National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW)

National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) Description: This is a Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified sources to perform a potential requirement. This is a sources sought notice to determine the availability of potential small businesses (e.g., 8(a), veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business) that can manage and administer a large-scale, multi-informant, nationally representative longitudinal survey. Background: The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) plans to conduct a survey, the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, a nationally representative, longitudinal, multi-informant survey that provides information about children who come into contact with the child welfare system. The National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well Being was first established by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act in 1996. Most recently, funding was authorized for NSCAW in the FY15 Omnibus Appropriations Bill (P.L. 113-235). The contract for conducting the survey with the first cohort (NSCAW I) was awarded 1997, and the study continued under several subsequent contract vehicles, all awarded to RTI International, the last of which expired in October 2014. The sample for the first cohort of NSCAW (NSCAW I) was selected from cases over a 15 month period in 1999-2000, and the children were followed for five to six years. About 5500 children ages 0-14 were included in the first cohort. Data were collected at baseline, 18 months and 36 months post-baseline, and approximately 60-72 months post-baseline. A second round of NSCAW (NSCAW II), begun in March 2008, closely followed the design of NSCAW I, with a new sample of about 5800 children; in the second cohort, children ages 0-18 were eligible for the sample. Three waves of data have been collected for NSCAW II: baseline, 18-month, and 36-month follow-ups. The field period for each data collection wave, for both cohorts, lasted approximately 15 months. The availability of the two NSCAW cohorts allowed for assessing changes in the characteristics of children and families in the system following the introduction of a number of significant policy changes. NSCAW data are archived and available to qualified researchers for analysis. The goals of NSCAW are to: (1) Describe the children and families who come into contact with the child welfare system, (2) Examine child and family risk factors, service needs, and services received, and (3) Describe the child welfare system and the experience of children and families involved in the system, examine outcomes for these children and families, and describe the interaction of the child welfare system and services with other service systems. For more information about NSCAW methods and procedures, see the baseline reports for NSCAW I and NSCAW II at: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/research/project/national-survey-of-child-and-adolescent-well-being-nscaw Purpose and Objectives: Under a new contract, OPRE anticipates launching a third cohort of NSCAW. However, preliminary design work will explore the feasibility of further longitudinal data collection with existing samples, and the final design and scope of data collection will be determined in a design phase that will constitute the first task of the project. Based on previous work in NSCAW, OPRE expects to complete the following key tasks for this project: (1) review and revise as appropriate the current survey design (2) obtain agreements to participate in the study from approximately 100 child welfare agencies, including obtaining necessary IRB clearances and meeting other legal requirements for obtaining child welfare records; (3) select a nationally representative sample of an estimated 5500-6000 children from approximately 100 counties in the United States; (4) hire and train a field staff who can collect data at the local level; (5) conduct two data collections with the sample, 18 months apart, consisting of in-home interviews and direct assessments with the sample children and their caregivers, as well as interviews with their caseworkers and questionnaires from their teachers; (6) consult experts, as needed, to provide specialized advice and guidance on any aspect of the work conducted under this project; (7) generate and release a series of briefs, reports, and other products to disseminate findings to a wide range of stakeholders; (8) prepare the data sets to be archived and made available to secondary users through the National Data Archive for Child Abuse and Neglect, including appropriate documentation and disclosure analysis; and (9) manage the project and ensure that all work is of highest quality, on time and within budget. Project Requirements: In order to successfully complete the key tasks outlined above, the following sub-tasks/deliverables-and the requisite skills, expertise, and corporate and staff capacity to engage in and successfully complete these subtasks/deliverables-are required: a. Review and revise as appropriate the current survey design a. Convene experts in sampling, measurement, child welfare policy, child development, health, social work, and other relevant content areas to refine the questions and constructs to be measured in NSCAW, and assess the suitability and efficiency of the current design for addressing questions of current interest b. Recommend changes, as needed, to the current sampling and measurement approaches c. Submit a final plan for sampling and measurement d. Develop, field test as needed, and obtain both IRB approval and OMB clearance for research-based, valid and reliable data collection instruments for the survey. b. Obtain agreements to participate in the study from approximately 100 child welfare agencies, including obtaining the necessary local IRB agreements and legal permissions a. Develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for each site that specifies the conditions under which administrative data can be accessed, that outlines the expectations for agency staff and clients to participate in the study, and that addresses ethics and mandatory reporting requirements. b. Determine the need for, and complete necessary procedures for local IRB clearances c. Select a nationally representative sample of an estimated 5500-6000 children from approximately 100 counties in the United States; a. Create a sampling design that provides for a nationally representative sample of children who come into contact with child welfare services b. Develop a plan for obtaining needed information to create the sampling frame and to execute the sampling. c. Develop, field test, and obtain both IRB approval and OMB clearance for research-based, valid and reliable data collection instruments d. Hire and train a field staff who can collect data at the selected sites a. Identify field staff who have experience in working with high risk populations in community settings b. Develop training procedures and training manuals c. Provide training that will prepare workers for on-site interviewing of children, caregivers, and child welfare professionals d. Ensure that adequate staff are available for interviewing respondents whose first language is not English e. Conduct two data collections, 18 months apart, consisting of in-home interviews and direct assessments with the sample children and their caregivers, as well as interviews with their caseworkers and questionnaires from their teachers; a. Develop and execute plans for timely monitoring of case completions and for ongoing supervision of field staff b. Implement tracking and locating procedures for participants to ensure high response rates (80% or more) across time periods. f. Consult experts, as needed, to provide specialized advice and guidance: a. As needed, identify experts with expertise in research methodology, child welfare programs and populations, child development, and other relevant content