[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 140 (Monday, July 22, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43926-43929]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-17500]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
National Institute of Corrections
Solicitation for a Cooperative Agreement--Evidence-Based Decision
Making in State and Local Criminal Justice Systems: Planning and
Development for Implementation
AGENCY: National Institute of Corrections, U.S. Department of Justice.
ACTION: Solicitation for a Cooperative Agreement.
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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) is soliciting
proposals from organizations, groups, or individuals to enter into a
cooperative agreement for a 15-month period to begin no later than
August 15, 2013. Work under this cooperative agreement will be an
extension of the NIC's Evidence-Based Decision Making (EBDM) in Local
Criminal Justice Systems initiative. It will require the coordination
of jurisdictions receiving technical assistance under EBDM and review
of work produced under other cooperative agreements that resulted in
deliverables under EBDM. Work under this cooperative agreement will
involve
[[Page 43927]]
all activities necessary to plan for the successful implementation of
EBDM in a statewide structure.
Specifically, the awardee will plan a comprehensive structure for
implementation, including development of a technical assistance (TA)
plan and the tools required to build capacity to implement EBDM within
local jurisdictions and state-level criminal justice planning
committees. The awardee will also revise ``A Framework for Evidence-
Based Decision Making in Local Criminal Justice Systems'' to include
needed content changes and additions to support statewide
implementation; develop activities and tools needed to select a state
that, through an identified process, is determined to have the greatest
potential for successful planning and implementation of EBDM at the
statewide level; provide TA to current EBDM sites and their states'
criminal justice coordinating counsels and executive administration in
preparation for statewide planning for EBDM implementation. This
project will be a collaborative venture with the NIC Community Services
Division.
NIC Opportunity Number: 13CS14. This number should appear in the
reference line in your cover letter, on Standard Form 424 in section 11
with the title of your proposal, and in the right justified header of
your proposal.
Number of Awards and Funds Available: Under this solicitation, one
award will be made. The total amount of funds available under this
solicitation is $480,000.00. Funds awarded under this solicitation may
be used only for activities directly related to the project as
described herein unless otherwise amended in writing by NIC.
Applications: All applicants must be submitted electronically via
http://www.grants.gov. Hand delivered, mailed, faxed, or emailed
applications will not be accepted.
DATES: Application must be submitted before midnight on Monday, August
5, 2013.
Authority: Public Law 93-415.
Eligibility of Applicants: An eligible applicant is any public or
private agency, educational institution, organization, individual or
team with expertise in the described areas.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background: The purpose of the EBDM Initiative is to equip criminal
justice policymakers with the information, processes, and tools that
result in measurable reductions in pretrial misconduct and post-
conviction reoffending. The initiative to date has built the capacity
within seven local criminal justice systems to (1) improve the quality
of information used to make individual case decisions in local systems
and (2) engage these systems as policymaking bodies to improve the
effectiveness of their decisions collectively at identified decision
points. Local officials involved in this initiative include judges,
prosecutors, public defenders, police, sheriff, human service
providers, county executives, probation, and pretrial services
directors.
A copy of ``A Framework for Evidence-Based Decision Making in Local
Criminal Justice Systems'' is available at http://nicic.gov/Library/024372. The ``Roadmap to Phase II'' outlines the primary objectives of
TA targeted at each of the seven local systems. A copy of the roadmap
is available at http://static.nicic.gov/Public/roadmap phase ii final
2.docx.
The work completed to date on the EBDM initiative, including the
Framework document, tools, and TA, have not addressed criminal justice
decisions beyond an offender's placement in prison.
The intent of this proposal is to perform the activities required
to expand the decision making points of the current EBDM Framework to
include parole review, reentry (including institution and community
planning), parole release and setting of conditions of parole
supervision, responses to parole violations of conditions of community
supervision, and revocation and termination of parole. It will expand
collaborative partnerships to include the executive decision makers
from state criminal justice agencies and build their capacity to (1)
improve the quality of information used to make individual case
decisions in state systems, (2) engage agencies as policymaking bodies
to improve the effectiveness of their decisions collectively at
identified decision points, and (3) improve the effectiveness of state
policy and legislative mandates to support local jurisdictions'
criminal justice system goals. It will link and coordinate state and
local collaborative bodies to (1) improve the quality of information
used to make individual case decisions managed at both the state and
local levels and (2) engage these state and local agencies as
policymaking bodies to improve the effectiveness of their decisions
collectively at identified decision points. State officials will
include chief judge, attorney general, chief public defender,
department of corrections director, parole release and supervision
authority, state police, director of health and human services,
victim's rights, and the governor's office.
Included within this proposal is the provision of TA for current
EBDM sites to help them prepare for statewide implementation, as well
as the development of a protocol to establish an effective process for
state site selection.
