RFI - US Peace Corps - Anonymous 24-Hour Sexual Assault Hotline Services

Description This is a Request for Information (RFI) notice only. This RFI is for informational planning purposes only and it is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government for any actual procurement of materials, machinery, or services. This notice does not constitute a solicitation or a promise of a solicitation in the future. This RFI does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service. Respondents are advised that the Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI are solely at the responding parties' expense. Respondents are solely responsible for properly marking and clearly identifying any proprietary information or trade secrets contained within their response. The Government will not be liable for, or suffer any consequential damages for, any proprietary information not properly marked and clearly identified. Proprietary information received in response to this source sought will be safeguarded and handled in accordance with applicable Government regulations. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract or agreement. The Peace Corps will not be obligated to pursue any particular acquisition alternative as a result of this RFI. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future solicitation, if one is issued. US Peace Corps President Kennedy formed the Peace Corps with an executive order on March 1, 1961 and in 1979, it was made a fully independent federal agency. Since its founding, more than 200,000 Americans have served as Peace Corps Volunteers in 139 developing countries that request assistance. The Peace Corps mission is to promote world peace and friendship through service to others. Peace Corps Volunteers live and work within the community they serve abroad, learning the local language, and contributing skills. This technical assistance is one of three goals of the Peace Corps. The other two revolve around cross-cultural understanding gained as the people of other countries begin to understand an American as well as the cultural experience brought back and shared when the Volunteer returns home. More information about the Peace Corps can be found on our web site at www.peacecorps.gov. Request for Information The Peace Corps Office of Health Services (OHS) Counseling and Outreach Unit (COU) is performing market research as a preliminary step in launching a 24-hour anonymous sexual assault hotline for Peace Corps Volunteers whether they are overseas or in the United States. Peace Corps Volunteers typically live in rural or remote areas of developing countries, which have limited access to or consistency in available phone lines and the internet. Peace Corps Volunteers may also be in the United States on home leave or can be medevaced to a location in the United States for treatment after a sexual assault. The Agency is seeking information from current service providers/vendors regarding the vendor community's capability to develop a 24-hour anonymous sexual assault hotline to be accessed globally with technological challenges. The minimum Agency requirements identified to date include: A) An anonymous sexual assault hotline with 24/7/365 coverage. B) The provision of live, one-on-one evidence-based or evidence informed support. C) Standards which ensure a confidential, anonymous, secure hotline. D) Worldwide accessibility through different modes of communication (i.e., alternative to phone lines including but not limited to email, phone or SMS or other formats). E) The ability to problem-solve challenges of worldwide accessibility. F) Marketing and training options and rights to such deliverables (including reports, recommendations, briefings, work plans, etc.). G) The ability to provide Peace Corps with compliance and use reports. H) Data purge clause on data collected on callers who are Peace Corps Volunteers. I) Maintain Peace Corps' privacy policy regarding Personally Identifiable (PII) Information disclosure. (See Annex for Peace Corps' Privacy Policy Administration) J) A pilot and implementation plan from the planning stage to rollout stage. K) A training plan for Volunteers and staff based overseas and at Headquarters. In response to the RFI please explain and describe in detail your approach to the Agency identified requirements listed in A-K above. In addition we are asking the vendor community to answer the questions and respond to the scenarios outlined below in fifteen (15) pages or fewer: Questions: 1. VENDOR INFORMATION: a) What is your company's name, email address, web site address, phone number, DUNS number, business size classification, and other contact information? b)If you have a contract on the General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Schedule (FSS), please provide your contract number(s) and identify specific services available under each contract and whether one contract is more applicable than another to meet the requirements stated in this RFI. c) How is your company registered - a for profit, a non-profit, or other? 2. TECHNICAL CAPABILITY: a) What type of solution or approach would your company recommend to address the minimum requirements? b) How would your company approach the technology challenge of having a 24-hour anonymous hotline accessible in remote areas overseas? c) How would your company guarantee anonymity? d) Do you have the capacity to make referrals overseas, and if so, to whom? e) Could you provide the caller with a referral or call transfer to Peace Corps staff (in the US or a foreign country)? If so, how could this be done given Peace Corps worldwide technology challenges? f) Is your company familiar with the DoD's Safe Helpline? If so, how does/would your company's service be similar? How would your company's service be different? 3. STAFFING PLAN a) What level of effort (such as labor categories) would be required to complete the minimum requirements? b) How many people will staff the hotline? c) What are the minimum training requirements of your hotline staff to counsel victims of sexual assault? d) Based on the general background information provided in this RFI notice, would your company be able to provide a non-binding price quote? Please include details about how the non-binding price quote is structured such as per call, per deliverable, or per month. 4. PAST EXPERIENCE: a) What type of experience does your company have in performing this type of Federal, State, or local Government requirement? If possible, please share any lessons learned from previous Government experiences. b) Has your company set up a hotline similar in scope? If so, what was the time frame in which a similar requirement was completed? c) What information does your company collect from your hotline calls? How does your company collect the information (including IP addresses)? Who is the information reported to? How does your company handle mandatory requests for data (e.g. subpoenas)? d) Who will have access to the Peace Corps information stored in your database? e) What security measures does your company have in place around such data? Has your company's system been certified under Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) requirements for use by Federal agencies? If so, for what risk level is it certified? 5. The following scenarios are presented in order to determine how your organization can respond to a typical call on a 24-hour anonymous hotline serving Peace Corps Volunteers whether they are located overseas or in the United States. Please respond to the scenarios by providing solutions your company could deliver to the Volunteer. Provide specific step-by-step information on how your company would respond. The Peace Corps is seeking details regarding (but not limited to): communication options, informed consent and confidentiality, referrals, data collection. Please limit the response to each scenario to one (1) page. Scenario 1: A Peace Corps Volunteer is in a country in Africa. She is located in a site that is very rural and she cannot make outgoing calls. She has been sexually assaulted. She wants to contact the Anonymous Sexual Assault Hotline for crisis counseling. What are her options to reach the hotline? Scenario 2: A Peace Corps Volunteer has just been sexually assaulted and has called your service. She is in a state of crisis and has reported that she is not in a safe area. She is still in the same area as the perpetrator and cannot leave because there are no cars or people around to help her. Scenario 3: A Peace Corps Volunteer calls and states he was recently sexually assaulted. During the call he discloses he is suicidal. He refuses to identify himself. How would you respond to this Volunteer? Submissions The Peace Corps is seeking information from current providers of 24-hour Anonymous Sexual Assault Hotlines as part of ongoing market research. The Agency is requesting responses, via email with Windows compatible attachment on or before April 30, 2014 2 PM EDT to the inquiries listed under Request for Information - RFI No. PC-14-RFI-031114 as part of market research. Responses are limited to 15 pages total (specifically, 12 to provide information about their services and how they meet or exceed the requirements stated in items A-K on page 2 and 1 page each to respond to 3 scenarios). If necessary, please include any marketing materials as a separate Windows compatible email attachment. Submissions shall be sent via e-mail to Kathleen Reidy, Contract Specialist, at kreidy@peacecorps.gov and include a copy of the response to Keisha Dawkins, Contract Specialist, Kdawkins@peacecorps.gov. Include in the subject line of the email "Request for Information - RFI No. PC-14-RFI-031114". This notice closes on May 23, 2014 at 2:00 PM EDT.