Loren Data's SAM Daily™

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF MARCH 05, 2011 FBO #3388
DOCUMENT

U -- National Caregiver's Training Amendment 0002 Questions and Responses - Attachment

Notice Date

3/3/2011
 

Notice Type

Attachment
 

NAICS

611710 — Educational Support Services
 

Contracting Office

Department of Veteran Affairs;SAO east;PCAE STL Contracting Officer;#1 Jefferson Barracks Dr;Saint Louis MO 63125
 

ZIP Code

63125
 

Solicitation Number

VA77711RP0170
 

Response Due

3/9/2011
 

Archive Date

5/8/2011
 

Point of Contact

Adam Hemken
 

E-Mail Address

ct
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Description

The purpose of this amendment is to provide the questions and responses. Question 5:Has VA developed set standards and benchmarks for the caregiver training?   Response 5:Page 13 of the Statement of Work describes standards for timeliness in the provision of the training curriculum. Page 15 of the Statement of work describes how the VA will assess quality of the work performed. Question 6: What will constitute training success and the ability of caregivers to apply for financial assistance? Response 6: Caregiver knowledge and skill will be assessed by a VA clinician during a home visit following the caregiver training. Successful completion of the caregiver training is only one component of the assessment of eligibility to be certified as the primary family caregiver. The contractor is not responsible for the ability of the caregivers to apply for financial assistance, only for the provision of caregiver training. Question 7:  Is any kind of assessment for certification included as part of the training? Response 7:The training should include a measure of knowledge gained by the caregiver whether the training took place in a classroom, or through self-instruction. The contractor will be responsible for assessing the caregiver knowledge during the training. The care manager will assess the caregiver ™s knowledge and skill and determine if the caregiver has been adequately trained. (Reference Program Development and Requirements, Page 10). Question 8:What differences, if any, are there between the training content for caregivers under the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers and those under the Program of General Caregiver Education? Response 8:The length of training and scope of training content are significantly different between the two programs “ This information is clearly stated in the RFP. Page 10 and Page 11 of the Statement of Work specifically identifies the content differences. Question 9:Is there an existing advisory group whose expertise will be coordinated by the VA or is the contractor expected to develop such a group? Response 9:The VA will provide access to VA SMEs and caregivers who will provide input and feedback. Question 10:Will the curriculum be piloted before full-scale implementation? Response 10:Due to the speed with which the curriculum must be implemented there will be no formal pilot phase Question 11:Is evaluation of the training included within the scope of work? Response 11:Yes, reference deliverable 10 on page 13. Question 12:Will train-the-trainer trainings be included or just development of the print curriculum?     Should refresher courses in option years be included? Response 12:Reference Deliverable 6 of the Statement of Work. The contractor is expected to deliver Train-the-Trainer sessions as well as develop the print curriculum. Two trainings are planned in the option years - all curriculum materials are to be up-dated within 30 days of the new option year. We do not anticipate implementing Train-the Trainer refresher courses. Question 13: If trainers are VAMC staff, how will quality control and/or oversight be provided?   Response 13:There will be four VA regional training coordinators who will provide oversight for quality of all caregiver training in their region. Question 14: Who will host the web-based course? Response 14:The Contractor is to host the web-based course. Question 15: We ™re trying to identify the funding availability. Clarification: We are looking for a budgetary estimate. Response 15: This program is funded. We do not have a budgetary estimate to provide. Question 16:Who will house and deliver the DVD/self-study materials? Response 16:The Contractor will house and deliver the DVD/self study materials. Question 17: Will the contractor need to cover all production costs for printed materials and DVDs? Response 17:Yes Question 18:Approximately how many caregivers per year will attend in-class training? Response 18:In the Comprehensive Program the number of caregivers attending in-class training are anticipated to range from  84-850. In the General Caregiver Support Program the number of caregivers attending in-class training is anticipated to range from 500-2000. Question 19: The solicitation states quarterly training and a class size of 25 maximum: Will there be a minimum enrollment for each class? Response 19: In the Comprehensive Program there is no minimum class size. In the General Caregiver Support Program there is a minimum of six. Question 20:Will the quarterly training be held in each of the 21 VISNs (so, 21 classes, 4 times each year)? Response R20:Yes “ however the total number of classes may shift among VISNs depending upon the need.   