Psychotherapist Services

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6 as supplemented with additional information contained in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The solicitation PSA-09-RPP-0003 is issued as a Request for Proposal (RFP). The complete statement of work is available in this solicitation. This is 100% set aside for small business concerns. The District of Columbia Pretrial Services Agency (PSA) in Washington, D.C., requires the services of a Psychotherapist. This is a non-personal services contract and not a personnel appointment. The PSA intends to award a Firm Fixed Price contract with a fixed hourly rate. The contract period of performance will be a base period from date of award through September 30, 2009 and four (4), one year option periods. The Contractor shall provide services in accordance with this Statement of Work and the contract. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 621112 and the applicable size standard is $10M. The Contractor shall provide all labor and materials as a psychotherapist (except that listed as Government furnished) to provide mental health services (psychotherapy) to trauma-impacted clients suffering from mental illness (including substance related disorders or co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders) or emotional distress secondary to personality disorders. This procurement is being conducted under the Subpart 13.5 Simplified Acquisition Procedures, and FAR Parts 12 and 13 or some combination thereof. The District of Columbia Pretrial Services Agency (PSA) is a federally-funded investigation and supervision agency for defendants who are released into the community while awaiting disposition of their case(s) in both the D.C. Superior Court and U.S. District Court. Pretrial Services is an independent entity under the umbrella of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA). 1. Personnel: 1.1 The Contractor shall be a qualified and experienced professional who holds either a doctorate or a Masters degree in clinical psychology, social work, counseling, or a related field from an accredited institution and a current license to practice in the District of Columbia or a neighboring jurisdiction. License must be maintained throughout the life of the contract. 1.1.2 The contractor must have a minimum of six (6) years experience conducting professional psychotherapy and related tasks-including at least four (4) years experience diagnosing and treating trauma-impacted individuals. 1.1.3 The contractor shall have a minimum of four (4) years experience delivering trauma-informed care with adult populations, including individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds and individuals in the criminal justice system and must have a minimum of two (2) years experience facilitating group therapy for clients suffering from mental illness (including substance related disorders or co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders) or emotional distress secondary to personality disorders. 1.1.4 The contractor shall have excellent interpersonal and communication (verbal, non-verbal and written) skills, as well as a seasoned knowledge of the core principles of mental health theory and practice and a grounded approach to clinical practice. The contractor's knowledge base must include, but not be limited to affect regulation; the biochemical effects of trauma (including grief and loss); addiction and the power of the therapeutic relationship as the most critical way to help clients reduce suffering and promote resilience. 1.1.5 The contractor shall possess expert mastery of psychoanalytic theory and the standard practice of helping clients to process early traumatic events, identify difficult emotional patterns at their root and transform them. The contracted services must reflect the essential roles of intention and motivation (including motivational interviewing) in the change process. 1.2 The Contractor shall have no pending felony charges, nor prior criminal record of felony convictions and/or criminal justice supervision for the past ten (10) years. The Contractor must communicate any felony arrests or other related charges in criminal justice status to the Government within two (2) business days of any change in status. 1.2.1 The Contractor must be eligible for certification to utilize law enforcement automated computer systems if requested by the Government. 1.2.2 Such certification will require absence of felony convictions and shall involve Government provided training and acceptance of all privacy and restricted use terms and conditions. 1.3 Prior to, at award and throughout the life of the contract, the Contractor shall have no current, previous, or pending professional licensure suspension, revocation, or other disciplinary action related to professional misconduct, malpractice, or ethical violations. 1.3.1 Any previous completed investigation that was initiated but failed to result in licensure suspension, revocation, or other disciplinary action against the Contractor must be disclosed to the Government prior to award. 1.4 The Contractor shall avoid ethically inappropriate, conflicting, or dual relationships with clients or PSA or CSOSA staff and shall report any improprieties or the appearance thereof immediately to either the Contracting Officer or the designated Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR). 