, collection, or grouping of information about an individual that is maintained by an agency, including, but not limited to, education, financial transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment history and contains the person s name, or identifying number, symbol, or any other identifying particular assigned to the individual, such as a fingerprint or voiceprint, or a photograph. System of Records means a group of any records under the control of any agency from which information is retrieved by the name of the individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual. The vendor shall ensure the security of all procured or developed systems and technologies, including their subcomponents (hereinafter referred to as System...