G099--Healthcare for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Contracted Emergency Residential Services (CERS) Licensed Treatment Facility in Contra Costa or Solano County California

Solicitation Questions and Answers Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Contracted Emergency Residential Services (CERS) Licensed Treatment Facility in Contra Costa or Solano County, California. Is transportation of Veterans to and from the CERS facility the responsibility of the Government, the contractor, or shared between the two? If contractor-provided transportation is expected, will this be reimbursable and are there any minimum standards or requirements (e.g., mileage, escorts, vehicles)? Except for the below paragraph, there is no requirement in the contract for the Vendor to offer transportation, however some agencies do provide minimal assistance with transportation, like picking up from in-county locations like a BART station, VA medical clinic, or detox. They do this in order to improve their occupancy performance, which is a QASP measure as well as have more Veterans in their programs for other reasons such as to bill the nightly rate as much as possible. I. TRAVEL The contractor is expected to assist Veterans with arranging local transportation to scheduled meetings and appointments. The contractor is expected to help Veterans understand and learn how to utilize public transportation; this includes providing access to information and clarifying instructions necessary to effectively utilize public transit systems. If contractor and VA staff both determine that public transportation is not available, adequate, or appropriate for any Veteran, the contractor will be expected to assist the Veteran with identifying potential alternative modes of transport, however, under no circumstances is the contractor expected to provide transportation to a Veteran directly. Will the total number of beds to be awarded under this requirement be specified at time of award? If so, will this information be provided prior to proposal submission for pricing and staffing purposes? Per PWS Section B: This program will provide residential substance use/misuse treatment and be located in Contra Costa or Solano County California (See PWS Addendum 1 Zip Codes Contra Costa and Solano Counties) and will be for between 3 and 6 beds for men and women (starting with 3 beds). Upon award, the estimate average number of beds is three (3). Over the course of the year, vendors should strive for an average of three beds, which means some months may have one or two Veterans in the program and other months may have four or five Veterans in the program, but the overall average should be three beds throughout the year. The program should strive for an occupancy rate of 80% to 100%. If the agency falls short of 80%, future task orders may reduce the number of beds. If the agency is close to 100%, future task orders may increase the number of beds (but there is no guarantee beds will increase). Is the Government anticipating full utilization (90 100%) at contract start, or should contractors expect a ramp up period to reach required occupancy thresholds? The agency must be able to pass inspection and ready to receive referrals on day one of the contract (April 1st 2026) so they can accept the Veterans that are in the current incumbent program. Passing inspection may take up to 30 days because corrections by the program, often have to be made. Is there an incumbent contractor currently performing these services? If so, is the Government able to share the incumbent contractor s name and the current contract value (or approximate annual value) for situational awareness and proposal planning purposes? You may obtain answers to the above questions by submitting a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. As a licensed substance use disorder facility, should clinical therapeutic treatment be billed separately, or should these services be included in the residential care services rate? Any services provided to Veterans under this contract should be included in the residential care services daily per-diem rate quoted. No additional services for these Veterans should be billed separately to the VA. How many days will the VA hold empty beds once a veteran has departed the facility? Per the PWS: F. ABSENCES AND CANCELLATION F.1. The Contractor shall notify VAMC of any absences from the facility. Absences of the patient from the facility in excess of forty-eight (48) hours will not be reimbursable except those with the prior approval of the VAMC coordinator. Should a patient referred to a residential treatment facility absent himself/herself in an unauthorized manner, payment for services for that Veteran to the contract facility would be continued for a maximum period of two days provided there is an active outreach attempt on the part of the contractor facility staff to return the Veteran to the residential treatment program and a strong likelihood that the patient will return. Management of Negative Exits will be an element of quality assurance review of this program. F.1.1. The VA will pay per diem up to a maximum of 48 consecutive hours for the unscheduled absence or 96 hours for scheduled absence of a Veteran under the following conditions: 1) Scheduled Absences: To receive payment, the absence must: a) Be pre-planned, consistent with and support the Veteran s individual service plan, (e.g., family reunification, short term medical, substance use disorder, (SUD), or psychiatric treatment). b) Have the reason be documented in the individual Veteran s case file, treatment record, or service plan. c) Not result in the bed being filled by the provider d) Not be for a break or vacation from treatment. e) Not be used for extended educational or employment circumstances. f) Not be used to create more than 4 consecutive days of absence. 