[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 125 (Thursday, June 28, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38655-38657]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-15842]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
National Institute of Corrections
Solicitation for a Cooperative Agreement: Training Curriculum
Development for Probation and Parole Supervision Executives
AGENCY: National Institute of Corrections, U.S. Department of Justice.
ACTION: Solicitation for a cooperative agreement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) is soliciting
proposals from organizations, groups, or individuals who would like to
enter into a 12-month cooperative agreement with NIC to develop and
pilot a training curriculum that prepares executives of probation and
parole supervision agencies in their new position. This curriculum
should be between 32-40 hours, include a blended approach to training
using instructor-led face-to-face and Web-based instructional delivery
strategies, and be based on NIC's Instructional Theory Into Practice
(ITIP) model.
DATES: Applications must be received by 4:00 p.m. EDT on Friday, July
20, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Mailed applications must be sent to: Director, National
Institute of Corrections, 320 First Street NW., Room 5002, Washington,
DC 20534. Applicants are encouraged to use Federal Express, UPS, or
similar service to ensure delivery by the due date.
Hand delivered applications should be brought to 500 First Street
NW., Washington, DC 20534. At the front desk, dial 7-3106, extension 0
for pickup.
Faxed applications will not be accepted. Electronic applications
can only be submitted via www.grants.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of this announcement and the
required application forms can be downloaded from the NIC Web page at
www.nicic.gov.
All technical or programmatic questions concerning this
announcement should be directed to Robbye Braxton, Correctional Program
Specialist, National Institute of Corrections at rbraxtonmintz@bop.gov
or to Jim Cosby, Community Services Division Chief, at jcosby@bop.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The goal is to develop and pilot a training
curriculum for probation and parole supervision executives that will
describe their role and function as chief executive officer of a
criminal justice agency. The curriculum should promote the use of
evidence-based practices in planning and implementation, describe an
executive's responsibility in the transition/reentry of offenders,
clarify the collaborative role of an executive with other stakeholders
in the criminal justice system, and examine the executive's leadership
role in influencing an organizational culture that supports an agency's
mission and goals.
Background: Generally an alternative to incarceration, probation is
a court ordered period of correctional supervision in the community.
Conversely, parole is a period of conditional supervised release in the
community following a term of incarceration. There are many agencies
that combine the functions of probation and parole community
supervision in
[[Page 38656]]
one agency. This combination increases the need for various offender
management strategies, programs, and services. According to the most
recent report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics titled ``Probation
and Parole in the United States, 2010,'' the number of adult
probationers under community supervision was 4,887,900. The report also
indicated that the number of adult parolees under community supervision
was at 840,700. And while the report indicates a declining trend, these
numbers--more than 5 million offenders--illustrate the need for
continuing effective services to further reduce recidivism and increase
public safety.
This training will prepare newly appointed probation and parole
executives to function in their position successfully in an evidence-
based era. Issues of agency leadership, motivation, communication,
decision-making, strategic planning, and managing daily operations are
often new to these executives. While many come to the position with a
myriad of criminal justice experiences, some have never been in a
position of chief executive officer.
Statement of Work: Under this cooperative agreement, the goal is to
develop and pilot a blended ITIP curriculum that prepares probation and
parole supervision executives for their new role and responsibilities.
This work will occur in four phases. The first phase is curriculum
development and design, where probation and parole executive-level
competency areas--knowledge and skills--will be identified through the
developing-a-curriculum (DACUM) process. The curriculum is then
designed using the ITIP model. The second phase is training for
trainers (T4T). The newly designed curriculum will be presented to
select trainers. The training will introduce trainers to the
curriculum, adult learning theories, and facilitation styles. The third
phase is pilot testing. This is the delivery of the new curriculum to
participants from various jurisdictions. Finally, the last phase is
revision, and it will involve assessments of and changes to the
curriculum in order to produce the final deliverable.