Scope of Work: The goal of this cooperative agreement is to develop
the tools and protocols needed to select and build the capacity to
implement EBDM within a statewide structure. This is will be
accomplished through the following primary tasks: (1) Develop the ``The
Framework for Evidence-Based Decision Making in Local and State
Criminal Justice Systems.'' This document will be a revision and update
of ``Framework for Evidence-Based Decision Making in Local Criminal
Justice Systems.'' The updated document will include all of the
relevant findings and information needed to guide decision points
beyond prison placement. The updates and revision must be consistent
with the current principles of EBDM. (2) Develop tools and protocols to
build the capacity of state-level systems to make evidence-based
decisions modeled after the tools and protocols developed and tested in
``The Roadmap to Phase II.'' The revisions and updates will include any
knowledge, skill building, and information that would be specific to
state-level executives and collaborative bodies. (3) Develop a protocol
to link and coordinate local collaborative bodies to their state
collaborative body. This link and coordination is intended to improve
the quality of information and the effectiveness of the decisions of
state and local bodies in reaching their harm reduction goals. This
link has not been developed or tested in previous EBDM work and will
require new development. (4) Develop all the tools and processes needed
to select a state that has the greatest potential of completing the
planning and implementation phases of EBDM. Learn more about the EBDM
phases at http://www.nicic.gov/ebdm. The same selection process should
be used for the local jurisdiction selection within this award and it
should be modified for selection of the state that will receive future
NIC technical assistance as part of this initiative. (5) Deliver TA to
current states participating in the EBDM initiative (Colorado, Indiana,
Oregon, Minnesota, Virginia, Wisconsin) to prepare them for the state
selection process if they choose to participate. Thirty percent of the
total budget of this cooperative agreement will be devoted to this
effort. The TA should be both prescriptive and individual to the
[[Page 43928]]
specific developmental needs of each state. (6) Propose a technical
assistance plan that develops the prerequisite skills and knowledge
that each state should possess as it begins the selection process and
state-level collaboration. Proposals should also mention an applicant's
ability to provide specialized ad-hoc technical assistance specific to
the needs of the individual states. (7) Use local and state selection
criteria to make the final selection of the state, including up to four
of its local jurisdictions, to serve as NIC's pilot sites during the
planning and implementation phases.
The order in which these tasks are to be completed will be
determined at the initial planning meeting.
DELIVERABLES: (1) A manuscript of ``A Framework for Evidence-Based
Decision Making in Local and State Criminal Justice Systems,'' (2)
Tools and protocols needed to build state and local criminal justice
system capacity to make evidence-based decisions, (3) Tools and
protocols needed to link and coordinate state and local collaborative
bodies, (4) Tools and processes to select the EBDM pilot state,
including up to four of its local jurisdictions that will link to the
state-level collaborative body, (5) Working documents of all the tools,
protocols, and processes that are developed under this cooperative
agreement. The documents must be in a format accessible to NIC and
ready for use in selected sites. (6) EBDM state selection, including
the local jurisdictions that will serve as NIC's pilot sites, (7) TA to
the current EBDM states (6 eligible states) to prepare them for EBDM
state selection, (8) Planning meetings and updates with the assigned
NIC correctional program specialist throughout the award period,
including at a minimum, (a) an in-person planning meeting with NIC
staff to be held within 2 weeks of the award and (b) meeting routinely
with NIC staff to discuss the progress of the project deliverables.
Meetings will be held no less than quarterly and may be conducted in
person, by phone, or online as agreed upon by both the NIC staff and
awardee, (9) All documentation submitted.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: All technical or programmatic
questions concerning this announcement should be directed to Lori
Eville, Correctional Program Specialist, National Institute of
Corrections who may be reached by email at [email protected]. In addition
to the direct reply, all questions and responses will be posted on
NIC's Web site at www.nicic.gov for public review (the names or
affiliations of those submitting questions will not be posted). The Web
site will be updated regularly and postings will remain on the Web site
until the closing date of this cooperative agreement solicitation.
Application Requirements: Application Requirements: Applications
should be typed, double spaced, in 12-point font, and reference the
project by the ``NIC Opportunity Number'' 13CS14 and title in this
announcement, ``Evidence-Based Decision Making in State and Local
Criminal Justice Systems: Planning and Development for
Implementation.'' 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 concisely written
program narrative, not to exceed 30 numbered pages, in response to the
statement of work, and a detailed budget with 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. Attachments to the proposal
describing your organization or examples of other past work beyond
those specifically requested above are discouraged. These attachments
should not exceed 5MB.
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.
Failure to supply all required forms with the application package
may result in disqualification of the application from consideration.
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.
Review Considerations: Applications received under this
announcement will be subject to the NIC Review Process. Proposals which
fail to provide sufficient information to allow evaluation under the
criteria below may be judged non-responsive and disqualified.
The criteria for the evaluation of each application will be as
follows:
Programmatic (40%)
Are all of the project tasks adequately discussed? Is there a clear
statement of how each task will be accomplished, to include the overall
project goal(s), major tasks to achieve the goal(s), the strategies to
be employed in completing the tasks, required staffing, and other
required resources? Are there any approaches, techniques, or design
aspects proposed that are new to NIC and will enhance the project?
Organizational (35%)
Do the proposed project staff members 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 complete all project
tasks? Does the proposal contain project management and staffing plans
that are realistic and sufficient to complete the project within the
project time frame?
Project Management/Administration (25%)
Does the applicant identify reasonable objectives and/or milestones
that reflect the key tasks, 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?
Specific Requirements: Documents or other media that are 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. For all awards in which a document will be a deliverable, the
awardee must follow the guidelines listed herein, as well as follow the
Guidelines for Preparing and Submitting Manuscripts for Publication as
found in the ``General Guidelines for Cooperative Agreements,'' which
can be found on
[[Page 43929]]
our Web site at www.nicic.gov/cooperativeagreements.
All final documents and other materials submitted under this
project must meet the federal government's requirement for Section 508
accessibility, including those provisions outlined in 1194 Subpart B,
Technical Provisions, Subpart C, Functional Performance Criteria; and
Subpart D, Documentation and Support, NIC's government product
accessibility template (see www.nicic.gov/section508) outlines the
agency's minimum criteria for meeting this requirement; a completed
form attesting to the accessibility of project deliverables should
accompany all submissions.
Note Concerning Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: The
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) should be entered into
box 10 of the SF 424. The CFDA number for this solicitation is 16.602,
Research and Policy Formulation. You are not subject to Executive Order
12372 and should check box b under section 16.
Robert M. Brown, Jr.,
Acting Director, National Institute of Corrections.
[FR Doc. 2013-17500 Filed 7-19-13; 8:45 am]
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