Sources Sought Notice Sources Sought Notice Page 8 of 8 Sources Sought Notice *= Required Field Sources Sought Notice Page 1 of 8 SUBJECT* On Line Interactive Screening Program - Self-Check Quiz GENERAL INFORMATION CONTRACTING OFFICE S ZIP CODE* 25405 SOLICITATION NUMBER* 36C24526Q0276 RESPONSE DATE/TIME/ZONE 02-16-2026 11:00am EASTERN TIME, NEW YORK, USA ARCHIVE 60 DAYS AFTER THE RESPONSE DATE RECOVERY ACT FUNDS N SET-ASIDE PRODUCT SERVICE CODE* U009 NAICS CODE* 518210 CONTRACTING OFFICE ADDRESS Department of Veterans Affairs VAMC (613) VISN 5 Contract Satellite Office 510 Butler Avenue Martinsburg WV 25405 POINT OF CONTACT* Contract Specialist Tara Davis tara.davis4@va.gov PLACE OF PERFORMANCE ADDRESS Department of Veterans Affairs Virtual POSTAL CODE COUNTRY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AGENCY S URL AGENCY CONTACT S EMAIL ADDRESS http://www.va.gov EMAIL DESCRIPTION VA Homepage DESCRIPTION THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)/SOURCES SOUGHT IS ISSUED SOLELY FOR INFORMATION AND PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION. THE SUBMISSION OF PRICING, CAPABILITIES FOR PLANNING PURPOSES, AND OTHER MARKET INFORMATION IS HIGHLY ENCOURAGED AND ALLOWED UNDER THIS RFI IN ACCORDANCE WITH (IAW) FAR 15.201(e). DISCLAIMER This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation. Neither unsolicited proposals nor any other kind of offers will be considered in response to this RFI. IAW FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and will not be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked Proprietary, will be handled accordingly. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. At this time, questions concerning the composition and requirements for a future RFQ will not be entertained. SOURCES SOUGHT DESCRIPTION This is NOT a solicitation announcement. This is a sources sought/RFI only. The purpose of this sources sought/RFI is to gain knowledge of potential qualified sources and their size classification relative to NAICS 518210: Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services. Responses to this sources sought will be used by the Government to make appropriate acquisition decisions. After reviewing the responses to this sources sought, a solicitation announcement may be published. Responses to this sources sought synopsis are not considered adequate responses for a solicitation announcement. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), VISN 05 Network Contracting Offices, is seeking sources that can complete requirements to provide an online interactive screening program and that at a minimum meets the requirements listed under the description section below. The information identified above is intended to be descriptive, not restrictive and to indicate the quality of the supplies/services that will be satisfactory. It is the responsibility of the interested source to demonstrate to the government that the interested parties can provide the supplies/services that fulfill the required specifications. If you are interested and are capable of providing the sought out supplies/services, please provide the requested information as well as the information indicated below. Response to this notice should include: Company name, address of company, point of contact Any small business designation as certified by the Small Business Administration, size of business pursuant to the following question. A through description of experience in managing support requirements of this nature. Please indicate the size status and representations of your business, such as but not limited to: Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB), Hubzone, Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB), Large Business, etc.)? Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) receive preference. Is your company considered small under the NAICS code identified under this RFI? Your FSS GSA/NAC contract number. General pricing of your products/solution is encouraged. Pricing will be used for the purpose of market research only. It will not be used to evaluate for any type of award. Please submit your capabilities in regard to the salient characteristics being provided and any information pertaining to equal to items to establish capabilities for planning purposes? Please review salient characteristics/statement of work (if applicable) and provide feedback or suggestions. If none, please reply as N/A. Please provide your DUNS/UEI number. Please indicate an estimated timeline of completion for this requirement. CONTACT INFORMATION: Responses to this notice and any questions related to this RFI shall be directed to Tara Davis tara.davis4@va.gov. All information regarding Capabilities Statements or any other proprietary information relative to this RFI shall be submitted via email to tara.davis4@va.gov. Telephone responses shall not be accepted. Responses must be received no later than 11:00 AM EST, 2/16/2026. If a solicitation is issued it shall be announced at a later date, and all interested parties must respond to that solicitation announcement separately from the responses to this sources sought. Responses to this sources sought notice are not a request to be added to a prospective bidders list or to receive a copy of the solicitation. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES: To provide an online interactive screening program. 1. SCOPE OF WORK 1.1 Description of Services: The contractor will grant the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) a license to use an online interactive screening program, assist VCL staff in training Chat Crisis Responders in the procedures for use of the online interactive screening program, provide ongoing technical assistance/support to the VCL, and collect/evaluate quantitative data. 1.2 Background: There are approximately 20 million Veterans in the United States and six million Veterans who receive care within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VHA). Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate suicide rates among men between the ages of 20 and 65 at approximately 17 per 100,000 persons per year. VHA mental health officials estimate 6,400 suicides per year among Veterans, and 2,500 among veterans receiving health care from VHA. Recent reports have suggested that Veterans may be at an increased risk for conditions and behaviors associated with poor mental health including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, and increased rates of substance use; all of which are established risk factors for suicide. The VCL Chat program enables Veterans, along with their families and friends, to interact online, anonymously, and chat with a trained VCL Crisis Responder. If the Crisis Responder, after a mental health assessment, determines the user to be in a crisis, the Crisis Responder can take immediate steps to transfer them to the VCL s 24/7 call center, where further counseling and referral services are provided. The VCL chat program is intended to reach out to all Veterans who may or may not be enrolled in the VA health care system and provide them with online access to the VCL and the VA s suicide prevention services. For many Veterans, their first contact with VHA is through this program. To help facilitate Veterans utilization of the chat program and enhance the chat Crisis Responders ability to understand and respond effectively to Veteran-users, the VCL seeks to hire a contractor to develop, implement, and assist in evaluating an online assessment tool that would be seamlessly linked to the VCL Chat program. 1.3 Objective: 1.3.1 Develop, implement, and assist in evaluating an online, evidence based, assessment tool that would be seamlessly linked to the VCL chat program. The online, evidence-based, assessment tool shall include symptoms of depression, PTSD, and other mental health problems and conditions that are associated with elevated risk of suicidal behavior in Veteran and military service personnel. 1.3.2 The design shall provide full access to the assessment tool and all program functions from a smartphone or other mobile device and include a separate version of the assessment tool for family members and other advocates who wish to get help for a Veteran they are concerned about. 1.3.3 Each user s submitted assessment, including the automation of the Reference code, shall be computer-classified into one of four tiers, depending on suicide risk, and routed to a live Chat Crisis Responder who provides a personalized response to the user and encourages follow-up conversation through the VCL Chat service. Using the understanding gained through review of the information the user provided on his/her assessment tool, the Chat Crisis Responder can provide appropriate referrals to services and by including automated follow-up email reminders to participants, this will further engage the user in exploring and resolving barriers and resistances to service utilization. 1.3.4 An evaluation plan shall be implemented by the contractor and the VCL to measure the assessment tool utilization and outcomes. The contractor and the VCL staff will collaborate in analyzing and interpreting the assessment tool data. 1.3.5 The contractor will work with VCL staff to analyze and interpret the data gathered through the online suicide assessment tool and collaborate with VCL staff in presenting evaluation findings at conferences and in manuscripts intended for professional audiences. Although data will be collected by the contractor, VCL will own all collected data and have purview over all analysis, interpretation, and presentation of the data. 1.4 Period of Performance: The period of performance shall be for one base year with (4)12 Month Option Periods: Base Year: April 1, 2026 March 31, 2027 Option Year 1: April 1, 2027 March 31, 2028 Option Year 2: April 1, 2028 March 31, 2029 Option Year 3: April 1, 2029 March 31, 2030 Option Year 4: April 1, 2030 March 31, 2031 2. TASKS AND DELIVERABLES 2.1 Description of Tasks: Provide VCL an online suicide assessment tool; Provide unlimited access to the online assessment tool and collected data during the contract period. Provide on-going technical support and assistance with the assessment tool functionality; to include sending follow-up reminder emails to participants, updating the Crisis Responder templates, welcome page, thank you page and/or the creation of new templates that target individualized demographic responses. Allow for regular website updates/changes of resource information to include videos, and so forth. Periodically monitor the online assessment tool to ensure user access and smooth functionality; to include having the Reference Code automatically populate for the Crisis Responder without requiring the participant to provide. Monitor the integration of the assessment tool and the Veterans Chat software to accommodate ongoing updates by the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Assist VCL staff in training Chat Crisis Responders in the procedures of the online assessment tool and provide ongoing technical assistance and support to Chat Crisis Responders, as needed. Assist VCL staff in the analysis and interpretation of the online assessment tool data; to include a data report/evaluation plan that includes specific data needs and timelines. Participate with VCL in presenting evaluation findings related to the online assessment tool at annual conferences, as needed. Participate in the development of manuscripts related to the online assessment tool, as agreed upon by the contractor and the VCL. 2.2 Reporting Requirements: The contractor will submit reports to the Contracting Officer s Representative and the Quality Assurance Officer of the VCL. Deliverables: Online assessment tool, as described in section above; website with enhancements and interfaces including timely updates/changes as agreed upon by the contractor and VA staff; Quarterly reports to be delivered on or before the 15th of the next quarter. Annual reports to be delivered on or before the 15th of the new Option year. Reports will include quantitative data (such as: number of quizzes, breakdown of participants, number/percent of symptom severity, evaluation data, number of new users, number of returning users, number of users who engaged in a chat, and so forth). Ad Hoc reports upon request; Secure transfer of all submitted assessment data to VCL. Data updates exported and securely transferred to VCL Quarterly concurrent with reports or Ad Hoc upon request; Quarterly conference calls with the VCL to review reporting data, report on future events for volume increases, and address any issues or updates. Face to face meeting(s) scheduled if agreed upon by contractor and VCL.
