United States - Collection & Auditing of Data from SNAP Authorized Supportive Living Facilities

Description

Added: Jun 03, 2019 4:27 pm

Sources Sought Notice

Collection & Auditing of Data from SNAP Authorized Supportive Living Facilities
This SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE is to determine the interest and technical capability of small businesses to perform the task described below. This synopsis is for information and planning purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the U.S. Government, nor will the U.S. Government pay for information solicited. The information from this notice will help the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) plan their acquisition strategy.
Task Requirements
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the foundation of America's national nutrition safety net. In fiscal year 2018, SNAP provided benefits to about 40.3 million participants to assist them in purchasing food at over 250,000 authorized locations across the nation. FNS is the Federal Agency responsible for SNAP. Eligible households are provided with benefits on an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card to purchase food at SNAP authorized stores. Firms interested in being authorized to accept SNAP must submit an application to FNS for evaluation.
The Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (the Act) is the law that governs SNAP. The Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (the 2018 Farm Bill) amended Section 9(i)(1) of the Act to call for a review of a subset of currently authorized entities that accept SNAP benefits. Specifically, the amendment requires the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a review of entities authorized to accept SNAP benefits as payment for meal services provided to elderly and/or disabled people (‘supportive living facilities') in order to determine if a) such benefits are being used in accordance with the law and regulations and b) if entities are utilizing more than one Federal or State funding source to provide food for their residents or clients. The amendment also requires that such entities provide any information the Secretary determines is necessary to conduct the review. In some cases, an entity may operate multiple facilities that accept SNAP.
FNS is seeking a professional auditing services contractor (the Contractor) to perform the tasks outlined within this notice. Tasks required include collecting information from approximately 120 entities that fit within the scope of this review, auditing the information in accordance with Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS), compiling the findings into a summary document, and providing that document to FNS in a format that can be used by FNS to create a report analyzing the research results and proposing any recommendations for the Secretary to consider concerning the continued involvement of such entities in SNAP. The Contractor will not be required to include such recommendations as part of their summary document. The Contractor will be required to turn over all collected documents to FNS upon satisfactory completion of the summary document, and provide written confirmation that the Contractor no longer has access to these documents.
The material nature of the information that the Contractor will be required to collect and audit is based, at a minimum, on the following questions:
• How many facilities does the entity currently operate?
o Of that number, how many are currently authorized to accept SNAP benefits from residents in exchange for meals at the facility?
• How many total residents occupy the entity's SNAP-authorized facilities at the time of the review?
o Of that number, how many residents are SNAP recipients?
 Of that number, how many residents are required to pay at least a portion of their SNAP benefits in exchange for meals at the facility?
 How much does the entity accept in SNAP benefits from each of those residents on a monthly basis?
• What are the facility's monthly food costs? What are the per-resident food costs? What is the per-resident charge for food?
o Does the entity charge non-SNAP residents for meals?
 If so, how and how much?
• Does the facility serve meals to persons that do not live there, but that may visit the facility for food? If so, does the facility accept SNAP benefits for the meals? Are the meals priced the same for non-residents as for residents?
• What is the SNAP application process for residents of the facilities? (ie, does the facility apply on their behalf)? Does the facility mandate a participant apply for SNAP as a condition of entry to the facility?
• How many meals per day (not including snacks) does the entity provide to each resident of their facility as part of their services? Do all residents receive the same number of meals?
• How does the entity gain access to the resident's SNAP benefits (for example, does each resident turn their EBT card over to the facility, does the facility have one aggregate EBT card as the authorized representative for all SNAP recipients in the facility, etc.)?
• Are residents of the facility required to turn over their SNAP benefit cards and PINs to the facility? If so, for what purpose? (e.g., As a condition for obtaining housing? Something else?)
• Does the facility require residents to maintain their status as SNAP recipients as a condition of residence? If so, how frequently must residents turn over their benefits to the facility?
• Does the facility access benefits that were available on the resident's card prior to the household entering the facility (e.g. for those residents who were receiving SNAP prior to entering the facility)? If a resident leaves the facility prior to the 15th of the month, are remaining benefits returned to the SNAP client?
• Does the entity utilize a portion of the resident's available benefits, or the entire amount each month?