1.5 The Contractor shall remain knowledgeable of PSA and CSOSA contract requirements and have a copy of the Statement of Work readily available when its presentation is requested. 2. Description of Services: 2.1 The Contractor shall provide hourly psychotherapy services as described below to trauma-impacted clients suffering from mental illness (including substance related disorders or co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders). Clients may also present with a variety of psychosocial and environmental problems including, but not limited to occupational, housing, economic, and/or educational problems including adult illiteracy. Every client will have either pending felony or misdemeanor cases and many may have extensive criminal histories. 2.2 The Contractor shall provide clinical consultation (expert advice) to staff as necessary for clinical case management, treatment, as well as for program development and refinement. 2.3 The Contractor's services shall be provided at 633 Indiana Avenue, NW in the District of Columbia. The Government may designate other District of Columbia locations at any time. 2.4 The Government will afford the Contractor access to a furnished work space (i.e., a desk within an office or cubicle), a shared private evaluation/consultation room and standard office equipment (i.e., computer, printer, fax machine, and telephone) to the extent that is necessary for the performance of this contract. 2.5 The hours of service delivery will vary between 9:00 am and 8:00 pm during a given work week (Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays, except Federal holidays and other times when indicated by the Government), not to exceed twenty (20) hours a week unless authorized in writing by the Contracting Officer. The Contractor must be available to be on-site at least 16 of the 20 weekly hours between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm-- including availability every Friday between 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm. Four of the twenty hour may be fulfilled between 4:00 pm and 8:00pm. Specific hours will be negotiated between the Government and the Contractor. 2.5.1 The Contractor may propose one or more practitioners to provide the services required in this contract. However the combined hours of the practitioners shall not exceed 20 hours per week without prior government approval. 2.6 The Contractor shall not perform work at Government facilities on Federal holidays or other non-work days without prior written approval. The 10 (ten) holidays observed by the Federal Government are: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King's Birthday, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. 2.6.1 With prior government approval, the Contractor may provide a substitute practitioner to provide coverage for brief periods when the primary practitioner(s) is ill, vacationing or other wise absent. 2.6.2 There are certain types of unforeseen circumstances (e.g. bomb threats, inclement weather, power outages, money shortages) that may prompt the Government to close its offices where the Contractor or his/her personnel might be working. The Contractor or his/her staff shall not report to work if the Government is closed unless otherwise authorized by the Contracting Officer or his or her representative. The Government will not compensate the Contractor or his/her staff for working any number of hours if the work was performed during the closing of Government facilitates. 2.6.3 The nature of this contract does not provide the Contractor any paid leave for absences due to illness, holidays or vacations. Should the Contractor need to be absent or unavoidably delayed by more than fifteen (15) minutes for any reason, the Contractor must immediately notify the COTR, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. 3. Service Requirements: 3.1 The Contractor shall be available to provide on-site services to the Government twenty (20) hours per week exclusively. 3.1.1 During these hours, the Contractor shall work directly with: a) trauma-impacted clients suffering from mental illness (including substance related disorders or co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders) or emotional distress secondary to personality disorders, b) clients pending placement with a community-based mental health facility, c) other clients as deemed appropriate by the Contractor and the Government, d) Government staff for the purposes of clinical consultation and trauma-based training, and/or e) other Contractors or interns as designated by the Government. 3.1.2 The Contractor shall not work less or more than (twenty) hours per week without receiving written authorization from the Contracting Officer. 3.2 Upon demand, the Contractor shall conduct initial sessions for clients referred to determine whether the client is capable of benefiting from group and/or individualized psychotherapy, and if not, the appropriate level of care necessary to restore the clients as much as possible to his/her pre-crisis level of functioning. 