Child and Family Data Archive, 2026–2031

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT  Administration for Children and Families Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation   Performance Work Statement for the Child and Family Data (CFData) Archive 2026-2031 Updated: 7/20/2026 COR: Bonnie Mackintosh Bonnie.Mackintosh@acf.hhs.gov Document Revision History Mod. No. Description of Changes Requested By Approved By Date 00 01 02 Table of Contents 1.0 General 4 1.1 Introduction 4 1.2 Objective 4 1.3 Scope of Work 4 1.4 Background 4 1.5 Type of Contract Contemplated 4 1.6 Period of Performance 4 1.7 Place of Performance 5 1.8 Applicable Documents 5 2.0 Specific Requirements/Tasks 5 2.1 Clin 1/SC 1 through Clin 20/OSC 6 5 3.0 Background Checks. 68 4.0 Data Rights 71 5.0 Delivery or Deliverables 71 6.0 Required Travel and Other Direct Costs (ODCs) 86 7.0 Special Instructions 86 8.0 Government Furnished Property/Equipment/Information 89 9.0 Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms 89 Performance Work Statement Child and Family Data (CFData) Archive 2026-2031 General Introduction The mission of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is to foster health and well-being by providing federal leadership, partnership and resources for the effective delivery of human services (https://acf.gov/about/acf-vision-mission-values). The mission of the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) is to study the ACF programs and the children and families they serve, through rigorous research and evaluation. OPRE informs program offices and the Assistant Secretary on pathways to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of programs to improve the economic and social well-being of children and families. The purpose of this contract is to provide ongoing support to facilitate sharing data from previous, current, and future grants and contracts relevant to early care and education (ECE) programs that are supported by the program offices of ACF. ACF funds numerous data collection efforts on a wide range of issues within and across Head Start, child care, home visiting, and other ECE programs. Additionally, this archive may support the storage and sharing of datasets in other ECE-relevant fields such as economic self-sufficiency, welfare, employment, and parenting. Objective The procurement shall update, maintain, and implement the CFData Archive processes and procedures for five years, from 2026 through 2031. implement an archive team with topical, technical and substantive expertise to address all archive and security requirements. result in continued expansion and improvement of the archive data holdings. hold data accessible to the public, secured with minimal risk to Personally Identifiable Information (PII). maintain and continually improve effective technical assistance (TA), communications, and data curation and management to support data depositors, data users and Federal Project Officers (FPOs). address all federal regulations, and contract requirements for data systems, establishing and maintaining an Authority to Operate, and comply with guidance from ACF Chief Information Officer. This includes renewal of ATO every three years and recording IT costs, to be reported to ACF and HHS as needed. The objectives are driven by ACF’s mission of maximizing impacts of programs, enhancing use of proven practices, achieving measurable results for children and families, and understanding how programs can improve outcomes. Further, the objective reflects the administration goals of scientific reproducibility, “to ensure that federally funded research is transparent, rigorous, and impactful, and that Federal decisions are informed by the most credible, reliable, and impartial scientific evidence available.” (Executive Order Restoring Gold Standard Science, 2025). Through the CFData Archive, ACF’s ECE data is stored and available for public use to assess methods, reliability, replicability, fitness for purpose, and to pursue further analysis to inform national, state and local community questions. Scope of Work The Contractor shall furnish the necessary qualified personnel, equipment, materials, supplies, services, facilities, and otherwise do all that is necessary for, or incidental to, all tasks necessary to maintain the archive, expand the data holdings, and satisfy all customers of the archive (e.g., data producers, data depositors, data users, and Federal staff). Any alternative approaches proposed must be justified in terms of cost and improved outcomes. Offerors are expected to draw on their own expertise to propose the most effective approach to addressing the tasks. The Contractor is expected to work with the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) to refine the activities and proposed plans once contract is awarded. In addition, the Contractor is expected to work closely with OPRE and ACF’s Chief Information Office to establish and maintain an Authority to Operate and ensure compliance with federal regulations and contract requirements. Background From 2003 to 2018, OPRE supported the archiving of data from ECE research as part of cooperative agreements whose primary objective was operating The Child Care and Early Education Research Connections interactive website (referred to as Research Connections). The data archiving activities of the cooperative agreements were carried out by the Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR). During that timeframe, ICPSR archived over 160 ECE datasets and made them available via Research Connections to improve access to research on topics related to child care, Head Start, and early education. This archive may also pursue related topics, such as family health and well-being; self-sufficiency, welfare, employment, and parenting. ACF research programs whose data are targeted by this arch…