• How does the entity use the SNAP benefits (for example, are the benefits of all eligible residents pooled together for a bulk food purchase)? If resident benefits are pooled, do monthly food costs generally exceed the aggregated amount of SNAP benefits collected? Alternatively, if benefits are pooled, what portion of the food costs of non-SNAP residents are covered by those benefits?
• Does the entity refund any unspent SNAP benefits to residents when they stop residing at the facility?
o If so, when and how is that done?
• Does the entity receive funding or reimbursement from other public benefit programs (Federal or State) to help pay for meals for its residents?
o If so, from what programs in particular (Medicaid, etc.)?
o How much funding does the entity receive from each program, each month (total and per resident)?
o Is any of this program funding allocated for the purchase of food (either wholesale or retail)?
 If so, is any of this funding used to pay for meals provided to SNAP residents at the facility?
• Does the entity receive any donated food to help feed its residents? If so, approximately how much does it receive each month?
• Does the entity use donated food items in preparing meals that are provided to SNAP residents at the facility?
o If so, approximately what percentage of the food used in such meals is donated?
After having the opportunity to review the deliverables provided by the Contractor, FNS will determine if they wish to exercise options with the Contractor to perform similar reviews of approximately 900 entities in subsequent years.
Capability Statement
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL, NO SOLICITATION EXISTS AT THIS TIME.
SNAP's Retailer Policy and Management Division is conducting market research to identify qualified small business sources that can fulfill the above requirements in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 19.502-2(b). Specifically, interested firms responding to this notice must submit a capability statement demonstrating their experience, skills, and qualifications with projects of similar scope and size completed within the last three (3) years, and describe in appropriate detail competency in each of the following points (A through F). The statement shall not exceed twelve (12) pages total, and shall provide sufficient enough detail that the Government can determine the experience and capability of your firm to fulfill the requirements above. Expound, utilizing specific examples, on how the firm has undertaken and/or demonstrated the prerequisites listed below:
A. A general knowledge and understanding of the regulations and operations of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other federal or state public benefit programs which fund meal assistance activities, such as Medicaid.
B. Experience performing auditing services for projects of similar size, complexity, and scope.
C. Subject matter expertise in accounting methodology, particularly as it pertains to financial or forensic accounting.
D. Experience synthesizing audit findings into high-quality integrated summaries.
E. Capacity to write high-quality reports and provide oral briefings on technical information in language appropriate to non-technical policy-relevant audiences.
F. Demonstrated experience meeting government objectives and ensuring the quality and timeliness of deliverables.
The capability statement needs to include a list of three customers (Government/non- Government) within the past 3-years highlighting work of a similar nature, scope, and complexity to the task described above. The Government technical review team will then assess the experience and capabilities based on relevance to the described requirements.
Please specify one primary and one alternate Point of Contact (POC) within your firm, including telephone numbers and email addresses. Interested firms responding to this Sources Sought Notice shall submit the following: Company name, address, point of contact, telephone number, email address, and Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS), and NAICS code. Provide business size and status, if appropriate, such as Small Business, Disadvantaged, 8(a), Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUB) Zone, Woman Owned, Minority Owned, Service Disabled Veteran Owned, or Other Than Small Business. Provide contract vehicles you participate in such as General Services Administration (GSA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Solutions for Enterprise Wide Procurement (SEWP), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC), or any other vehicle.
Submission Requirements:
1. Limit the length of the packages to 12 double spaced pages. Note: Packages over 12 pages will not be evaluated.
2. 1 inch margins (top, bottom and sides)
3. Times New Roman font - 12 point
4. Page limitation does not include appendices, 1 cover page or 1 letter of introduction page
5. Do not include promotional materials

Only electronic copies of capability statements will be accepted and should be emailed to: Keeyada Dickens, Keeyada.Dickens@usda.gov and Lawrence Williams, Lawrence.Williams@ usda.gov.
The e-mail shall contain the following subject line: Response to Sources Sought Notice - Collection & Auditing of Data from SNAP Authorized Supportive Living Facilities.
A determination by the Government to proceed with the acquisition as a set-aside is within the discretion of the Government. If capability statements are not received from at least two responsible small businesses or if the Government determines that no small business concerns are capable of performing this requirement based upon an assessment of the capability statements submitted, the Government may proceed with a full and open competition.
Please submit all information to Keeyada Dickens at Keeyada.dickens@usda.gov and to Lawrence Williams at Lawrence.Williams@usda.gov no later than June 25, 2019, by 5:00 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time. NO TELEPHONE REQUESTS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

Opportunity closing date

25 June 2019

Value of contract

to be confirmed