SOURCES SOUGHT
U -- Study of Father's Involvement in Permanency Planning and Child Welfare Casework
- Notice Date
- 3/20/2006
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 561110
— Office Administrative Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, Program Support Center, Division of Acquisition Management, Parklawn Building Room 5-101 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD, 20857
- ZIP Code
- 20857
- Solicitation Number
- Reference-Number-100-01-0014
- Response Due
- 5/4/2006
- Archive Date
- 5/19/2006
- Description
- The Department of Health and Human Services, Program Support Center, Division of Acquisition Management intends to negotiate on a sole source basis with The Urban Institute to provide additional data gathering and analyses in its study of nonresident fathers? involvement in permanency planning and child welfare casework. The proposed additional work would involve the acquisition and analysis of administrative data regarding case outcomes for children originally included in the original study sample. The Urban Institute is conducting the study of Father?s involvement in permanency planning and child welfare under contract number 100-01-0014. The statutory authority for other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C. 253(c) (1), only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. Any other potential source would need to establish new agreements and data sharing relationships with states that duplicate those already possessed by the Urban Institute and that have been developed over several years of working on the original study. The original study conducted interviews with the caseworkers of nearly 2000 foster children in four states (Arizona, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Tennessee). The results of the study provide empirical evidence on the steps that child welfare agencies currently take to identify, locate and involve nonresident fathers in case planning; the barriers encountered; and the policies and practices that affect involvement. The proposed additional work would involve the acquisition and analysis of administrative data regarding case outcomes for children included in the original study sample. Additional written products would be produced based on the new analyses. At the time of the caseworker interviews, all children in the sample had been in foster care between three and thirty six months. None of the child welfare cases were closed at the time the caseworker was interviewed. For this reason, the study as originally designed could not examine the influence of father involvement on case outcomes. However, as the work on the original study comes to an end, study results regarding variation in caseworker efforts to identify and locate fathers and the differences in their success in contacting and involving the fathers of children in the study sample make it feasible and desirable to extend the study to examine the relationship between caseworkers? initial activities with respect to fathers and the permanency outcomes achieved for children in foster care. Nearly two years after the initial data collection, most children in the study sample will by now have existed foster care. It is the Interior of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) to contract for a follow-up of the study sample to enable an analysis of how caseworkers? initial efforts to contact and involve fathers relates to later case outcomes to be used to consider the following research questions: Do children whose fathers are contacted by the child welfare agency, as well as those whose fathers visit and/or are otherwise ?more involved? with their children in foster care have different outcomes overall from those whose fathers are not contacted or involved? Is permanency achieved more frequently or more quickly when fathers are contacted or involved? It is possible that earlier involvement of the father and/or his family leads to better decisions that produce more stability in children?s living arrangements. Is there evidence that contact and father involvement are related to fewer moves or otherwise more stable foster care experiences? Are any overall outcome differences found related to specific discharge types? Does father involvement seem to be related to increased reunifications, adoptions, and/or relative placements? The Contractor shall develop an analytical plan that shall: 1) Identify child welfare outcomes for which data will be sought, 2) Identify the data elements States will be asked to provide for each child in the study sample; 3) Suggest ways data might be presented to best effect; 4) Suggest how multivariate analytical approaches will be used to examine factors influencing case outcomes. The contractor shall contact each of the States that participated in the original study and recruit them for participation in this follow-up effort. Once administrative data is received from the states, the contractor shall conduct the analyses based on the approved analysis plan. The contractor shall write a short report on findings of the case outcomes analysis and a technical paper intended to disseminate analysis findings to a more academic audience. The contractor will brief federal staff and will present study results at two conferences outside the Washington, DC area. Vendors who are interested in this acquisition must demonstrate in writing they can meet the Government?s requirements within 45 days from the date of publication. Responses must include a written narrative statement of capability, including detailed technical information and other technical literature demonstrating the ability to satisfy the stated requirements. Failure to submit adequate documentation will result in the Government proceeding with a sole source to The Urban Institute. A determination by the Government not to open the requirement to competition based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. The anticipated period of performance shall be (16) sixteen months. This notice is not a request for competitive proposals. No solicitation is available; therefore, requests for such a document will be considered inadequate responses. Responses must be submitted in writing to the attention of Anthony Webb at the above address by mail, via E-mail at awebb@psc.gov, or via facsimile at 301-443-1004.
- Record
- SN01010484-W 20060322/060320213513 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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