USDA, Food and Consumer Service, Contract Management Branch, 3101 Park Center Dr., Rm. 914, Alexandria, VA 22302

B -- GUIDING NUTRITION SECURITY CHANGES: SIMPLIFIED PROGRAM TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SOL FCS96-024SUZ DUE 061896 POC Suzanne Pastura, Contract Specialist, (703) 305-2250 Elaine Lynn, Contracting Officer, (703) 305-2250. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Service (FCS), plans to award a contract for ''Guiding Nutrition Security Changes: Simplified Program Technical Assistance''. Proposed legislation will allow State Agencies to create a Simplified Food Stamp Program (SFSP) for households composed only of recipients of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (the program replacing the Aid to Families with Dependent Children - AFDC). The purpose of this contract is to obtain the technical and statistical services needed to provide technical assistance, primarily in the form of microsimulation analyses, to (a) State Agencies interested in developing a SFSP so that they can understand the probable effects of the choices they are making BEFORE they submit a proposed plan to FCS, and (b) the Food Stamp Program (FSP) in assessing the cost neutrality and benefit impacts of the proposed plans submitted by State Agencies to operate a SFSP. FCS antipates that the contract will require expertise from specialists in statistics and large-scale microsimulation models. Knowledge of income assistance programs, in general, and the FSP and AFDC, in particular, is desirable. Offerors must demonstrate ownership of or access to microsimulation models that are capable of simulating eligibility of low-income households for FSP and AFDC benefits and of calculating the respective benefit levels. The estimated duration of this contract is 36 months, consisting of a one-year base contract and two option years. The estimated level of effort is approximately 6.9 professional person years. Offers will be due on or about June 18, 1996. All qualified organizations interested in receiving a copy of the Request for Proposal when it is issued MUST submit their request in writing and MUST include four (4) self-addressed mailing labels. TELEPHONIC AND DATA FAXED REQUESTS WILL NOT BE HONORED. (0123)

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