HHS - Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse - MRAS

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE), is seeking a vendor to operate the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse. This initiative was established under the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) of 2018, as part of Title IV-E of the Social Security Act. The Clearinghouse's mission is to systematically review research on programs designed to support children and families and prevent foster care placements. The goal is to evaluate these programs' effectiveness, providing ratings that classify them as promising, supported, or well-supported practices.

The work involves conducting independent, systematic reviews of studies related to mental health and substance use prevention and treatment programs, in-home parent skill-based programs, and kinship navigator programs. These services are intended for candidates for foster care, pregnant or parenting foster youth, as well as their parents or kin caregivers. The contractor will be responsible for aligning review procedures with emerging best practices in systematic review methodologies while enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of these processes. Additionally, maintaining an engaging and accessible website for the Clearinghouse is a key requirement.

Beyond reviewing existing research, this project aims to innovate how findings are disseminated by developing creative approaches tailored to diverse audiences such as federal staff, state administrators, researchers, policy-makers, and other stakeholders. Collaboration with federal entities will be essential in promoting the use of evidence review findings through various engagement activities. Furthermore, contractors are encouraged to propose alternative approaches that could enhance cost efficiency or effectiveness when addressing these tasks.

This Request for Information (RFI) serves multiple purposes: identifying qualified contractors who can fulfill these requirements efficiently while exploring if this project could be suitable for a small business set-aside. The anticipated period of performance spans from September 2025 through September 2030. This RFI does not constitute a solicitation but rather seeks information that may influence future acquisition strategies.