United States - Sources Sought Notice (market research) for the upcoming procurement requirement for the operation of the Mississippi Job Corps Center, Outreach & Admissions, and Career Transition Services

Description

Added: May 23, 2019 10:52 am
Modified: May 23, 2019 12:54 pmTrack Changes

***Date amended in last paragraph from June 24, 2018 to June 24, 2019 for the closing date for responses***

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. Sources Sought Notice for Request for Information (RFI) Number 1630J3-19-N-00001. The government reserves the right to compete any acquisition resulting from this notice. This sources sought notice is for planning purposes only and does not commit the Government to pay for the information requested, issue a solicitation, or award a contract. No solicitation document exists at this time. A determination by the Government to proceed with the acquisition as a set-aside is within the discretion of the Government.

The United States Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration is conducting market research for the upcoming procurement requirement for the operation of Mississippi Job Corps Center, Outreach & Admissions, and Career Transition Services. The NAICS Code is 611519, with a size standard of $38.5M. It is anticipated that a single award contract will be issued. The period of performance will consist of one (1) two-year Base and three (3) unilateral one-year Options.
The procurement will involve the operation and management of a residential education, training and employment program at Mississippi Job Corps Center located in Crystal Springs, Mississippi. Contractors will be expected to provide all material, services, and necessary personnel to operate this JCC as set forth Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014. WIOA supersedes the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and authorizes the Job Corps. Contractors are also required to comply with the Job Corps Policy and Requirements Handbook (PRH). The PRH is available at https://eprh.jobcorps.gov/Pages/Home.aspx
Job Corps is a national residential training and employment program administered by the U.S. Department of Labor to address the multiple barriers to employment faced by at-risk youth, 16-24 years of age, throughout the United States. Job Corps provides educational and career technical skills training and support services. The unique combination of services provided in the Job Corps is intended to better prepare youth to obtain and hold gainful employment, pursue further education or training, or satisfy entrance requirements for careers in the Armed Forces. The contractor shall provide:
1. Academic, career technical, social and employment readiness skills, counseling, health services, safety, recreation and work-based learning;
2. Operation and management of government facilities;
3. Residential management, supervision, meals, and support services;
4. Job placement assistance and transitional support services;
5. Training and professional development staff
6. Center operations integrated with the local workforce development systems, employers and the business community
7. Center oversight, financial and program management
8. Career Transition Services
9. Outreach Admission and Career Transition Services
The on-board strength (OBS) for the Mississippi Job Corps Center is 358 youth of which 108 are residential males, 130 residential females, 60 non-residential males, and 60 non-residential females.
The Contractor shall provide Outreach and Admissions services in the state of Mississippi in the following counties: Choctaw, Oktibbeh, Lowndes, Humphreys, Holmes, Attala, Winston, Noxubee, Sharkey, Yazoo, Issaquena, Madison, Leake, Neshoba, Kemper, Warren, Hinds, Rakin, Scott, Newton, Lauderdale, Claiborne, Jefferson, Copiah, Simpson, Smith, Jasper and Clarke; and shall ensure the arrival of a minimum of 716 students to the Mississippi Job Corps Center.
The Contractor shall provide Post-Center Career Transition Services annually for 430 graduates and 215 former enrollees returning or relocating to the state of Mississippi in the following counties: Choctaw, Oktibbeh, Lowndes, Humphreys, Holmes, Attala, Winston, Noxubee, Sharkey, Yazoo, Issaquena, Madison, Leake, Neshoba, Kemper, Warren, Hinds, Rakin, Scott, Newton, Lauderdale, Claiborne, Jefferson, Copiah, Simpson, Smith, Jasper and Clarke.
All contractors doing business with the Federal Government shall be registered in Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database which is located on the System for Award Management website, SAM.gov. The website for registration is http://sam.gov. All active CCR records have migrated to SAM. ALL QUALIFIED SMALL BUSINESSES INCLUDING 8(A) FIRMS ARE ENCOURAGED TO PARTICIPATE.
Interested contractors responding to this RFI will be required to indicate their ability to successfully manage and operate a Job Corps Center operation by responding to the capability requirements listed below. The contractor should also indicate the number of students/program participants served for each described contract. If the contractor references a Job Corps contract, the contractor should also provide the referenced center's On Board Strength at the time that the contractor held the contract. FOR A CONTRACTOR TO BE DEEMED CAPABLE, THE CONTRACTOR MUST BE FOUND CAPABLE IN ALL ELEVEN REQUIREMENTS LISTED BELOW.
Capabilities Requirements
1. Describe your organizational experience operating a large scale job training program similar in size and scope to the Mississippi Job Corps center. Your demonstrated experience must encompass key aspects of operating a similar program to include: providing food services; medical, dental, and mental health care; facility and property management; providing residential management and supervision; recreational programming; student transportation; oversight and purchase of Government owned property; managing GSA fleet vehicles; and protecting Personally Identifiable Information.
2. Describe your organizational experience coordinating activities carried out through a job training program with activities carried out under State and local workforce development plans.
3. Describe your organizational experience offering career and technical education and training that reflects employment opportunities in the local areas in which enrollees intend to seek employment.
4. Describe your organizational experience in successfully assisting at-risk youth to connect to the workforce, including providing them with intensive academics and career and technical education and training.
5. Describe your organization's demonstrated record of placing at-risk youth into employment and postsecondary education.
6. Describe the strong fiscal controls your organization has in place to ensure proper accounting of Federal funds, and a description of how your organization will meet the requirements of section 159(a). Section 159(a) requires contractors to maintain a financial management information system that will provide-- accurate, complete, and current disclosures of the costs of Job Corps operations; and sufficient data for the effective evaluation of activities carried out through the Job Corps program. In addition, Section 159(a) requires each operator to maintain funds received in accounts in a manner that ensures timely and accurate reporting as required by the Secretary of Labor. Section 159(a) also requires that center operators remain fiscally responsible and control costs, regardless of whether the funds made available for Job Corps centers are incrementally increased or decreased between fiscal years.
7. Describe your organizational experience complying with basic health and safety codes, which shall include the disciplinary measures described in section 152(b) of the WIOA.
8. Describe your organizational financial management experience of a cost reimbursement type contract, and your organization's access to financial resources sufficient to satisfy requirements of operating a Job Corps center's operation for the first 60 days of operation or the ability to obtain them, e.g., a $3 million line of credit, evidence of a positive cash flow, etc. In addition, when providing information on company's line of credit, please provide documentation to show the amount available in the line of credit.
9. Describe your organization's infrastructure for corporate oversight and support and management/corporate services.
10. Describe your organization's experience in conducting outreach and admissions services to attract participants to the program, screen for eligibility and arrange for admission placement in the program.
11. Describe your organization's experience conducting career transition services to program participants, including job placement and other supportive services.

