RELIGIOUS SERVICES

1. Purpose:

The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to acquire capability statements from prospective vendors that can fulfill the government requirement for religious services.  The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code anticipated for this procurement is 813110 – Religious Organizations with a small business size standard of $13 million.

In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provision 52.215-3, this RFI is solely for informational and planning purposes. It does not constitute a request for proposal (RFP), nor does it restrict the government to any specific acquisition strategy. It describes only the currently contemplated scope of services and is subject to change in the final solicitation. By posting this RFI, The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) hopes to decrease the time to award, thereby delivering capabilities faster, encourage competition by providing interested vendors with an improved understanding of the goals and objectives for this procurement, and increase the likelihood of a successful outcome by refining evaluation techniques to identify the most qualified contractors. This RFI does not commit the government to contract for any supply or service. Further, the government is not seeking proposals at this time and will not accept unsolicited proposals. The government will not reimburse interested sources for any costs incurred in the preparation of a response to this notice and submittals will not be returned to the sender. No award will be made from this RFI. At its discretion, the government may conduct additional exchanges with industry in accordance with FAR 15.201. 

 2. Background:

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), has a requirement for bilingual (Spanish/English) chaplains and support staff to establish and administer a Religious Services Program at each of six (6) dedicated ICE Detention Facilities located in Batavia, NY, Miami, FL (Krome), Los Fresnos, TX (Port Isabel), Florence, AZ, El Paso, TX, and Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NSGB) - Cuba.

Places of Performance:

1.  Batavia Federal Detention Facility - 4250 Federal Drive, Batavia, NY 14020
2.  Krome Service Processing Center - 18201 SW 12th Street, Miami, FL 33194
3.  Port Isabel Service Processing Center - 27991 Buena Vista Blvd., Los Fresnos, TX 78566
4.  El Paso Service Processing Center - 8915 Montana Avenue, El Paso, TX 79925
5.  Florence Service Processing Center - 3250 N. Pinal Parkway, Florence, AZ 85132
6.  Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NSGB) - Cuba

The primary goal of this contract is to provide detainees access to a structured and consistent opportunity to practice religion. This goal will be accomplished through an on-site chaplain and program support staff who will interact with the detainee population and coordinate a network of local volunteers who may provide worship services and religious instruction (i.e. classes) for detainees of various religious traditions. It is the policy of ICE to extend to all detainees the greatest amount of freedom and opportunity to pursue their individual religious beliefs and practices consistent with the safety and security of the facility.

The contractor shall coordinate worship services and instructional opportunities by providing detainees of recognized faith groups with reasonable and equitable gatherings subject to space availability at each ICE Detention Facility. The contractor shall coordinate pastoral care in a one-on-one setting with sensitivity, approachability, and availability to all detainees. The contractor shall also approve religious meals (meals provided by the ICE Food Services contractor per ICE Policies and Standards) and advise ICE on religious property matters and instructional material for detainee use.

1. Capability Statement

Each potential vendor shall provide the following information in their capability statement:

1. Name of company, SAM UEI number, NACIS Code and any GSA or GWAC number.
2. Whether the company has the capability to provide:
   1. Chaplains and program managers who have the knowledge, skills, and experience working with individuals from a wide range of faith traditions in detention settings.
   2. Six (6) religious services chaplains, one for each site, who will be responsible and accountable for the overall administration, religious leadership, and function of the Religious Services Program at each site. For details of functions of religious services, refer to the draft Statement of Work (SOW). The local chaplain may be a member of the clergy who leads worship services and provides religious instruction. The chaplain must be fluent in English and Spanish.
   3. Six (6) religious services program managers, one for each site, who shall work with the chaplain to accomplish the duties outlined in the draft SOW. The local program manager shall provide logistics support for the Religious Services Program, including coordinating volunteers, coordinating religious activities and ancillary items, directly communicating with detainees, producing monthly reports, and providing overall administrative support to the program at each location. The program manager must be fluent in English and Spanish
      1. Volunteer program is exempt at NSGB location.
   4. One (1) national program manager to oversee the overall implementation of the program and liaise with ICE contracting officer representative. The national program manager is preferably an experienced chaplain but not required.
   5. At least one of the chaplain personnel shall be from a non-Christian denomination. [1]
   6. The local facility chaplain shall be accessible via cell phone 24 hours a day/7 days a week.
   7. The chaplain, or their designee, must be able to arrive at the facility within 120 minutes of a call from ICE in an emergency.
   8. Procure and distribute individual religious and supporting items for those in ICE custody.
   9. List any similar contracts, performed as a prime or subcontractor, within the last three (3) years, including:
      1. 1. Name of the agency, contract name, and number.
         2. Total awarded amount (Contract Value with Options).
   10. Describe the company’s plan to staff and sustain religious service personnel presence at NSGB, including:
       1. Logistics and planning workflow to support the company’s personnel at the oversea location throughout the entire contract period.

1. 1. 1. Any anticipated challenges to staffing management.
      2. Any professional or compensational incentives for company’s personnel.
      3. Provide estimate of plans and costs in separate appendix to the other RFI responses.

1. Also describe:
   1. What operational bottlenecks do you anticipate while working in partnership with ICE?
   2. What aspects of the SOW are unclear and/or need potential clarification?
   3. What criteria do you believe will be important for the government to consider when evaluating offers?
   4. What information could the government provide that would allow you to provide the most informed offer?
   5. Are there any cost tradeoffs the government should consider?
   6. The government may be planning to do a phased approach in a source selection process to streamline the process as well as reduce proposal costs for prospective offerors. For example, Phase 1 could be an overall evaluation of experience of successfully performing similar services followed by a second phase with written proposals, technical demonstrations, or oral presentations. What evaluation criteria has your company experienced regarding this approach, such as oral presentations, corporate experience interviews, and what was successful and what did you find to be challenges both for the contractors and (from your company’s perspective) the government?
   7. Do you have hard to fill location incentive recommendations?
   8. Do you have response time incentive suggestions for hard to fill locations?

1. Submissions

The capabilities statement shall be no more than 10 pages, with a 12-pt font size or larger.

All submissions shall be provided via email to the government point of contact: Diana Brozi, contracting officer, at diana.brozi@ice.dhs.gov and the contract specialist, at valerie.leonova@ice.dhs.gov . Submissions are due no later than 4:00pm EST on April 1, 2025. The subject line of the email should read: “RFI: Religious Services.” Extraneous materials such as brochures will not be considered. The information provided may be used by the government in developing its acquisition strategy, statement of work/statement of objectives, and/or performance specifications. All proprietary information shall be clearly marked. Any material that is not marked will be considered publicly releasable.

In addition to capabilities information, interested parties shall provide their point of contact (including email, regular mail address, and telephone number(s)), other status (E.g., non-governmental, non-profit organization), any relevant contract numbers and the applicable NAICS and Product Service Codes.

1. Questions

Questions shall be submitted in written form via email to diana.brozi@ice.dhs.gov and valerie.leonova@ice.dhs.gov by March 27, 2025, at 3PM EST. Responses to inquiries are at the Government’s discretion. Telephone inquiries will not be addressed.

[1] Would be a Chaplain who is not an adherent of the one of the six Christian group: Church of the East, Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and Restorationism.