Single Source Procurement: Comprehensive HIV/STI/Hepatitis C Prevention and Related Services for Specific Populations Impacted by HIV/STI/Hepatitis C, Particularly in Communities of Color

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 New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute (AI) is requesting a one-year extension on contracts funded under the initiative "Comprehensive HIV/STI/Hepatitis C Prevention and Related Services for Specific Populations Impacted by HIV/STI/Hepatitis C, Particularly in Communities of Color." An extension is needed to avoid a gap in services while the re-solicitation of this initiative is completed.

This extension request is due to several factors. The AI's Division of HIV/STD/HCV Prevention has spent significant time reviewing current funding streams and how these funds are utilized in relation to the Governor's Ending the Epidemic (ETE) initiative. Since this is a large solicitation with several components, the Division needed to ensure that this RFA would best meet the current needs of communities of colors based on feedback from ETE workgroups and recent surveillance data. Based on the feedback received and current surveillance data, the RFA components were significantly altered to better reflect trends in the HIV epidemic.

Lastly, the models for this RFA are also expected to include recommendations from a number of ETE workgroups formed by the AI. The workgroups have been tasked with developing recommendations to guide funding allocations and RFA program designs in line with the Governor's ETE goals. Recommendations from the Transgender/Gender Non-Conforming (TG/GNC) workgroup (a key population addressed in this RFA) were finalized in the late Spring of 2017. Since funding targeting the TG/GNC community is extremely limited, the AI delayed the release of the RFA to ensure that recommendations from this workgroup were incorporated into this RFA.

Finally, the Division of HIV/STD/HCV Prevention's core funding from the Centers for Disease Control is ending on 12/31/17. There was a significant delay in the CDC releasing its funding opportunity for New York State (originally scheduled to be released in the Spring of 2017, the funding application was not released until the summer). This resulted in a further delay of this RFA as it is critical that newly developed RFAs are reflective of the CDC's funding priorities in order to ensure that services are aligned with the CDC's priorities for the next five-year funding cycle.

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	Comprehensive HIV/STI/Hepatitis C Prevention and Related Services for Specific Populations Impacted by HIV/STI/Hepatitis C, Particularly in Communities of Color
Contractor Name(s)	Multiple - Please see attached.
Contract Period	12/1/2017 – 11/30/2018
Contract Number(s)	Multiple - Please see attached.