All interested parties are invited to submit in writing, by the closing date indicated below for receipt of responses, a package entitled "Statement of Qualifications / Capabilities Statement" (which must include the contractor's indication of their ability to fulfill requirements). The Statement of Qualifications / Capabilities Statement package must be transmitted under a cover letter. The response must be specific to each of the capability requirements listed above. The submittals shall not exceed 11 pages, TOTAL.

The capabilities statement package must be transmitted under a cover letter and must cite the following information at a minimum:
1. Response to RFI Number 1630J3-19-N-00001
2. Company Name, Address, and Company Point of Contact
3. DUNS Number
4. Business Size Standard/Classification and socio-economic status, if applicable
5. NAICS code certifications
The closing date for the receipt of responses is June 24, 2019 at 1:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time. Send your responses to ShaMona Avery at the following email address, Avery.ShaMona.y@dol.gov and SourcesSought@dol.gov. PLEASE NOTE: THE SUBJECT LINE OF YOUR EMAIL MUST STATE: "Response to Sources Sought Notice 1630J3-19-N-00001."
No questions in connection with this notice will be accepted. Only submit responses to the Qualifications and Capabilities requirements provided above.

Primary Point of Contact
ShaMona Y. Avery
Senior Contracts Specialist (CTR)
Division of Job Corps Procurement
Office of Contracts Management/ETA
61 Forsyth St. Room 7M70
Atlanta, GA 30303
404-302-5424 (Office)
Avery.ShaMona.y@dol.gov

Opportunity closing date

24 June 2019

Value of contract

to be confirmed