Tasks to be performed under this cooperative agreement include: (1)
Create a 32- to 40-hour blended training curriculum based on the ITIP
model. The awardee under this solicitation will develop content areas--
probation and parole executive competencies--as the basis for the
curriculum. The awardee will participate in initial meetings with the
NIC Correctional Program Specialist (CPS) assigned to manage the
cooperative agreement to ensure understanding of and agreement on the
scope of work to be performed. The awardee must consider and use NIC's
positions relative to transition, evidenced-base practices, and
offender programming in the development of the curriculum. In addition,
the awardee will develop slide shows, a participant manual, and any
other participant materials such as handouts or pre- and post-training
assignments. The final curriculum, including its format, must be
approved in advance by NIC. (2) Design, facilitate and validate the
DACUM. The awardee will work with NIC's CPS to identify subject matter
experts to serve on both the original DACUM and the validation DACUM.
NIC will approve the final list of subject matter experts for both
sessions. The DACUM will take place at the National Training Academy in
Aurora, CO. The DACUM validation will occur virtually. (3) Design and
facilitate a three- or four-day, T4T workshop based on the new
curriculum. The awardee will work with NIC's CPS to identify potential
trainers for the T4T, and NIC's CPS will approve the final list of
trainers. During this session, trainers will become familiar with adult
learning theory and its connection to facilitation styles. The session
will include opportunities for the trainers to practice facilitating
the modules, and the awardee, along with NIC's CPS, will provide
feedback to trainers. The T4T session will take place at the National
Training Academy in Aurora, CO. (4) Pilot the curriculum. The
curriculum will be delivered to participants from various
jurisdictions. The awardee will work with NIC's CPS in managing some of
the pilot training logistics, such as setting training dates,
reproducing trainer and participant materials, and acquiring any
necessary equipment or additional information. The awardee will be
present during the pilot to observe and assess the training. At the
conclusion of each training day, the team--CPS, trainers and awardee--
will participate in debriefing sessions to assess training and
curriculum concerns/issues. The pilot will take place at the National
Training Academy in Aurora, CO. (5) Develop an assessment instrument of
the curriculum in consultation with NIC's CPS and NIC's Research and
Information Services Division. (6) Participate in planning meetings
with NIC's CPS to coordinate the curriculum development, review the
DACUM information, assess the pilot training, and review final
curriculum revisions. Awardee expenses for these meetings are limited
to the cost of travel, lodging, meals, incidental expenses, and
compensation. The awardee should plan for up to four 2-day meetings.
Two of the meetings will take place at the National Training Academy in
Aurora, CO, after the DACUM and pilot training. The other two meetings
will take place in Washington, DC, at NIC's offices. All other meetings
will occur either by telephone or virtual meeting.
Required Expertise: The successful applicant will need the skills,
abilities, and knowledge in the following areas: Knowledge of the role
of probation and parole and its function in the criminal justice
system; The ability to develop a curriculum using the Instructional
Theory Into Practice (ITIP) format; Expertise in a variety of
instructional delivery strategies including, instructor-led
synchronous/asynchronous Web-based e-learning; Skill in designing
training curriculum linked to training objectives; Knowledge of
evidence-based practices, offender transition, and how these areas
relate to probation and parole supervision; Knowledge of training
evaluation methods; Effective written and oral communication skills.
As part of this cooperative agreement, NIC will provide funding for
participant expenses (travel, lodging, and meals) for the initial
DACUM; participant expenses (travel, lodging, and meals) for the
training for trainers workshop; and participant and trainer expenses
(travel, lodging, and meals) for the pilot training. The awardee will
not be responsible for these costs and should not include them in their
application.
Document Requirements: Documents or other media produced under this
award must follow these guidelines: Prior to the preparation of the
final draft of any document or other media, the awardee must consult
with NIC's Writer/Editor concerning the acceptable formats for
manuscript submissions and the technical specifications for electronic
media. The awardee must follow the guidelines listed herein, as well as
follow (1) the Guidelines for Preparing and Submitting Manuscripts for
Publication as found in the ``General Guidelines for Cooperative
Agreements,'' which can be found on our Web site at www.nicic.gov/cooperativeagreements and (2) NIC recommendations for producing media
using plain language, which can be found at www.nicic.gov/plainlanguage.
All final documents and other media submitted under this project
may be posted on the NIC Web site and must meet the federal
government's requirement for accessibility (e.g., 508 PDFs or HTML
files). The awardee must provide descriptive text interpreting all
graphics, photos, graphs, and/or
[[Page 38657]]
multimedia that will be included with or distributed alongside the
materials and must provide transcripts for all applicable audio/visual
works.
