R -- Investigative Services

Investigative services to be performed under contract to verify claimants' U.S. residency for the purpose of establishing eligibility and continuing eligibility for receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for the Social Security Administration (SSA). It is anticipated that one award will be made for all zones; however, multiple awards could be made if determined to be in the best interest of the government. The zones are located along the Mexico-U.S. border in Texas and New Mexico. Prospective offerors may propose on any or all zones. The zones are identified as follows: Zone 1 includes Brownsville, Harlingen, McAllen, Texas; (counties of Cameron, Hildalgo, Starr and Willacy); Zone 2 includes Laredo, Texas (counties of Webb and Zapata); Zone 3 includes Eagle Pass and Del Rio, Texas (counties of Val Verde, Kinney, Uvalde, Maverick, Zavalta and Dimmit); Zone 4 includes Presidio, Texas mailing addresses; Zone 5 includes El Paso, Texas (Texas counties of El Paso and Hudspeth), and Las Cruces, New Mexico (New Mexico County of Dona Anna); and Zone 6 includes Columbus, New Mexico (New Mexico county of Luna). SSA officials will notify the contractor of the name and address for residency verification. The estimated number of referrals generated each month are as follows: Zone 1: 40, Zone 2: 10, Zone 3: 4, Zone 4: 4, Zone 5: 26, Zone 6: 2. Upon written request, the contractor shall perform an unannounced onsite visit to the claimant's reported address to verify residency, contact one non-relative neighbor who has first hand knowledge of individual's residence and submit a written report documenting the results. The North American Industry Classification (NAIC) code is 561611 and the business size standard is $9.0 million. This acquisition is being conducted under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 12 regarding the acquisition of commercial items. This acquisition is 100 percent set aside for small business participation. Proposals received from other than a small business will be deemed unacceptable and will be given no further consideration. The contract period will be for a base year and two option years. To receive award, the offeror must have performed in a successful business which has provided private investigative services for a minimum of three years. Selection of a contractor(s) will be made by an assessment of the proposals submitted. The assessment will involve a determination by the Government of the overall merit of each offeror's proposal. Each offeror's proposal will be comprised of a technical and cost proposal. The technical proposal will be evaluated for management capability, personnel experience/qualifications and firm experience/past performance and assigned a numerical score. This evaluation will be conducted without reference to cost. Cost proposals will not be scored, but will be evaluated for reasonableness by cost/price analysis. The total estimated contract cost, to include the base year and two option years will be considered as an independent element from the technical proposal. Award will be made to the offeror(s) whose offer conforms to the solicitation and has been evaluated as most advantageous the government considering all factors including management capability, personnel experience/qualifications, firm experience/past performance and cost. Request for Quote #3-RFQ-SSA6-02 is scheduled for release on or about February 25, 2002 with offers due no later than 25 days thereafter. All responsible sources may submit an offer which shall be considered. The solicitation will be available for downloading from the Federal Procurement website at www.fedbizopps.gov. Requests for paper copies of this RFP must be made in writing to the address and contact point listed above. Requests will be honored on a first-come, first-served basis until supply is exhausted. No telephone requests for the solicitation will be accepted. All requests must refer tothe RFP number.