Questions and Answers Attached (Amendment 0001)

Description This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial products and commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 12.6, Streamlined Procedures for Evaluation and Solicitation for Commercial Products and Commercial Services, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested, and a written solicitation document will not be issued. This solicitation is issued as an RFQ. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2024-03. This solicitation is set-aside for: 100% Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 621112 - Office of Physicians, Mental Health Specialists with a small business size standard of $13.5 Million. The FSC/PSC is Q403 Medical Evaluation/Screening The award will be made to the quote most advantageous for the Government and best meets the requirement described in the statement of work. Price and Other Factors: See Attachment 2, FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation STATEMENT OF WORK Background: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) requires VA Police Officers to carry firearms. It is also mandated that all current Police Service officers and new hires undergo an initial psychological evaluation as well as an annual evaluation. Officers' encounters are often with mentally ill, irrational, or disturbed persons who, although assaultive or destructive, must be handled with understanding, full control of force, and unimpeded judgment. Scope: The Contractor shall provide initial and annual psychological evaluation of all VA Police Officers (including VA Police Supervisors, Training Officer, Detective, Chief and Deputy Chief). All VA Police Officers shall be re-examined annually to determine their continued emotional suitability to perform the duties required of a VA Police Officer. Tasks: The Contractor shall provide the following pre-employment psychological evaluations for job candidates given a conditional job offer and annual psychological evaluations for incumbent police officers: Pre-Employment Psychological Evaluations for job candidates given a conditional job offer: Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) Common and standard question test used to assess a person s personality and psychopathology California Personality Inventory (CPI) common and standard self-report Personal History Questionnaire Clinical Interview Written Report Annual Psychological Evaluations for incumbent police officers in accordance with the Secretary's Directive establishing the authority to arm VA Police Officers. The Office of Security and Law Enforcement and Mental Health Strategic Health Care Group in Headquarters have jointly developed guidance to assist in conducting psychological evaluations. This guidance is designed to determine an officer's capability of conducting designated functional requirements essential to the duties of a VA Police Officer, including an officer's suitability to carry a firearm. The psychological evaluations of VA Police Officers is limited in the manner described in VHA Directive 0730 (1) dated December 8, 2020 and amended February 5, 2021. The components of that evaluation include, and are limited to: Clinical Interview Written Report (See Sample of Format in VHA Directive 0730 (1), Appendix C) Re-test, if during the psychological evaluation for incumbent police officers, the psychologist has an articulable reason to doubt the officer can perform the duties of a police officer (including the use of a firearm). The performance of retesting is at the discretion of the Chief of Police. The timeframe of this is dependent on the Veteran Affairs Police Department in coordination with Human Resources and Labor Relations. The Contractor shall provide results/reports in the form of a one -page written letter to the Occupational Health Physician at the facility where the examination was conducted. The report will indicate Pass/Fail; Recommended/Not Recommended for use of a firearm at the VA Medical Center Services will be provided at the Contractor's office, at Police Headquarters (Bldg. 236), or via Teams. The Contractor's office will need to be within a 20-mile radius from the Medical Centers' physical addresses (11301 Wilshire Blvd., Bldg. 236 West Los Angeles, CA 90073). The Program Point of Contact shall notify the Contractor of the patient's name and type of evaluation required. Deliverables include: FIRST COPY: The first copy of results/reports shall be discussed with and mailed to the Occupational Health Physician at the VA Medical Center (11301 Wilshire Blvd., Bldg. 256 West Los Angeles, CA 90073) where the police officer is stationed at within two weeks of the examination. Specific Tasks: Provide a total of 90 initial and annual psychological evaluation of all VA Police Officers (including Pre employment candidates, VA Police Supervisors, Training Officers, Criminal Investigators, Chief, Deputy Chief, and Assistant Chief). Provide ad-hoc psychological evaluations for fitness for duty purposes. Provide the following pre-employment psychological evaluations for job candidates given a conditional job offer and annual psychological evaluations for incumbent police officers (included in the 90 total). Provide results/reports in the form of a one-page letter to the Occupational Health Physician at the facility where the examination was conducted. The report will indicate Pass/Fail; Recommended/Not Recommended for use of a firearm at the VA Medical Center. Period of Performance: Base Year, followed by Four, one-year options: April 15, 2024 to April 14, 2029. Work Hours: Contractor shall perform the following work at the VA Los Angeles Healthcare System during normal working hours (i.e., 8:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m.) during normal workday (one day, M-F). Before commencement of work, the Contractor shall confer with the VA Program Point of Contact (POC) and Contracting Office to agree on a sequence of procedures; means of access to premises and building. Work performed outside the normal hours of coverage must be approved by the Program Point of Contact or his/her designee. All time shall be approved in advance by the POC. Allow 5-days for approval of any alternate working hours needed. Federal Holidays New Year s Day January 01 Martin Luther King s Birthday Third Monday in January President s Day Third Monday in February Memorial Day Last Monday in May Juneteenth June 19 Independence Day July 04 Labor Day First Monday in September Columbus Day Second Monday in October Veterans Day November 11 Thanksgiving Day Fourth Thursday in November Christmas Day December 25 If the holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday will be observed as a national holiday. When a holiday falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday is observed as a National holiday by U.S. Government Agencies, and any day specifically declared by the President of the United States of America. Identification, Check-in and Parking Identification The vendor's employees shall wear visible identification at all times while on VAGLAHCS premises. Contractor employees shall report to VA Police upon entry to the VAGLAHCS facility to get a visitor badge. Contractor employees are required to be escorted by the Program Point of Contact or designee s office once on campus prior to commencement of work. During emergencies contractor personnel shall check in with VAGLAHCS Police if the VAGLAHCS POC or designee is not available. Parking It is the responsibility of the contract personnel to park in the appropriate designated parking areas. Parking information is available from VA Police & Security Service Office. The Contractor assumes full responsibility for any parking violations. Weapons and Contraband Possession of weapons or contraband is prohibited and shall be subject to arrest and termination from future performance under this contract. Enclosed containers, including tool kits, shall be subject to search. Violations of VAGLAHCS regulations may result in citation answerable in the United States (Federal) District Court, not a local district, state, or municipal court. Safety All personnel employed by the Contractor in the performance of this contract, or any representative of the Contractor entering on VAGLAHCS shall comply with applicable Federal, State, and VA safety and fire regulations and codes, which are in effect during the performance period of the contract. Contractor shall perform work in strict accordance with existing relevant, accredited standards and codes to minimize the possibility of injury to personnel, or damage to Government equipment. Every effort shall be made to safeguard human life and property. Contractor shall comply with all applicable Federal, State, and local requirements regarding workers health and safety. The requirements include, but are not limited to, those found in Federal and State Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) statutes and regulations, such as applicable provisions of Title 29, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Parts 1910 and 1926, NFPA 70E, Article 130.7 29 CFR 1910.132(d)(1)(iii), 29CFR1910.137. Contractor Personnel Contractor s Program Manager The Contractor shall provide a contract program manager who shall be responsible for the performance of the work. The name of this person shall be designated in writing to the Contracting Officer. The Contractor s Program Manager shall have full authority to act for the Contractor on all contract matters relating to daily operation of this contract. 8. Contractor Qualifications & Other Responsibilities The Contractor shall provide a licensed professional psychologist. The individual must, at a minimum hold a PhD in Psychology, and a license to practice in the State of California. Contractor must have experience performing police psychological evaluations. 