Sources Sought Notice Licensed Secure Care Beds-Texas

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE

TITLE: Secure Care Beds-Texas for ACF/ORR

1. Purpose

This is a Sources Sought Notice ONLY and is for market research purposes.  This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The government is seeking capability statements to obtain knowledge and information on potential vendor capability, capacity, and interest for project planning purposes.  This is for informational purposes only.  No questions will be answered.

2.0 Background
The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), under the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), is responsible for the care and placement of unaccompanied alien children (UAC) referred by federal agencies, most often the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). A UAC is a child who has no lawful immigration status in the United States (U.S.); has not attained 18 years of age; and, has no parent or legal guardian in the U.S. or no parent or legal guardian in the U.S. who is available to provide care and physical custody (defined at 6.U.S.C 279(g)(2). In most cases, UAC are apprehended by DHS immigration officials and transferred to the care and custody of ORR. ORR funds a network of care provider facilities to assume the physical custody of UAC. A care provider facility is any physical site that houses one or more UAC in ORR custody and is operated by an ORR-funded program that provides residential services for UAC. ORR takes into consideration the unique nature of each child’s situation and applies child welfare principles when making placement decisions that are in the best interests of each child and promptly places UAC in the least restrictive settings (care provider facilities). Placement decisions take into consideration danger to self, danger to the community, and risk of flight.

In some cases, a UAC may meet criteria for the need of a secure care setting. A secure facility has separate accommodations for minors, in a physically secure structure with staff who are able to control violent behavior. ORR uses a secure facility as the most restrictive placement option for UAC who pose a danger to self or others or has been charged with having committed a criminal offense. A secure facility is not defined as a standard program or shelter (see 45 CFR 410.1001 Secure facility, and also UAC Policy Guide, Guide to Terms).

In cases where UAC are determined to meet criteria for placement in a secure care setting, ORR utilizes qualified care provider facilities experienced with the operation of residential secure care facilities for minors and in the delivery of comprehensive quality programming.

The government is seeking industry information on the availability of existing secure care providers and facilities for juveniles located in the State of Texas, with a capacity to have 30 beds available for new admissions. The need is immediate, as such, a ready-site with operational ramp-up as soon as possible is desired but in no case may the ramp-up be expected to take more than 90 calendar days.  Equivalent to state licensing standards must be met and maintainedby the facility (see 45 C.F.R. 410.1302(a)). The residential care facility and programming must satisfactorily demonstrate to ORR it meets all applicable federal, state, and local regulations for provision of residential secure care for juveniles, including state-licensing requirements and ORR regulations to be a provider of secure care for UAC. ORR has a strong preference for providers who are experienced in operating and providing state-licensed and nationally accredited programs and facilities.

The Contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and non-personal services necessary to provide residential secure placements for UAC as defined in the draft Performance Work Statement (PWS).

1. Goal

The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is to locate 30 secure care residential beds located in the State of Texas for UAC who meet the criteria for placement in a secure care setting. The contractor shall include in their Capability Statement:

1. Successful experience (current and past) with operating residential secure care facilities for minors and providing programming as described in the draft PWS.
2. Successful experience (current and past) with operating federal programs and contracts.
3. Readiness and capability (facilities and programming) to provide 30 secure care beds for new admissions as soon as possible, but in no case, later than 90 calendar days of contract award.
4. Any risks to having beds ready for new admissions, and earliest timeline when a minimum number of secure care beds can be available for new admissions. 
5. Interest in and capability of providing only programming or only the facilities portion of this requirement are encouraged to respond.

Programming will:

1. Provide humane and secure environment to UAC between ages of 13–17 who meet criteria for secure care placement in a state-licensed facility; and requires 1 on duty staff for every four (4) during waking hours; One (1) on-duty staff for every 1 UAC during sleeping hours; One (1) case manager for every six (6) UAC; one (1) clinician for every six (6) UAC and two (2) staff present, at least, for every one (1) UAC during secure transport outside the facility and at least one (1) staff present must be of the same gender at the UAC being transported.  
2. Maintain capacity for timely admission of UAC within 72 hours of notification from ORR.
3. Ensure provision of comprehensive services as described in draft PWS, required under 45 CFR §§ 410.1302, 410.1306, 410.1307, 410.1310, 410.1311, and the UAC Policy Guide.
4. Employ policies and service plans to avoid rejection or ejection of a UAC who meets secure care criteria and is referred for placement.
5. Provide comprehensive services including UAC assessment, diagnosis, treatment, education, nutrition, recreation, religious access, acculturation services, discharge planning, transfer recommendations to less-restrictive settings, and safe release recommendations to a vetted sponsor, as described in draft PWS, required under relevant sections of the UC Foundational Rule and the UAC Policy Guide.
6. Operate program and services 24/7, 365 days per year.45 CFR 410.1103(e) states that "ORR shall make reasonable efforts to provide licensed placements in those geographical areas where DHS encounters the majority of unaccompanied children." With this, there is a preference for facility location within 50 miles of a DHS/CBP processing facility or port of entry; and accessible by major transportation routes.
7. Facility and operations must be compliant with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations for provision of residential secure care for juveniles.
8. Facility (indoor and outdoor) and operations must have capacity to serve up-to-30 UAC.

4.0 Location of Service

In the State of Texas. Service to be performed at the contractor location, including any contractor site designated to provide physical custody and direct care to UAC who meet criteria for secure care

5.0 Anticipated Period of Performance

The anticipated period of performance is 1 to 5 years.

6.0 Important Considerations

The Government is interested in potential vendors1 –

1. With experience in providing residential secure care programs for youth, similar to the services as described in the draft Performance Work Statement, required under 45 CFR part 410; and
2. With ready or near-ready2 30-bed capacity including facilities (expected ramp-up must be no longer than 90 calendar days); and
3. Currently operating state-compliant secure care facility in the State of Texas; or
4. With extensive experience operating state -licensed and nationally accredited residential secure care programs for youth.

Notes:

1. Potential offers with interest and capability in providing only programming or only the facilities portion of this requirement are encouraged to respond.

2. The Government is interested in vendors with immediate capacity or capable of a timeline not to exceed 90 calendar-days to provide admissions and care for the full capacity.

Capability Statement Inquiries/Submission Instructions

No phone calls or questions will be accepted. 

The Capability Statement shall be limited to 10 double-spaced pages total. The pages will have 1-inch margins, and using not less than 12-point font, Times

New Roman. Tables and figures can be Times New Roman and no smaller than 9-point font. The total number of tables and figures shall be limited to 12. The Cover Letter, Tables of Contents, and Technical Appendix are not included in the page count.

Capability Statements shall be submitted via email to the Contract Specialist, Ginger Lease at: ginger.lease@hhs.gov, by 10:00am ET on Monday, 12/01/2025.

III. 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 the 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. Information provided will be used to assess tradeoffs and alternatives available for the potential requirement and may lead to the development of a solicitation. 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. Any solicitation resulting from the analysis of information obtained will be announced to the public in System for Award Management (SAM) in accordance with FAR Part 5. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses 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 technical information received in response to this Sources Sought Notice in any resultant solicitation(s).