G -- EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

Notice Date

February 15, 2001

Contracting Office

Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), National Office Procurement (A:P), 6009 Oxon Hill Road, Suite 700, Oxon Hill, MD, 20745

ZIP Code

20745

Solicitation Number

Reference-Number-EAP

Response Due

March 5, 2001

Point of Contact

Paul Attorri, Contracting Officer, Phone 202-283-1103, Fax 202-283-1514, Email paul.a.attorri@irs.gov

E-Mail Address

Paul Attorri (paul.a.attorri@irs.gov)

Description

The IRS is seeking Small Businesses that could provide a comprehensive EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (EAP) as a professional program providing assessment and/or counseling/consultation and if determined necessary by the counselor, face to face referral of individuals experiencing a variety of emotional/psychological concerns to local programs and services: parenting and material concerns, financial/ legal, medical and other concerns as well as alcohol and HIV/AIDS and related problems that have an impact on their attendance and performance at work. All referrals must be actual openings in programs that meet the employee_s specifications for proximity to home/work, affordability and quality. The contractor shall also address employee worklife issues, dependent care and health promotion(wellness) issues through telephone counseling and mailing to the employee_s home written/video educational resources. All IRS employees and their immediate families are eligible for EAP and Worklife services. The contractor shall be expected to operate within the authorities granted for Occupational Health program under Public Law 5 USC, Section 7901; 42 USC, Section 290 ee-1 and 5 CFR, Part 792. The anticipated annual level of service based upon historical usage is anticipated to be 3 -5 % level of utilization. In terms of services, enhanced Worklife Counseling and Recourses and Referral included but are not limited to: 1) telephone counseling and consultation for: problem assessment, problem follow-up; 2) Resourcing employees by mailing to their homes educational and information materials; 3) Researching viable, real openings for programs in their communities for referral if local services are needed; 4) Follow-up to ensure the employee_s referrals were made and the effectiveness of the service. Services also included data bases that allow local referrals provide for continuity of care and maintenance of the client-counselor relationship. The contractor will have appropriately trained counselor/consultants available within reasonable travel distance to IRS sites, if needed for face to face assessments. The Contractor must provide: 24 hours, seven days per week telephone availability for crisis assistance; Toll Free nationwide telephone services linking employees to EAP and worklife counselors, to include Hearing Impaired/TDD accessibility with no limit on the number of telephone calls by telephone; Data bases/automation systems for enhanced referral linkages to counselors record maintenance, quality assurance, local referrals and other operation for effective implementation of the contract; Telephone EAP counseling, assessment, short term counseling and referral; Referral as necessary to local treatment therapist; Telephone Worklife Counseling by Worklife Specialist; Enhance Worklife resource and referral; Program promotion and outreach activities; Quality assurance; Crisis counseling; and Program promotion and outreach activities; consisting of seminar group instruction for the Employee Assistance Program participants. These orientation sessions will be held from May through Sept. each year at government sites nationwide, currently serviced under the EAP. These seminar group instructions shall provide IRS employees knowledge about the direct employee orientation counseling sessions, supervisory training sessions shall give the managers knowledge of how to use the critical incident band referral services for job performance problems. Special emphasis will give to identifying employees with alcohol/drug problems. At the 10 largest employment sites, Andover, Atlanta, Austin, Brookhaven, Covington, Fresno, Kansas City, Phila., Memphis & Ogden Service Centers, the contractor shall provide one full time, on-site licensed professional counselor to act as _IRS action resource manager_ to assist IRS employees and managers in the workplace. The goal and main objective of such a liaison is to launch, provide and maintain a major initiative to develop, promote and work in coordination with all IRS personnel to maximize mental health and wellness program initiatives throughout the agency. Written treatment plans shall be developed for all participants once the nature of the problem has been determined. Treatment plans shall consist of the diagnosis of the problem, the specific steps (mental health, educational and referral) to assist the participant in resolving his/her problem, and the goal of the plan. The contractor is responsible for making it_s services accessible and responsive to the needs of all eligible individuals, including individuals with disabilities. It is important that each person contacting the EAP have their needs addressed promptly. Telephone based counseling via a separate toll free number will be provided to IRS Law Enforcement officers and families; clinicians assigned to this service will have been professionally trained in counseling techniques for a law enforcement population. The contractor is responsible for obtaining and ensuring that the contractor_s employees and any subcontractors, obtain the necessary licenses, permits and insurance required to perform the services covered by the contract. The contractor shall be responsible for validating the qualifications of employees and subcontractor personnel assigned to providing telephone or face-to-face interviews with IRS clients. Any person proposed as clinical supervisor must meet the following qualifications: If a clinical social worker, the person must be trained at the master_s level and possess a current State license or State certification, or possess an *ACSW, or other national certification. If a clinical psychologist, the person must possess and maintain a current and unrestricted State license. If the person holds a graduate degree in Mental Health Counseling, it must be domesticated that the academic training includes a supervised clinical experience. This person must hold a State license or possess a National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) or other similar national certificate (e.g. *MFCC, *PC) requiring two years supervised clinical experience. The person must maintain active membership in the professional association appropriate to his/her degree. Experience with managing an integrated traumatic incidence EAP and worklife resources and referral program is desirable. The Contractor will provide only professionally trained staff at the master_s level or above for the EAP counselors. C.5.6 EAP counselors should also have general counseling experience as well as experience working with alcohol and drug dependency, assessments and treatment strategies and knowledge of local, affordable facilities. EAP counselors should also have experience working with persons with HIV/AIDS and their local families. The Contractor will be required to participate in an ongoing review of he traumatic incidence response services provide to IRS employees. It is expected that the Contractor will establish data collection procedures for the MIS at the start of the contract. Occasionally, for traumatic incidence and for serious mental health episodes, mangers may request on-site assistance or emergency response. While this contract includes emergency response systems, the Contractor is expected to assist managers with an on-site mental health episode as quickly as possible. This may involve an on-site assessment of an individual and recommendations to management for how to proceed. The contractor is required to provide Critical Incident Debriefing on an as needed basis at the contracted hourly rate. The IRS has occasional need for these types of debriefing when employees experience a traumatic experience (i.e. death of an employee, bomb threat, earthquake, etc.). These debriefings usually involve three or more employees. SUBMIT CAPABILITY STATEMENT REFERENCING _EAP_ TO PAUL ATTORRI, A:P:O:S, AT THE ABOVE ADDRESS OR THE E-MAIL ADDRESS BELOW BY MARCH 5, 2001.

Web Link

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Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010220/GSOL001.HTM (D-046 SN50D873)