3.3 The Contractor shall provide clinical consultation and professional oversight to one or more PSA-employed or contracted or clinicians to include: 3.3.1 Directly supervising the services performed by clinician offering him/her a professional evaluation and recommendation. 3.3.2 Providing signature approval (including the Contractor's professional license number) to the clinical documents as necessary 3.3.3 Limited telephonic or email consultation not to exceed not to exceed two (2) hours per week unless authorized in writing by the Contracting Officer or the Contractors Technical Representative. 3.4 The Contractor shall ensure that any other clinical tools used are within acceptable standards of psychotherapeutic practice and have been validated as safe, appropriate and effective with the target population as described in 2.1. Any such tools shall be used at no additional cost to the Government. 3.5 The Contractor shall facilitate or oversee the facilitation of a minimum of three (3) hours per week of group therapy and education for trauma-impacted clients suffering from mental illness (including substance related disorders or co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders). 3.6 The Contractor shall provide and/or oversee the provision of individualized psychotherapy and/or crisis intervention to clients awaiting placement with a community-based mental health facility or other clients as deemed appropriate by the Government and Contractor. 3.6.1 These services shall include, but will not be limited to, therapy involving suicide assessment and intervention as well as therapy for clients with previously referenced disorders and presenting problems. 3.7 The Contractor shall provide expert advice and consultation to PSA staff regarding: 3.7.1 Client supervision and treatment planning; 3.7.2 Sanction and/or incentive regimens for clients who abuse substances, suffer from mental illness or are dually diagnosed. 3.7.3 Appropriate supervision strategies and interventions for clients based on their clinical diagnoses and overall ability to function; 3.7.4 Client risk assessment; 3.7.5 The design and development of trauma-based group interventions, individual therapy and trauma-related programs, policies, and procedures. 3.8 The Contractor shall participate in periodic PSA staff trainings designed to enhance staff ability to identify, assess, treat, case manage and supervise trauma-impacted clients suffering from mental illness (including substance abuse related disorders or co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders) or emotional distress secondary to personality disorders (including mental retardation). 3.8.1 Locations of staff trainings may vary, but will occur at PSA facilities within the District of Columbia. 3.8.2 Schedule and length of trainings will vary, but will be scheduled within the timeframe of the Contractor's weekly commitment as outlined in this contract. 3.8.2.1 The Government may request that the Contractor participate in staff trainings outside of the timeframe that the Government and the Contractor committed to in a weekly schedule. The Contractor's participation in such activities shall be mutually agreed upon by both the Government and the Contractor and will be compensated on a fixed priced basis at the agreed upon rate for other professional services. 3.9 The contractor shall provide personnel that meet the standard established with the proposal submission throughout the life of the contract. Any change of personnel must be submitted to the contracting officer in writing and include a resume of the intended personnel. The Government reserves the right to accept or reject the proposed replacement employee after review of the resume and a determination by the contracting officer that the proposed employee does not meet the established standard offered at award. 3.9.1 Any replacement personnel must complete the security requirements identified in Section 6, Security Requirements for Contractor Personnel, of the contract. In the event the replacement personnel are not approved due to instances regarding the security requirements, the contract is responsible for continuing to delivery services without a lapse. It is strongly suggested that the contractor provide security paperwork on a backup employee to continue services in the event of an illness or absence of the primary on-site employee. 4. Client Records: - 4.1 The Contractor shall establish and maintain complete and up-to-date client records. These records shall describe all client services performed and document the results of all assessments and other evaluations and shall be kept confidential and secure at a Government provided location. These records are property of the Government and shall be available for Government examination at all times. 4.1.1 Documents and correspondence maintained by the Contractor for the Government shall contain the client's Police Department Identification Number (PDID) and all relevant court docket numbers--both as provided by PSA or CSOSA. 4.2 The Contractor shall keep confidential and protect from disclosure all client records except as provided below: 4.2.1 The Contractor may disclose client records to and discuss client treatment with PSA or CSOSA case managers or supervisory staff involved in a current court matter, the COTR or designated representative of the Government on an unrestricted communication basis. 