9. VA Information and Information System Security Access to VA information and VA Information Systems a. A contractor/subcontractor shall request logical (technical) or physical access to VA information and VA information systems for their employees, subcontractors, and affiliates only to the extent necessary to perform the services specified in the contract. b. All contactors, subcontractors, and third-party servicers and associates working with VA information are subject to the same investigated requirements as those of VA appointees or employees who have access to the same types of information. The level and process of background security investigations for contractors must be in accordance with VA directive and Handbook 0710, Personnel Suitability and Security Program. The Office of Operations, Security, and watchfulness is responsible for these policies and procedures. c. As applicable, Contract personnel who require access to national security programs must have a valid security clearance. National Industrial Security Program (NISP) was established by Executive Order 12829 to ensure that cleared U.S. defense industry contract personnel safeguard the classified information in their possession while performing work on contracts, programs, bids, or research and development efforts. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not have a Memorandum of Agreement with Defense Security Service (DSS). Verification of a Security Clearance must be processed through the Special Security Officer located in the Planning and National Security Service within the Office of Operations, Security and Preparedness. d. As applicable, custom software development and outsourced operations must be located in the U.S. to the maximum extent practical. If such services are proposed to be performed abroad and are not disallowed by other VA policy or mandates, the contractor/subcontractor must state where all non-U.S. services are provided and detail a security plan, deemed to be acceptable by VA, specifically to address mitigation of the resulting problems of communication, control, data protection, and so forth. Location within the U.S. may be an evaluation factor. e. The contractor or subcontractor must notify the Contracting Officer immediately when an employee working on a VA system or with access to VA information is reassigned or leaves the contractor or subcontractor s employment. The Contracting Officer must also be notified immediately by the contractor or subcontractor prior to an unfriendly termination. VA Information Custodial Language a. Information made available to the contractor or subcontractor by the VA for the performance or administration of this contract or information developed by the contractor/subcontractor in performance or administration of the contract shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the prior written agreement of the VA. This clause expressly limits the contractor/subcontractor s rights to use data as described in Rights in Data General, FAR 52.227-14(d)(1). b. VA information should not be co-mingled, if possible, with any other data on the contractors/subcontractor s information systems or medial storage systems in order to ensure VA requirements related to data protection and media sanitization can be met. If co-mingling must be allowed to meet the requirements of the business need, the contractor must ensure that VA s information is returned to the VA or destroyed in accordance with VA s sanitization requirements. VA reserves the right to conduct onsite inspection of contractor and subcontractor IT resources to ensure data security controls, separation of data and job duties, and destruction/media sanitization procedures are in compliance with VA directive requirements. c. Prior to termination or completion of this contact, contractor/subcontractor must not destroy information received from VA, or gathered/created by the contractor in the course of performing this contract without prior written approval by the VA. Any data destruction done on behalf of VA by a contractor/subcontractor must be done in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements as outlined in VA Directive 6300, Records and Information Management and its Handbook 6300.1, Records Management Procedures, applicable VA Records Control Schedules, and VA Handbook 6500.1, Electronic Media Sanitization. Self-Certification by the contractor that the data destruction requirements above have been met must be sent to the VA Contracting Officer withing 30 days of termination of the contract. d. The contractor/subcontractor must receive, gather, store, back up, maintain, use, disclose and dispose of VA information only in compliance with the terms of the contract and applicable Federal and VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations, and policies. If Federal or VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies become applicable to the VA information or information systems after execution of the contract, or if NIST issues or updates applicable FIPS or Special Publications (SP) after execution of this contract, the parties agree to negotiate in good faith to implement the information confidentiality and security laws, regulations, and policies in this contract. e. The contractor/subcontractor shall not make copies of VA information except as authorized and necessary to perform the terms of the agreement