Single Source Procurement: Keeping Kids Alive (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)

Pursuant to New York State Finance Law § 163.10(b), The New York State Department of Health is presenting the following summary of relevant circumstances, and material and substantial reasons why a competitive procurement was not feasible.

The Department of Health requests approval for a one year contract extension for the Keeping Kids Alive contract. The current contract is in the last year of a five year term, ending October 31, 2015. The extension period would be November 1, 2015 – October 31, 2016. The current contract is with the Research Foundation of State University of New York (SUNY) C026816. Keeping Kids Alive is a statewide project aimed at reducing preventable infant and child deaths. Funds support the Sudden Infant and Child Death Resource Center. The Department contracts with the Research Foundation of SUNY to operate the project at SUNY Stony Brook. From the statewide office in Stony Brook and Regional Offices in Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany and New York City, the project supports participation in NYS Child Fatality Reviews and educates professionals and the public about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID).

Currently, the Division of Family Health is undergoing a five year needs assessment process to assess needs of NYS' maternal and child health populations, determine priorities and outcomes, plan related activities, and direct resources to address the identified needs. While reducing infant mortality has already been identified as a national and state priority, the nature of NYS' strategies to address this priority has not been fully developed for the next five years. The Health Resources and Services Administration invited New York State to be part of an 18 month Collaboration Innovation and Improvement Network (CoIIN) initiative that is focused on reducing infant mortality. The CoIIN is a public private partnership where states learn from each other and national experts to improve birth outcomes and reduce infant mortality.

The NYS CoIIN began in September 2014 and will continue through June 2016. The NYS collaborative is led by the Department's Division of Family Health and engages multiple state agencies, health care providers and professional organizations to develop a strategic action plan to comprehensively address the reduction of infant mortality. Several priority areas have been identified as possible action areas for CoIIN, including improving the quality of reproductive health and prenatal care and addressing sudden unexpected infant deaths. The CoIIN has begun to identify and document potential safe sleep strategies for health care professionals and consumers. It is anticipated a package of safe sleep strategies will be identified in 2015. The CoIIN will inform the development of the Request for Applications and work plan for the next Keeping Kids Alive competitive procurement. The Keeping Kids Alive contractor would be expected to help engage caregivers and consumers in their local communities to implement strategies consistent with the CoIIN recommended changes. As the contents of the next competitive procurement is dependent on the findings of this collaborative initiative, a delay in the re-procurement is required.

Contractors were awarded contract(s) as a result of the competitive procurement process. This is a 12 month extension of the contract(s) under the same terms, conditions, and pricing authorized under the existing contract(s). The single source extension period will allow for the continuation of critical services pending outcome of a new competitive procurement to obtain these services.

Procurement / Program Name Keeping Kids Alive (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)
Contractor Name(s) Research Foundation of SUNY
Contract Period 11/1/2015 – 10/31/2016
Contract Number(s) C026816