Application Requirements: Applications should be concisely written,
typed, double spaced, and reference the project by the NIC Opportunity
Number and title in this announcement. The package must include a cover
letter that identifies the audit agency responsible for the applicant's
financial accounts as well as the audit period or fiscal year that the
applicant operates under (e.g., July 1 through June 30); a program
narrative, not to exceed 30 pages, in response to the statement of
work; and a budget narrative explaining projected costs. Applicants may
submit a description of the project teams' qualifications and expertise
relevant to the project but should not attach lengthy resumes.
The following forms must also be included: OMB Standard Form 424,
Application for Federal Assistance; OMB Standard Form 424A, Budget
information--Non-Construction Programs; OMB Standard Form 424B,
Assurances--Non-Construction Programs (these forms are available at
http://www.grants.gov) and DOJ/NIC Certification Regarding Lobbying;
Debarment, Suspension and Other Responsibility Matters; and the Drug-
Free Workplace Requirements available at http://nicic.gov/Downloads/General/certif-frm.pdf.
In addition, please submit with your typed application a copy of an
ITIP curriculum, which must include all lesson plans and slide show
presentations. The curriculum should be one that your organization has
developed or developed in collaboration with another organization. You
are not required to submit participant materials and/or manuals, but
you may do so. The curriculum and related materials should be submitted
on a disc.
Failure to supply all required forms with the application package
may result in disqualification of the application from consideration.
NIC project managers will post answers to questions received from
potential applicants on its Web site during the time when the
solicitation is open to the public.
Authority: Pub. L. 93-415
Funds Available: Up to $90,000 is available for this project,
subject to available funding. Preference will be given to applicants
who provide the most cost efficient solutions in accomplishing the
scope of work, not necessarily the lowest bid. NIC is seeking the
applicant's best ideas regarding accomplishment of the scope of work
and the related costs for achieving the goals of this solicitation.
Funds may be used only for the activities that are linked to the
desired outcome of the project.
This project will be a collaborative venture with the NIC Community
Services Division.
Eligibility of Applicants: An eligible applicant is any private
agency, educational institution, organization, individual, or team with
expertise in the described areas.
Review Considerations: Applications received under this
announcement will be subjected to the NIC Review Process. Proposals
that fail to provide sufficient information to allow evaluation under
the criteria below may be judged non-responsive and disqualified.
The criteria for the evaluation will be as follows:
Programmatic (45%)
Are all of the six project tasks discussed adequately? Is there a
clear statement of how each task will be accomplished, the strategies
to be employed, required staffing, and other required resources? Has
the applicant demonstrated a clear understanding of ITIP and curriculum
design concepts? Are there any innovative approaches, techniques, or
design aspects proposed that will enhance the project?
Organizational (30%)
Does the proposed project staff possess the skills, knowledge and
expertise necessary to complete the tasks listed under the scope of
work? Does the applicant organization, group, or individual have the
organizational capacity to achieve all five project tasks? Are the
proposed project management and staffing plans realistic and sufficient
to complete the project within the project time frame?
Project Management/Administration (25%)
Does the applicant identify reasonable milestones and measures to
track progress? If consultants and/or partnerships are proposed, is
there a reasonable justification for their inclusion in the project and
a clear structure to ensure effective coordination? Is the proposed
budget realistic, does it provide a sufficient cost detail/narrative,
and does it represent good value relative to the anticipated results?
Note: NIC will NOT award a cooperative agreement to an applicant
who does not have a Dun and Bradstreet Database Universal Number
(DUNS) and is not registered in the Central Contractor Registry
(CCR).
A DUNS number can be received at no cost by calling the dedicated
toll-free DUNS number request line at 1-800-333-0505 (if you are a sole
proprietor, you would dial 1-866-705-5711 and select option
1).
Registration in the CCR can be done online at the CCR Web site:
http://www.bpn.gov/ccr. A CCR handbook and Worksheet can also be
reviewed at the Web site.
Number of Awards: One
NIC Opportunity Number: 12CS12. This number should appear as a
reference line in the cover letter, where indicated on Standard Form
424, and outside of the envelope in which the application is sent.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 16.601.
Executive Order 12372: This project is not subject to the
provisions of Executive Order 12372.
Morris L. Thigpen,
Director, National Institute of Corrections.
[FR Doc. 2012-15842 Filed 6-27-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-36-P