or to preserve electronic information stored on contractor/subcontractor needs to be restored to an operating state. If copies are made for restoration purposes, after the restoration is complete, the copies must be appropriately destroyed. f. If VA determines that the contractor has violated any of the information confidentiality, privacy, and security provisions of the contract, it shall be sufficient grounds for VA to withhold payment to the contractor or third party or terminate the contract for default to terminate for cause under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 12. g. If a VHA contract is terminated for cause, the associated BAA must also be terminated, and appropriate actions taken in accordance with VHA Handbook 1600.01, Business Associate Agreements. h. The contractor/subcontractor must store, transport, or transmit VA sensitive information in an encrypted form, using VA-approved encryption tools that are, at a minimum, FIPS 140-2 validated. i. The contractor/subcontractor s firewall and Web services security controls, if applicable, shall meet or exceed VA s minimum requirements. j. Except for uses and disclosures of VA information authorized by this contract for performance of the contract, the contractor/subcontractor may use and disclose VA information only in tow other situations: (i) in response to a qualifying order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or (ii) with VA s prior written approval. The contractor/subcontractor must refer all requests for, demands for production or, or inquiries about, VA information and information systems to the VA contracting officer for response. k. Notwithstanding the provision above, the contractor/subcontractor shall not release VA records protected by Title 38 U.S.C. 5705, confidentiality of medical quality assurance records and/or Title 38 U.S.C. 7332, confidentiality of certain health records pertaining to drug addiction, sickle cell anemia, alcoholism or alcohol abuse, or infection with human immunodeficiency virus. If the contractor/subcontractor is in receipt of a court order or other requests for the above-mentioned information, that contractor/subcontractor shall immediately refer such court orders or other requests to the VA contracting officer for response. l. For service that involves the storage, generating, transmitting, or exchanging of VA sensitive information but does not require C&A or an MOU-ISA for system interconnection, the contractor/subcontractor must complete a Contractor Security Control Assessment (CSCA) on a yearly basis and provide it to the Program Point of Contact. The information for CSCA can be obtained by the Program Point of Contact. All interested companies shall provide quotations for the following: ***PRICE/COST SCHEDULE*** Base Year Line Item Description Quantity Unit of Measure Unit Price Total Price 0001 Initial Assessments for New Police Officers 20 EA 0002 Annual Assessments for Incumbent Police Officers 70 EA 0003 Re-Testing (if applicable) TBD EA Option Year 1 Line Item Description Quantity Unit of Measure Unit Price Total Price 1001 Initial Assessments for New Police Officers 20 EA 1002 Annual Assessments for Incumbent Police Officers 70 EA 1003 Re-Testing (if applicable) TBD EA Option Year 2 Line Item Description Quantity Unit of Measure Unit Price Total Price 2001 Initial Assessments for New Police Officers 20 EA 2002 Annual Assessments for Incumbent Police Officers 70 EA 2003 Re-Testing (if applicable) TBD EA Option Year 3 Line Item Description Quantity Unit of Measure Unit Price Total Price 3001 Initial Assessments for New Police Officers 20 EA 3002 Annual Assessments for Incumbent Police Officers 70 EA 3003 Re-Testing (if applicable) TBD EA Option Year 4 Line Item Description Quantity Unit of Measure Unit Price Total Price 4001 Initial Assessments for New Police Officers 20 EA 4002 Annual Assessments for Incumbent Police Officers 70 EA 4003 Re-Testing (if applicable) TBD EA (See Statement of Work) The contract period of performance is One base year contract, followed by four, one-year option periods as listed below: Base Period: 04/15/2024 - 04/14/2025 Option Year 1 : 04/15/2025 - 04/14/2026 Option Year 2 : 04/15/2026 - 04/14/2027 Option Year 3 : 04/15/2027 - 04/14/2028 Option Year 4 : 04/15/2028 04/14/2029 Place of Performance/ Place of Delivery The Contractor's office (20-mile radius from the Medical Center s physical address), Microsoft Teams, and/or at the facility listed below. Address: Department of Veteran Affairs Greater Los Angeles VA Healthcare System West Los Angeles VA Medical Center 11301 Wilshire Blvd., Bldg. 236 Los Angeles, CA Postal Code: 90073-1003 Country: UNITED STATES The full text of FAR provisions or clauses may be accessed electronically at http://acquisition.gov/comp/far/index.html. The following solicitation provisions apply to this acquisition: FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors Commercial Products and Commercial Services (SEP 2023) ADDENDUM TO 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Products and Commercial Services applies to and