2) Unscheduled Absences: To receive payment for an unscheduled absence: The provider must have evidence of active outreach to locate and reengage the Veteran and document the steps taken in the Veterans individual case file, treatment record, or service plan. b) The provider may not fill the bed. c) The Veteran must be discharged from the HCHV/CERS program if not located within 48 hours. 3) Ineligible Veteran: When a Veteran is admitted into an HCHV/CERS program and found to be ineligible for HCHV/CERS, VA will pay for a maximum of 4 days from the day of admission to allow the provider and HCHV/CERS liaison time to locate and arrange alternate placement. F.2. The contractor may consider providing an authorized absence (or pass ) for purposes that are expected to further the recovery goals of a Veteran (e.g., job-related absences, family visits, housing searches, medical, etc.). All requests for passes must be documented in writing in the Veterans individual case record. Authorized absences shall not exceed 48 hours in any given month for any single Veteran, unless otherwise approved by contractor and VA Liaison. F.3. VA reserves the right to remove any or all Veterans from the facility at any time without additional cost, when it is determined to be in the best interest of the Veteran or VA. The solicitation states that the VA requires between three and six beds, with an initial requirement of three. Could you please clarify if offers should be written based on a total of three beds for the entire six-and-a-half-year service period? Will an amendment be written at the Contractor s current rate to supplement for the additional beds beyond three? Per PWS Section B: This program will provide residential substance use/misuse treatment and be located in Contra Costa or Solano County California (See PWS Addendum 1 Zip Codes Contra Costa and Solano Counties) and will be for between 3 and 6 beds for men and women (starting with 3 beds). Upon award, the estimate average number of beds is three (3). Over the course of the year, vendors should strive for an average of three beds, which means some months may have one or two Veterans in the program and other months may have four or five Veterans in the program, but the overall average should be three beds throughout the year. The program should strive for an occupancy rate of 80% to 100%. If the agency falls short of 80%, future task orders may reduce the number of beds. If the agency is close to 100%, future task orders may increase the number of beds (but there is no guarantee beds will increase). If the utilization was high, the VA could award additional task orders, not amendments to the contract, to increase the number of beds. To clarify, this requirement is for a 5-year period, not 6.5 years. How are referrals transported to the facility the is Contractor required to do pickups? Except for the below paragraph, there is no requirement in the contract for the Vendor to offer transportation, however some agencies do provide minimal assistance with transportation, like picking up from in-county locations like a BART station, VA medical clinic, or detox. They do this in order to improve their occupancy performance, which is a QASP measure as well as have more Veterans in their programs for other reasons such as to bill the nightly rate as much as possible. I. TRAVEL The contractor is expected to assist Veterans with arranging local transportation to scheduled meetings and appointments. The contractor is expected to help Veterans understand and learn how to utilize public transportation; this includes providing access to information and clarifying instructions necessary to effectively utilize public transit systems. If contractor and VA staff both determine that public transportation is not available, adequate, or appropriate for any Veteran, the contractor will be expected to assist the Veteran with identifying potential alternative modes of transport, however, under no circumstances is the contractor expected to provide transportation to a Veteran directly. We currently operate three licensed facilities: one in Concord and two in Oakland, with our central operations and headquarters located in Contra Costa County. Could you please clarify if all three of these locations can be used for residential treatment? No, all three facilities could not be used for Veterans under this contract. Any Veterans placed outside of facilities that have both been inspected by VA staff, and are not in the required counties of Contra Costa and Solano, could not be billed for under this contract.