For example one VISN may need classes 6 times a year while another may require two.   Question 21:Across the country, how many concurrent sessions are running?   Can the sessions be staggered? Response 21: Sessions can be staggered “ however anticipate a surge in requests for training as soon as it becomes available.   Question 22: The solicitation states that the training should occur between 8am and 8pm.     How many days will each classroom training last? How long should each training day be?   6 hours?   12 hours? Response 22:We have not specified the number of classroom days to be delivered. However, page 9 under Program Development and Requirement of the Statement of Work states clearly that the length of training for the Comprehensive Program is to be no more than 6 hours per day. Question 23: Will the contractor need to provide staff to conduct the in-class caregiver training or will all caregiver training be done solely by VAMC staff (who have gone through train-the-trainer training)? Response 23:The contractor is expected to deliver all of the training.     Question 24:Will the contractor need to reserve and set up all training spaces at VAMCs or will the reservation and set-up be done internally at the VAMC? Response 24:The contractor is expected to have its own training locations. Space at VAMCs will be available only at the mutual agreement of both parties. Reference page 8, para 1 of the Statement of Work. Question 25: Since contractors cannot be expected to have facilities in each of the 21 VISNs, is provision of training at a nearby hotel an acceptable alternative? Response 25:Yes, however our market research demonstrates that most offerors should be able to find adequate facilities either in-house or at no additional cost. Should a facilities be required that would need additional funding support, i.e., hotel, that must be coordinated with the Program Manager at least 15 days prior to the training. Question 26: If the contractor needs to reserve VAMC space for training, what support will the contractor have to accomplish this? Response R26:The Caregiver Support Coordinator at the local VAMC will provide assistance with reserving VAMC space.   Question 27:Will the contractor need to handle VAMC staff training assignments for the in-class training? Response 27: No   Question 28: Is the contractor expected to handle the registrations for caregivers?   Response 28:Yes. Question 29:Does the contractor need to set up a registration website? Response 29:The contractor will need to establish a secure mechanism for Caregiver Support Coordinators to identify for the contractor the  caregivers who are eligible for the Comprehensive Program  training. Question 30:The solicitation states that: ťAny modifications or request for alternate training location will require advance concurrence by the Contracting Officer ™s Technical Representative (COTR) or VA Program Manager (PM). śCould you elaborate on this statement?   Who would be making a modification or request for alternate training location?   A caregiver?   A VAMC staff member?   What implications would a modification have for the contractor? Response 30:We anticipate that this kind of request will be rare, it would most likely come from the caregiver and the Caregiver Support Coordinator. Some examples of possible costs to the contractor might be staff travel or room rental fees. We will add a not to exceed CLIN to the pricing schedule for this effort. Question 31:Is this a fixed-price contract?   If not, what is the contracting method? Response 31:Yes. This is a FFP contract. Question 32: One point that would be useful to have clarification on is the funding expectations of the VA for this overall solicitation. We understand that the VA wants the funding broken out over the cost schedule. But, we do not have a clear sense of the VA ™s expected budget scope. Response 32:Because this is the first training of this type, budget details are not currently available. We are counting on your experience and expertise to develop a prudent method to deliver this product to the VA. Question 33: Does the contractor need to maintain any records that would need to be integrated with other VA systems (e.g., maintenance of online course completions)? Response 33: Yes “ VA requests that the Contractor provide the caregiver with a print certificate of completion of caregiver training and send a copy electronically to the referring Caregiver Support Coordinator.
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/VA/VAAAC/VAAAC/VA77711RP0170/listing.html)
 

Document(s)

Attachment
 

File Name: VA-777-11-RP-0170 VA-777-11-RP-0170_4.doc (https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=180307&FileName=VA-777-11-RP-0170-002.doc)

Link: https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=180307&FileName=VA-777-11-RP-0170-002.doc

 

Note: If links are broken, refer to Point of Contact above or contact the FBO Help Desk at 877-472-3779.
 

Record

SN02392096-W 20110305/110303234133-7bcfcda0a0cc277d713fa79b11e1d590 (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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