4.2.2 The Contractor may disclose client records only in accordance with 42 C.F.R. Part 2, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the DC Mental Health Act as amended, and where disclosure is permitted under those regulations, may disclose only information that is consistent with the policies and procedures of PSA and CSOSA. 4.2.2.1 The Government agrees to provide the Contractor with all necessary consent forms that that federal, state, or local law requires be signed by a client. 4.3 The Contractor shall be responsible for all client records while those records are in the Contractor's care or possession. The Contractor shall ensure that all persons having access to or custody of client records follow the disclosure and confidentiality requirements of the consent form and federal, state, or local law. These records are property of the Government and shall be maintained at all times as described in 4.1 and returned to the Government at the end of the contract period. 4.4 The Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer immediately upon receipt of legal process requiring disclosure of client records. 5. Clauses and Provisions: Provisions 52.212-1 Instruction to Offerors - Commercial Items and 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items, apply to this acquisition. Offerors shall include a completed copy of the provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items, with its offer or certify that this documentation has been filed electronically. Full text of clauses and provisions are available at Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR): http://www.arnet.gov/References/References.html 52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998) This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this address: http:/www.arnet.gov/far/ 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services; 52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract; 52.224-1 Privacy Act Notification; 52.224-2 Privacy Act; 52.228-5 Insurance - Work on Government Installation; 52-232-18 Availability of Funds; 52-232-19 Availability of Funds for the Next Fiscal Year; 52.237-7 Indemnification and Medical Liability Insurance (JAN 1997) The contractor shall maintain during the term of this contract liability insurance issued by a responsible insurance carrier of not less than $1,000,000 per specialty per occurrence. 52.212-5 Contract terms and Conditions Required to implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items applies to this acquisition and the following FAR clauses cited in the clause are applicable to this acquisition: 52.219-6 Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside; 52.219-8 Utilization of Small Business Concerns; 52.222-21 Prohibition of Prohibition of Segregated Facilities; 52.222-26 Equal Opportunity; 52.222-35 Affirmative Action for Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era; 52.222-36 Affirmative Action for Workers and Disabilities; 52.222-37 Employment Reports on Special Disabled Veterans and Other Eligible Veterans; 52.232-33 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer - Central Contractor Registration; 52.232-34 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer - Other than Central Contractor Registration. 6. Special Contract Requirements: 6.1 This shall be a firm Fixed Price contract with a fixed hourly rate. 6.2 The term of the contract shall be a base period with four (4) one-year optional performance periods. The length of the contract shall not exceed 60 months. The exercise of any option period is subject to the availability of funds at the time of the exercise of the option. The contractor shall commence full performance of services under the resultant contract within 30 calendar days from the effective date of award of the contract. 6.3 The contractor shall provide non-personal services in accordance with FAR Subpart 37.4 - Non-personal Health Care Services. Award of this contract will result in a contractual arrangement only and shall not be construed as a personnel appointment with PSA. Payments to the contractor shall be based on the provision of the requirements stated in the Statement of Work (SOW). The contractor will not be subject to direct Government supervision, except for security related matters, but contractor performance shall be closely monitored for quality assurance. 6.4 Contractor Personnel: 6.4.1 The contractor shall provide personnel that meet the standard established with the proposal submission throughout the life of the contract. Any change of personnel must be submitted to the contracting officer in writing and include a resume of the intended personnel. The Government reserves the right to accept or reject the proposed replacement employee after review of the resume and a determination by the contracting officer that the proposed employee does not meet the established standard offered at award. 6.4.2 Any replacement personnel must complete the security requirements identified in Section 6, Security Requirements for Contractor Personnel, of the contract. In the event the replacement personnel is not approved due to instances regarding the security requirements, the contract is responsible for continuing to delivery services without a lapse. It is strongly suggested that the contractor provide security paperwork on a backup employee to continue services in the event of an illness or absence of the primary on-site employee. 