is included with this acquisition. FAR 52.252-1, Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference (FEB 1998) http://www.acquisition.gov/far/index.html (FAR) and http://www.va.gov/oal/library/vaar/index.asp (VAAR) FAR 52.204-7, System for Award Management (OCT 2018) FAR 52.204-16, Commercial and Government Entity Code Reporting (AUG 2020) FAR 52.204-24, Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment (NOV 2021) FAR 52.217-3, Evaluation Exclusive of Options (APR 1984) VAAR 852.252-70, Solicitation Provisions or Clauses Incorporated by Reference (JAN 2008) (End of Addendum to 52.212-1) FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Items (NOV 2021) FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Products and Commercial Services (NOV 2023) Offerors must complete annual representations and certifications electronically via the System for Award Management (SAM) website located at https://www.sam.gov/portal in accordance with FAR 52.212-3, Offerors Representations and Certifications Commercial Products and Commercial Services. If paragraph (j) of the provision is applicable, a written submission is required. The following contract clauses apply to this acquisition: FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Nov 2023) ADDENDUM TO 52.252-4, Contract Terms and Conditions- Commercial Products and Commercial Services applies to and is included with this acquisition. FAR 52.252-2, Clauses Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998) http://www.acquisition.gov/far/index.html (FAR) and http://www.va.gov/oal/library/vaar/index.asp (VAAR) FAR 52.204-13, System for Award Management Maintenance (OCT 2018) FAR 52.204-18, Commercial and Government Entity Code Maintenance (AUG 2020) FAR 52.204-21, Basic Safeguarding of Covered Contractor Information Systems (NOV 2021) FAR 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services (NOV 1999) FAR 52.217-9, Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (MAR 2000) FAR 52.224-1, Privacy Act Notification (APR 1984) FAR 52.224-2, Privacy Act (APR 1984) VAAR 852.204-71, Information and Information Systems Security (FEB 2023) VAAR 852.211-76, Liquidated Damages-Reimbursement for Data Breach Costs (FEB 2023) VAAR 852.219-73, VA Notice to Total Set-Aside for Certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (JAN 2023) VAAR 852.219-76, VA Notice of Limitations on Subcontracting Certificate of Compliance for Supplies and Products (JAN 2023) VAAR 852.232-72, Electronic Submission of Payment Requests (NOV 2018) VAAR 852.239-73, Information System Hosting, Operation, Maintenance, or Use (FEB 2023) VAAR 852.239-74, Security Controls Compliance Testing (FEB 2023) VAAR 852.242-71, Administrative Contracting Officer (OCT 2020) (End of Addendum to 52.212-4) FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Products and Commercial Services (FEB 2024) The following subparagraphs of FAR 52.212-5 are applicable: (b)(5), (7), (9), (12), (18)(i), (23), (25), (26)(i), (29), (30), (31), (33), (34)(i), (36)(i), (39), (48), (51), (55), (62), (65), (c)(1), (2), (6), (8). All quoters shall submit the following: Offers shall contain all information referenced in Attachment 1, Addendum to FAR 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors . All quotes shall be sent to the Network Contract Office (NCO) 22 Contract Specialist, Loan Dho at Loan.Dho@va.gov No Later Than (NLT) April 1, 2024 at 1:00 PM Eastern Time. Award will be based upon a comparative evaluation of quotes in accordance with the Simplified Acquisition Procedures of FAR 13. Comparative evaluation is the side by side pairwise comparison of quotes based on factors resulting in a Contracting Officer decision for the quote most favorable to the Government. This purchase order will consist of a base period of one year and four one-year options (4/15/2024 - 04/14/2029) pricing should reflect this. The following are the decision factors: Price and Other Factors: Cost Schedule, Technical Capability, and Past Performance See Attachment 2, Addendum to FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation- Commercial Products and Commercial Services . The award will be made to the response most advantageous to the Government and best meets the requirement described in the Statement of Work. Responses should contain your best terms, conditions. Quoters shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s), if any. All questions will be submitted via email and are due by March 25, 2024, 1:00 PM Eastern Time at loan.dho@va.gov only. Subject line shall include QUESTIONS TO RFQ 36C26224Q0768 for consideration. Submission of your response shall be received not later than April 1, 2024, 1:00 PM Eastern Time at loan.dho@va.gov only. Subject line shall include RESPONSE TO RFQ 36C26224Q0768 for consideration. Late submissions shall be treated in accordance with the solicitation provision at FAR 52.212-1(f). Any questions or concerns regarding this solicitation should be forwarded in writing via e-mail to the Point of Contact listed below. Point of Contact CONTRACT SPECIALIST Loan Dho Loan.dho@va.gov