The 2030 CQA program will involve the execution of all tasks needed to stand up and operate an omni-channel inbound contact center, as well as the seamless integration of government systems to support both the 2028 Census Dress Rehearsal and the 2030 Census.

The program operational period of 2030 CQA is expected to begin in early-to-mid March 2030 and run through the end of July 2030. For reference, the 2020 CQA operation received nearly 13.5 million inbound calls with more than 50 percent of these calls occurring in the first four weeks of operations, requiring several thousand concurrent agents handling inbound contacts at peak.

The USCB intends to establish four Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) under the CenTAM framework. Each BPA will align to specific USCB Programs and task areas. 

The CenTAM Acquisition Framework will be comprised of the following four BPAs shown in the table below. 

CenTAM Task Areas 

1. Contract Management – Oversight of BPA/order cost, schedule, quality, security, resources, risks, and financial controls. 
2. IT Project & Program Management – Planning, governance, training, change management, independent verification & validation, system level testing, and delivery of IT initiatives. 
3. Architecture & Engineering – Full lifecycle systems architecture and engineering services. 
4. Application Development & Management Services – Design, development, application testing, security, operations and maintenance, cloud migration, research & development, and innovation. 
5. Advanced Data Science & Data Management – Data analytics, reporting, and transformation to support mission and innovation. 

The Census Bureau employs thousands of workers to perform data collection activities via a non-competitive Schedule A hiring authority from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Schedule A includes positions such as enumerators, census field supervisors, office operation supervisors, office clerks, and outreach assistants. During the 2020 Census, Schedule A employees were hired through the Decennial Applicant Personnel and Payroll System (DAPPS), which is the system of record for the recruitment, employment, time entry, and payroll of temporary staff hired for decennial operations. 

The 2030 Census will require the capability to recruit, select, hire, train, pay, and separate a large temporary staff like the one employed during the 2020 Census. The Decennial Administrative, Recruiting, Hiring and Training System (DARHTS) is an integrated suite of government and vendor systems that provides recruitment, assessment, human resources, pay roll, hosting, and online training needed to support the hiring of millions of temporary employees for the 2030 Census. 

The Decennial as a Service Government Program Management Office (D-X GPMO) is charged with orchestrating the full-spectrum delivery of mobile and IT equipment, services, IT hardware, and infrastructure necessary to power the 2028 Dress Rehearsal and the 2030 Census. This includes but is not limited to mobile IT equipment including smart phones, tablets and laptops, IT hardware, computer accessories, network equipment, office automation equipment, paper data capture equipment, cellular services, and logistics services to include provisioning, shipping, decommissioning, asset tracking, and equipment kitting for nationwide deployment.

The FBIB solution is responsible for capturing and transmitting fingerprints and facial photographs to the Census Hiring and Employment Check (CHEC) system and the Identity Management System (IDMS), and may be required to issue, manage, decommission, and print non-HSPD-12 physical and digital badges.  

Additionally, the FBIB solution will support background investigation review processes by ensuring the accuracy and integrity of biometric data and enabling timely, secure, and comprehensive suitability determinations through integration with CHEC and the Decennial Administrative Recruiting, Hiring, and Training System (DHARTS).