6.5 The Contractor shall maintain an in-force Professional Malpractice Insurance in an amount not less than one million dollars ($1,000,000.00) during the entire contractual period. A copy of the valid insurance document shall be provided with the proposal or at contract start. If a copy of the valid insurance document is not available at the time of proposal submission, the offeror must explain the status of the insurance in the designated section of the proposal (see instructions). Professional Malpractice Insurance must be in-force in order to determine contractor compliance and responsibility for award. 6.6 All potential offerors are advised that this solicitation includes the clause FAR 52.212-4 (Oct 2003) for Commercial Items, which at paragraph (t) Central Contractor Registration (CCR), requires all contractors doing business with the Federal Government after September 30, 2003, to be registered in the CCR database. Offerors shall include their Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number in their offers. Registration in the CCR database shall be verified prior to award by entering the potential awardee's DUNS number into the CCR database. Failure to complete the registration procedures outlined in this clause may result in elimination from consideration for award. 7. Security Requirements for Contractor Personnel: All Contractor personnel utilized under this contract shall submit to a Government background investigation prior to performing work on-site at any PSA/CSOSA facility. The intent and purpose of this investigation is to preclude the assignment of any individual who poses a threat to the Government or successful work completion due to past unlawful or inappropriate behavior. Contractor employees must be U.S. citizens, or be lawfully permitted to reside in the United States and possess a valid work permit. 7.1 Background Investigations: The Contractor shall ensure that a Contractor employee does not begin work under the contract until the appropriate background checks are conducted and approved by the PSA/CSOSA Office of Security. When a preliminary background check on an individual has been determined to be favorable, the Office of Security will issue an interim employment security approval to the Office of Procurement, who in turn will notify the Contractor. Only at that time may the Contractor notify an individual to begin work at a PSA/CSOSA facility. Derogatory information, falsification of any forms or refuses to supply information and/or forms may be considered justification to reject the individual. When an individual is selected for contractual employment, the Contractor shall have the individual complete a background investigation package consisting of the items identified below. The individual is generally provided 10 days to complete and return the forms to the Office of Procurement. The following forms will be provided and must be completed: (1) CSOSA-SEC-0008, Agency Credit Release Form (2) FD 258, "FBI Fingerprint Card" (3) Standard Form 85P, Questionnaire for Public Trust Positions (4) Contractor's Preliminary Background Check Form It is the responsibility of the Contractor, in order to ensure complete coverage for the services specified herein, to maintain an adequate staff of individuals meeting all of the requirements of this contract. To that end, the Contractor should submit the names of additional individuals, so that the requisite preliminary background checks can be conducted. PSA/CSOSA has the right to request any additional information necessary in order to adjudicate the completed background investigation. If a Contractor employee fails to provide any of the above information, or to cooperate with PSA/CSOSA Office of Security, the individual will be removed immediately. PSA reserves the right to determine suitability of any contractor or contractor employee to work on this contract prior to the employee gaining access to any PSA facility or system. 7.2 Contractor's Responsibility: (1) The Contractor shall ensure that no Contractor employee commences performance prior to completion of the background investigation, unless the Office of Security grants approval. (2) Any individual who has been temporarily removed or resigned may be required to undergo another background investigation before resuming any position. At the discretion of the COTR, the Contractor shall forward the required forms for a reinvestigation to the COTR. Prior to forwarding the forms, the Contractor is responsible for reviewing the forms for completeness. The forms should be forwarded with a cover letter indicating that the forms are for reinvestigation of a current Contractor employee. 7.3 Government's Responsibility: (1) The Government will conduct a background investigation on all individuals involved in the contract. Derogatory information developed from this investigation may be considered justification to reject the applicant. The Government also reserves the right to reinvestigate all Contractor personnel working on this contract for any reason. (2) Upon completion of the background investigation, the Office of Security will review the results to determine suitability for the individual. Primary concern in the review process is to decide if the individual's presence in Agency facilities poses a potential risk to CSOSA, the Government, or the general public. 