INTRODUCTION This is a Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified sources to perform a potential requirement. The information from this market research will help the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) and the Program Support Center (PSC) plan their acquisition strategy. This Notice is issued solely for information and market research purposes; it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP. Furthermore, those who respond to this Notice should not anticipate feedback with regard to its submission. This Notice does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service. ORR is not at this time seeking proposals. Responders are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay any cost incurred in response to this Notice. All costs associated with responding to this Notice will be solely at the interested parties' expense. Not responding to this Notice does not preclude participation in any future solicitation. BACKGROUND On March 1, 2002, the Homeland Security Act of 2002, §462, 6 U.S.C. § 279, transferred the functions under U.S. immigration laws regarding the care and placement of unaccompanied alien children (UC) from the former Immigration and Naturalization Service to the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). UC are youth who: (1) have no lawful immigration status in the United States; (2) have not attained 18 years of age; and (3) with respect to whom - (i) there is no parent or legal guardian in the United States; or (ii) no parent or legal guardian in the United States is available to provide care and physical custody. On December 23, 2008, the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA) was passed. The law modified and expanded HHS' role in the care of UC. Relevant to this Statement of Work, section 235(c)(5) of the (TVPRA), 8 U.S.C. § 1232(c)(5) states, "[t]he Secretary of Health and Human Services shall ensure, to the greatest extent practicable and consistent with section 292 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1362), that all unaccompanied alien children who are or have been in the custody of the Secretary [of HHS] or the Secretary of Homeland Security... have counsel to represent them in legal proceedings... To the greatest extent practicable, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall make every effort to utilize the services of pro bono counsel who agree to provide representation to such children without charge." ORR identifies care options and placements for UC in licensed shelters, group homes, secure facilities, or foster care, according to their specific needs. In making placements, ORR is guided by the principles that all UC should be treated with dignity, respect, and special concern for their particular vulnerability; subject to certain considerations, such as danger to self, danger to others, or risk of flight, all UC must be placed in the least restrictive setting that is in the best interest of the UC; and each UC shall be provided care and services free from discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, sex, handicap, or political belief. Many UC have faced traumatic situations in their home countries, such as dire poverty, war, forced military or gang recruitment, human trafficking, domestic violence, abuse, familial separation and government neglect. Some are also very young, most have little or no formal education, and are primarily non-English speaking. After apprehension by DHS and transfer to ORR, these children face a complicated legal system. Over 90% of UC were released to the custody of a family member or other sponsor in Fiscal Year 2014 while awaiting their immigration proceedings; most UC immigration cases are not resolved until after the children are released from ORR. Therefore, in addition to the legal services provided while in custody, post-release pro-bono and direct representation are an essential part of the continuity of legal services to be performed by the contractor and their sub-contractors. Professional legal counsel assists in educating the children of their rights, determining if the children qualify for any immigration relief from removal back to their home countries, and applying for identified relief. Continuity of legal representation for UC improves efficiency in ORR facilities and in the immigration court system. It also improves the ability of UC to obtain the relief for which they qualify. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS Due to the nature of UC arrivals, ORR seeks sources for a contract vehicle that is flexible, cost-efficient, and could provide the following services on a regional basis throughout the United States: 1. Provide a state licensed or license-exempt child care facility to accommodate a minimum of 500 children and up to 2,500; 2. Provide the following services to children in care: a. Education to include English as a Second Language (ESL). b. Recreational Service c. Individual and group counseling services d. Access to Religious Services e. Access to Legal Services 3. Provide Bilingual, primary Spanish Case Management service to process children from intakes to discharge to their approved sponsors. 4. Transportation and Escort of children a. To medical and mental health services appointments b. To discharge to approved sponsors. c. To transfer of children to other ORR facilities. d. To immigration court hearings e. Scheduling discharge of children to sponsor and the arranging for travel logistics such as purchasing of air travel tickets. 5. Implementation of licensed shelter in the following locations: a. ACF Regions 2, 6, and 9 however the Government reserves the right to assign the Contractor to one or more locations outside of those regions. CAPABILITY STATEMENT ORR is seeking sources capable of providing the services outlined above, cost/pricing estimates, length of time needed to become operational, and number of children able to serve. INFORMATION SOUGHT AND SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS All inquiries to this Notice must submitted in writing to
[email protected]. One copy of the response must be submitted no later than 1:00 pm EST, January 4, 2016 electronically in Adobe PDF. Capability statements will not be returned and will not be accepted after the due date. The maximum number of pages for submission is 20 pages. Each response should also include the following Business Information: 1. A cover letter with the offeror's name, company address, a point of contact, phone number, email address, DUNS number, and current GSA schedules appropriate to this work (if any). If you have a government approved accounting system, please identify the agency that approved the system, and the type of company (i.e., small business, 8(a), woman owned, veteran owned, etc.) as validated via the System for Award Management (SAM). 2. A clear and concise statement of the offeror's capability and organizational capacity to perform the work as described above. 3. Bios or resumes for proposed key staff members, including the project manager and lead technical staff. 4. The offeror's most pertinent previous experience with similar government contracts within the last four years. 5. A potential quality assurance surveillance plan for measuring the work as described above, especially those that the respondent has used on previous, similar performance-based government contracts. This may include: a. Proposed standards, metrics, or acceptable quality levels. b. Methods of surveillance and/or inspection. c. Evaluation methods and/or procedures. d. Proposed incentive structures (positive and/or negative). e. Any other procedures used to ensure high quality and cost effective work. The capability statement does not need to describe how the respondent would carry out the proposed tasks, does not need to include any budget proposals, and does not need to provide resumes or other information for non-key staff. Qualifying businesses which have the organizational capacity to provide the outlined services are encouraged to respond to this request. All teaming arrangements (if any) should also include the above-cited information with licensing documentation for each entity on the proposed team. All respondents to any resulting solicitation must register or be registered on SAM located at https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/. 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 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 to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. 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. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. 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 non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).