areas b. Prepare any materials needed for the consultations, and draft written summaries of information learned from the consultations and how it will be applied to project tasks. c. Develop a plan for meaningful involvement of consultants in design, analysis, and reporting tasks g. Prepare the data sets to be archived and made available through public use and/or restricted use files, including appropriate documentation and disclosure analysis h. Generate and release a series of briefs, reports, and other products to disseminate findings to a wide range of stakeholders including practitioners, researchers, and policymakers: a. Develop an analysis plan for the study that includes: the study logic model and research questions; a narrative discussion of the measures and analytic techniques to be utilized in answering each research question; relative advantages or disadvantages of approaches or methods; and, for each data source, the specific types of data analyses that will be employed. b. Design a dissemination plan to disseminate findings to appropriate stakeholders. This may include draft, interim and final reports following periods of data collection, briefings to ACF and other relevant policy officials, conference presentations, working papers, scholarly journal articles, reports on special topics, and research/issue briefs. i. Overall program management: a. Manage the project and ensure that all work is of highest quality, on time and within budget. b. Establish robust management and communication structures that account for the complexity of the project and need to coordinate with a range of stakeholders. The minimum contractor requirements are: 1) Demonstrate sufficient and relevant corporate experience in successfully supporting studies of similar type, scope, and complexity, including substantial involvement by consultants or sub-contractors. Specifically, demonstrate the organizational capacity, capability and relevant prior experience to conduct a multi-site, large-scale survey involving high risk populations, often in distressed neighborhoods. 2) Demonstrate capacity, capability and relevant experience to work simultaneously with geographically dispersed populations and manage large volumes of data for approximately 100 sites at the same time. In addition, demonstrate the availability of adequate computer/statistical resources and the institutional capability to process and analyze a large volume of data, including capacity to input data, clean data, and conduct quality control checks. 3) Staff should have the technical qualifications and academic, professional, and technical experience to successfully complete the requirements of the project as outlined above. Demonstrate staff capability, capacity and relevant experience in: a. Relevant topical areas (e.g., child welfare, child development, health, social service systems, family functioning, legal and ethical issues), technical requirements (e.g., survey design and approach, including in complex sampling designs and longitudinal studies), and management requirements (e.g., relevant experience with direct management of large, geographically dispersed teams, including subcontractors, on complex project and contract oversight responsibilities). b. Training, deployment, and management of a nationwide field staff c. Innovative and rigorous research design of complex human service systems. d. Collecting data in household settings, including the administration of standardized assessments for children of all ages. e. Engaging and maintaining the cooperation of multiple state and local agencies and their affiliates. f. Conducting complex analyses utilizing state-of-the-art statistical techniques to track outcomes over time across programs and among sub-groups. g. Managing projects of similar scope and complexity. h. Working collaboratively and successfully with other research teams, program administrators and staff, representing diverse fields and programs, and other stakeholders in carrying out the kinds of tasks as required for this project. i. Conducting research in tribal communities. Anticipated Period of Performance: It is anticipated that this project would start by September 30, 2015. Taking options into account, including those pertaining to the long-term follow-up studies, this project will likely extend through September 29, 2021. Other Important Considerations: The proposed project is large and complex in scope, and will require extensive interactions with state and local child welfare agencies, taking into account local legal and ethical requirements for obtaining access to records and to study respondents. In some cases, the study may require obtaining approvals from court personnel, from tribal governance entities, from the penal system and from other parties who may have jurisdiction or authority over the children in the sample. NSCAW follows laws governing mandatory reporting of child maltreatment that may be detected in the course of data collection; to date, the study has been successful in developing uniform consent procedures and uniform reporting procedures and guidelines that have been acceptable across states. The study must carefully maintain good relationships with the participating local and state agencies. New work in NSCAW will require substantial attention to the feasibility and utility of maintaining continuity with prior NSCAW data collections. Given ACF's significant investment in the program and its congressional authorization, it is of the utmost importance that work conducted under this project is rigorous, timely, and of high quality. Capability Statement/Information Sought: Capability statements must include the following information: 1) Demonstration of how you would meet the requirements of this project, as outlined above, including: a. Staff expertise, experience, and availability b. Current in-house capability and capacity to perform the work c. Prior completed projects of a similar scope d. Corporate experience and management capability e. Examples of prior completed Government contracts that are similar to in scope to this effort 2) Description of any proposed teaming arrangements and how the entities included in these arrangements meet the above-cited information regarding expertise and experience. 3) Point of Contact, Phone and Email address of individuals who can verify the demonstrated capabilities identified in the responses, and business size and status (e.g., small business, 8(a), veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran owned small business, HUB Zone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women owned small business). INFORMATION SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS Interested parties having the capabilities necessary to perform the stated requirements may submit capability statements electronically via email Linda O'Neil at linda.jules-o'neil@psc.hhs.gov. The capability statement should be in MS Word format and is limited to 40 double?spaced pages (exclusive of any cover letter, title page, and table of contents). It should have standard 1" margins all?around and font size no smaller than 12 pt. Only one copy of the capability statement should be submitted. All inquiries to this sources sought should be in writing to the email referenced above. One copy of response must be submitted no later than 3:00 pm ET, March 26, 2015 electronically in Microsoft or Adobe PDF. Capability statements will not be returned and will not be accepted after the due date. Each response should include the following Business Information: a. DUNS b. Company name c. Company point of contact, mailing address, telephone and email address d. Date submitted e. Type of Company (i.e., small business, 8(a), woman owned, veteran owned, etc.) as validated via the System for Award (SAM). All vendors must be registered on SAM. Disclaimer and Important Notes: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate to a solicitation. Confidentiality: No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).