8. Contract Administration: 8.1 nvoices shall contain applicable information required by FAR 52.232-25, Prompt Payment, and include the following: (a) Contractor Name, Tax ID Number and Dun & Bradstreet Number (b) Mailing "Remit To" Address (c) Contractor Point of Contact Information (d) Contract Number (e) Invoice Number (f) Description of Services (g) Service Dates (h)Unit of Cost (i) Number of Hours (j) Total Money Amount 8.2 Payment for services rendered shall be made no more that twice per month upon receipt of an original and three copies of properly executed invoice. 8.3 Invoices for the work performed under this contract shall be submitted weekly to the Government for payment for services provided. The government shall review and ensure that the information is correct and verify that the services have been received. The invoice will then be certified for payment. 8.4 If an invoice is received with inaccurate information, that invoice shall be returned unpaid by the Government. 8.5 The Government will not hold the invoice or make corrections but rather return the improper invoice in dispute to Contractor. The Contractor shall make the required corrections and submitted a corrected invoice for payment. All follow-up invoices shall be clearly marked "Duplicate of Original". 9. Instructions to Offerors: 9.1 A streamlined best value source selection process shall be used for evaluation of the proposals, and the award will be made on the basis of the lowest evaluated price of proposals meeting or exceeding the acceptability standards for non-cost factors. The Government reserves the right to award without discussions. Proposal shall be evaluated on technical and price factors. Past performance shall be evaluated but limited to the potential awardee. 9.2 Proposal technical section shall be limited to a total of five (5) written pages. Proposal pages shall be 8.5 x 11 inches, single spaced with at least one (1) inch margin on top, bottom, left and right, and printed head-to-foot. The font size shall be no less than Times New Roman 12 point. 9.3 The offeror shall include all sections of the proposal in a three-ring binder with labeled tabs identifying each section of the proposal. The offeror shall submit one original and three copies of the entire proposal and each copy shall be in a separate binder. Each binder shall be clearly identified. 9.4 The proposal sections and sub-sections and related content are herby identified: 1. Contract and Associated Information 1A. Standard Form 1449 (blocks 30a, 30b and 30 to be completed by offeror) 1B. Copies of Certifications and Diplomas 1C. Copy of Professional Malpractice Insurance 1D. Financial Reference Form - Attachment 2 2. Technical 2A. Offeror to address statement of work requirements 2B. Oral Presentation 3. Past Performance 3A. Offeror to provide past performance information 4. Price 4A. Contract Pricing - Attachment 1 9.5 Standard Form 1449, Copies of Certifications/Diplomas, Insurance Certificate, Past Performance Information, Attachment 1 (Contract Pricing) and Attachment 2 (Financial Reference Form) are excluded from the technical proposal submission page count limit. 9.6 The offeror shall submit copies of professional certifications and/or diplomas to support stated qualifications applicable and relevant to the stated requirement. The offeror shall include a cover page for the copies of professional certifications and/or diplomas listing those certifications on the cover page numerically in ascending order. 9.7 The offeror shall provide the resume/s of proposed employees who will be providing on-site services. If the offeror is successful and receives a contract award, the resume/s submitted with the proposal will establish the standard that must be met for any replacement personnel for the life of the contract. Replacement personnel will have at a minimum the same level of experience and certifications as those submitted with the technical proposal submittal and accepted for award by the Government. 9.8 Any requirements in this solicitation that will not be met as described precisely in the solicitation must be clearly stated in the proposal as an exception to the requirements. 9.9 Offerors should highlight any proposed to make enhancements or modifications of any kind to the outlined services, service delivery structure, or service delivery schedule. 9.10 Offerors will indicate specifically how many practitioners will be utilized; and how the labor will be divided. 9.11 Offerors will describe experience and training in providing trauma-informed care to individuals who are living with PTSD or are otherwise impacted by trauma. 9.12 Offerors will summarize the proposed approach to providing trauma-informed care, including the specific models, tools, and interventions proposed for this requirement. 9.13 Offerors will describe experience in proving group psychotherapy to include a summary of any gender-specific group services delivered. 9.14 Offerors will describe exp...