NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A SOLE SOURCE BRIDGE CONTRACT
The Department of health and Human Services (DHHS), Office of Acquisition Management Services (OAMS), on behalf of the Office of the Administration for Children & Families (ACF), Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) intends to award a bridge contract for Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) Legal Services on a sole source basis.
This notice of proposed acquisition is posted as an intent to award a contract on a non-competitive basis to Acacia Center for Justice located at 1025 Connecticut Ave NW STE 100A # 1008 Washington DC 20036
Description of Requirement: The purpose of this requirement is to secure a contractor to develop and maintain a national model in the provision of specific immigration related legal services to UAC. The technical aspect of the acquisition requires ORR/UAC to seek comprehensive legal services for UAC. Legal services in the form of presentations and direct representation are needed to inform UAC in the custody of ORR of their legal rights, facilitate the identification of viable forms of legal relief, as well as to promote the continuity of services related to such viability at the time of release from ORR custody.
The Contractor will provide legal services and other assistance to children in and released from ORR care in the sectors defined by ORR. The Contractor will use developmentally appropriate and culturally competent techniques and methods to assist children navigating the complex immigration system to the extent practicable. All services under the bridge contract will meet the following objectives:
The selected contractor should demonstrate capabilities including:
- Conduct Know Your Rights (KYR) presentations to inform children of their legal rights and what to expect throughout immigration proceedings.
- Conduct legal screenings to identify forms of legal immigration relief available to children and to assess their need for appropriate services supportive of their legal case.
- Provide or facilitate legal representation and other legal assistance for children for the duration of their immigration case (up to the funded capacity).
- Provide data tracking and reporting to monitor program performance and work to continually improve program service delivery.
- Addressing the gap in representation through recruitment and retention of immigration attorneys.
- Spanish language support & technical assistance training for legal service providers.
Required Capabilities: The ACF/ORR requires a contractor experienced in providing the required services with the infrastructure, human resources, and highly specialized expertise to execute the requirements of the contract. The contractor shall be required to be situated nationwide for UAC legal needs, have the necessary background investigations and access to HHS/ACF systems which is critical to the execution of contract requirements. The legal services requirement is a part of the wraparound services ORR provides to UAC in HHS custody throughout the United States. The attorneys under this requirement must collaborate with ORR staff and the direct care provider's staff.
Delivery Date or Period of Performance: - The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), Unaccompanied Alien Children Bureau (UACB) requires up to 12 months of legal services to be provided to children in ORR care, for the following estimated periods of performance:
Base Period: August 01, 2025 – July 31, 2026
Determination: The Government requires a non-competitive bridge contract be awarded to the current contractor to provide sufficient time for HHS to conduct a full competitive process for a follow-on contract, to include acquisition planning, updated market research, solicitation, and proposal evaluation, as well as a 120-day phase-in transition period after award.
Legal services are required to be provided on a continuous basis and no lapse in service can occur because the requirement for certain legal services is part of a Congressionally mandated program. Awarding a bridge contract is essential to prevent a gap in these legally required services while ORR develops a longer-term acquisition strategy to include a competitive follow-on contract. The resultant sole source legal services bridge contract is anticipated to be a one-time requirement. A competitive, follow-on contract is being procured in tandem with the bridge.
Any delay in awarding this bridge contract would jeopardize ORR’s ability to provide UAC with mandatory legal information, disrupt essential program services, and compromise ORR’s mission. Therefore, a bridge award using other than full and open competition is both a programmatic necessity and a risk-mitigating imperative.
Closing Statement: This synopsis is NOT a request for competitive proposals. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this notice. Responses to this synopsis must include clear and convincing evidence of the respondent's capability to fulfill the requirement. All responsible sources may submit a response, which, if timely received, will be considered by the agency. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon this notice is within the discretion of the Government. The primary North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 541110 – Offices of Lawyers.
All responses must be received by June 25, 2025, 10:00 am Eastern Time. Responses must be submitted electronically to Azeb Mengistu at azeb.mengistu@hhs.gov , Mary Rainey at Mary.Rainey@hhs.gov , and Patrick Hacker at Patrick.Hacker@hhs.gov and must reference the announcement number # OMAS119028.
FAX requests are not accepted. In addition, the Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), UEI Number (UEI) the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size
must be included in the response. All respondents must have an active
registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov .
