Sources Sought Notice for Request for Information (RFI) Number 1605JE-23-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.    

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
 

The US Department of Labor (DOL), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management (OASAM), Office of the Senior Procurement Executive (OSPE), Job Corps Acquisition Services (JCAS) is conducting market research for the upcoming procurement requirement for the operation of Grafton Job Corps Center.  The NAICS Code is 611519, with a size standard of $41.5M.  It is anticipated that a fixed price type contract with two base years and three option years will be awarded.   The procurement will involve the operation and management of a residential education, training and employment program at the Grafton Job Corps center located in 100 Pine Street, North Grafton, MA 01536.  The procurement will also involve Outreach and Admissions (OA) and Career Transition Services (CTS). 

Contractors will be expected to provide all material, services, and necessary personnel to operate this JCC as set forth in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014.  WIOA authorizes the Job Corps program. 

Contractors are also required to comply with the Job Corps Policy and Requirements Handbook (PRH).  The PRH is available at https://prh.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 instruction, and support services. The combination of services provided by Job Corps is intended to prepare youth to pursue further education or training, obtain and hold gainful employment, or satisfy entrance requirements for careers in the Armed Forces. The contractor shall provide:

1. Program outreach and admissions services;
2. Educational instruction;
3. Career technical skills instruction;
4. Social and employment readiness skills;
5. Work-based learning opportunities;
6. Career Transition Services/job placement assistance;
7. Stakeholder engagement in support of student job placement, including relationships with workforce development systems, employers, and business organizations and entities; and
8. Operation and management of a government-owned, full-time residential campus/facility,  including providing safe and secure living and training environment, health and wellness services, food services, recreational programming, transportation, property maintenance and management, financial management and reporting, staff training and development, and program performance management and recordkeeping.

The planned measure of student utilization for the center or center Onboard Strength (OBS) for the Grafton Job Corps Center is 237 consisting of 206 residential and 31 non-residential students.  The center is located on located in the city of North Grafton, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The center can expect to receive arrivals from other contractors performing Outreach and Admissions as follows:

     Shriver OA – 105 students

and shall ensure the arrival of a minimum of 315 students to the Grafton Job Corps Center.

The Contractor shall provide OA services in the following workforce development areas in the State of Massachusetts:

MassHire Bristol and MassHire Greater New Bedford;  MassHire Cape and Islands;  MassHire Central Region, MassHire North Central and MassHire Metro South/West;  MassHire Greater Brockton, MassHire Metro South/West and MassHire South Shore;  MassHire Boston and MassHire Metro North;  MassHire Merrimack Valley and MassHire North Shore;  MassHire Metro North, MassHire Greater Lowell, MassHire North Central and MassHire Metro South/West;  MassHire Berkshire County; MassHire Franklin-Hampshire;  MassHire Hampden County

The contractor shall also provide Career Transition Services (CTS) for all graduates and former enrollees of the Grafton JCC, regardless of where the graduate or former enrollee resides or matriculates, and former enrollees within their eligibility period that separated under the prior operator.

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 https://www.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 15 REQUIREMENTS LISTED BELOW.    

Capabilities Requirements

1. Describe your organizational experience operating a large scale residential education and job training program similar in size and scope to the Job Corps center.  Demonstrated experience should encompass key aspects of operating a similar program, including providing food services; medical, dental, and mental health care; facility and property management including facility maintenance and repairs; providing residential management and supervision of at-risk youth; recreational programming; student transportation; oversight and purchase of Government owned property; managing GSA fleet vehicles; and protecting Personally Identifiable Information (PII).
2. Describe how your organization will meet the requirements of WIOA Section 159(a) that requires maintaining a financial management information system that provides accurate, complete, and current disclosures of the costs, and sufficient data for the effective evaluation of activities carried out through the Job Corps program. Describe the internal controls your organization has in place to ensure proper accounting of federal funds consistent with FAR Section 159(a) that 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.
3. Describe your ability to comply with all health and safety standards in the residential, food preparation area and dining hall.
4. Describe your organizational experience procuring, managing and executing facilities repairs/improvements in excess of $600,000 and doing so in a timely manner. Add any experience with timeworn and/or historic buildings and aging infrastructure.
5. Describe your organizational experience overseeing, managing, and administering educational and technical skill training programs. 
6. Describe your organizational experience implementing effective behavioral management programs and enforcing student code of conduct policies.  
7. Describe what organizational infrastructure exists for providing corporate oversight and support for managing multiple residential educational and/or skills training programs that include one or more of the following:  career training, academic instruction, career preparation, work-based learning and transition services, and job placement.
8. Demonstrate your organization's ability to access financial resources sufficient to satisfy requirements of operating the contract for the first 60 days of operation or the ability to obtain them prior to award.
9. Describe your organizational experience conducting outreach and admissions services to attract individuals to a program, screen for eligibility, and arrange for admission placement into the program.
10. Describe your organizational experience working with at-risk and disadvantaged youth and young adults. 
11. Describe your organizational experience providing career counseling, planning and placement services.  Describe your experience providing career counseling, planning and placement services should include assessments, counseling, resume development and interviewing techniques; transition support with housing, childcare and transportation during the specified service window; job development and referral services; and follow up placement services.
12. Describe your organizational experience obtaining, establishing, and/or overseeing post-secondary educational programs and program providers.  
13. Describe your organizational experience collaborating with career skills training provider(s) to identify trade-specific employers to hire center graduates into meaningful careers related to the training completed.
14. Describe your organizational experience identifying and establishing strategic relationships with industry specific employers, business and business organizations, and workforce development systems.
15. Describe your organizational experience in developing and maintaining strong relationships with local and state workforce development stakeholders that result in direct referrals to the training program to Job Corps or similar programs, as well as experience with employer and college-based training programs to ensure industry and labor market driven training opportunities for students.

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 15 pages, TOTAL.  The capabilities statement package must cite the following information at a minimum: 

1. Response to RFI 1605JE-23-N-00001;
2. Company Name, Address, and a Company Point of Contact;
3. Unique Identity ID (from SAM.gov);
4. Business Size Standard/Classification, and socio-economic status, if applicable;
5. NAICS code certifications.

The closing date for the receipt of responses is October 25, 2022, at 2:00 PM, Eastern Time. Send your responses to Donna Whitfield at the following email address, [email protected]. PLEASE NOTE: THE SUBJECT LINE OF YOUR EMAIL MUST STATE: “Response to Sources Sought Notice 1605JE-23-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

Steven A. Fusco, Jr.

Contracting Officer

Job Corps Acquisition Services

Office of the Senior Procurement Executive

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management

US Department of Labor

15 New Sudbury St.

Low Rise, Room E-370

Boston, MA 02203