Social Security Administration, Office of Acquisition and Grants, 1710 Gwynn Oak Avenue, Baltimore, Md. 21207-0696

R -- DISABILITY EVALUATION STUDY SOL SSA-RFP-98-3102 DUE 032398 POC Joseph Tanzi Tel: (410) 965-9470 WEB: Social Security Administration, http://www.ssa.gov/oag/oag1.htm" and. The Social Security Administration (SSA) seeks a contractor to conduct the Disability Evaluation Study (DES), a major national disability study with survey interviews, medical examinations, and functional tests, of adults in the household (non-institutional, non-homeless) population aged 18 through 69. The DES is SSA's major research effort to understand the current prevalence of disability, as defined by the Social Security statute, and the potential for growth in the disability rolls, and to understand what enables "disabled" individuals to remain in the workforce. Through the DES, SSA will thus estimate how many adults in the U.S. population would meet current eligibility criteria for Social Security disability benefits, how many of them work despite their impairments, and which factors enable them to work. In addition, as a national study, the DES will permit SSA to determine the number and the characteristics of adults who might be affected by adopting an alternative decision process conforming toSSA's current legal definition of "disability" (223(d) of the Social Security Act). A specific new decision process, based on standardized assessments of the physical and mental functions directly related to work requirements, is being developed by SSA (SSA's September, 1994 Plan for a New Disability Claim Process). The redesign decision process has been approved in concept, but requires further research, of which the DES is one component, in order to support decisions on future implementation of the new process. SSA has informed the public of the disability redesign research plan, our findings to date, and the DES' key role in redesign research (Federal Register, September 9, 1996 and June 24, 1997 ). The Contractor must provide, at a minimum, the following services: To finalize the Design for the DES, review and revise, in close coordination with SSA, existing protocols for screener, survey questionnaire, and tests of medical and mental status; Participate in the development of functional assessment instruments (FAIs) or other functional measures to be utilized in the proposed redesigned decision methodology and tested in the DES pilot test and main study; Design a comprehensive Evaluation Plan with SSA to answer the DES Research Questions; Design a national sample which is both cost-efficient and can support accurate estimates of the numbers and characteristics of disabled adults of interest to SSA; Conduct a large-scale pilot test of the full DES protocol with subsequent analysis of its results; Conduct the main DES study: screening, interviews, medical and mental status examinations with tests, collection of participants' treatment records, collection of data needed for decisions under current adjudication criteria, preparation of materials required to obtain DDS decisions, and entering findings in the study data base; Administer tests of FAIs related to the redesign decision process: in the pilot test to collect data to help in the development of the redesigned decision process, and in the main study as a test of the prototype for the redesign decision process; Analyze the data collected in the DES to answer the research questions related to Disability Growth and, separately, the redesign decision process; Produce written reports with further analysis of findings and prepare a machine-readable database suitable for linking to internal record data and subsequent analysis by SSA. Provide SSA with hardcopy files of all medical evidence and tests, examination notes, and other information not available in Machine readable form. The study reports will answer the research questions posited with a comprehensive analysis to support the findings. The contract period of performance is 42 months. Solicitation No. SSA-RFP-98-3102 is scheduled for release on or about January 6, 1998 with proposals due 75 days after the solicitation issuance date. All requests for the solicitation must be in writing (Fax Nos. 410-966-5982 or 410-966-9310). Proposals from all responsible sources will be considered. This solicitation will be available for download in electronic form on or about January 6, 1998 on SSA's Internet Home Page at URL "http://www.ssa.gov/oag/oag1.htm" and also on the SSA Acquisition Data and Information Exchange (SADIE) Bulletin Board System. Dial 410-966-4889 within the Baltimore, MD area or 1- 800-SSA-Sell for access. Set your modem to 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit (8-N-1), full duplex, and VT-100 or ANSI terminal emulation. Further instructions are available online. (0329)

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