[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 128 (Wednesday, July 5, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35052-35054]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-16357]



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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
National Institute of Corrections


Cooperative Agreement Award

AGENCY: National Institute of Corrections, Justice.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice is to provide information to the public concerning 
a planned cooperative agreement award from the National Institute of 
Corrections, Department of Justice to Policy Research, Inc. (PRI) to 
establish a center to improve knowledge and services related to 
improving mechanisms for the acquisition and application of high 
quality knowledge about individuals in contact with the criminal 
justice system dually diagnosed with mental illness and substance abuse 
in order to improve the full range of interventions possible, including 
sanctioning practices, management/supervision strategies, and treatment 
of dually diagnosed substance abuse and mental illness with these 
individuals. This is not a formal request for applications.
DATES: The deadline for submission of the application is 4 p.m., 
E.S.T., August 4, 1995.

ADDRESSES: The application is to be submitted in original with 6 copies 
to the National Institute of Corrections, Attention Mr. George Keiser, 
Chief, Division of Community Corrections, National Institute of 
Corrections, 500 First Street N.W., Washington D.C. 20534.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:Mr. George Keiser, 202-307-3995, ext. 
135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Authority: This cooperative agreement award 
will be made under authority of NIC's statutory authorities as set 
forth in Title 18 of the U.S. Code at 4351-4352. The cooperative 
agreement mechanism is being employed to fund this activity, because it 
is NIC's intent to be actively involved and to provide support for a 
public purpose which requires highly specialized expertise and a unique 
set of collaborative alliances to reach the projects's goals. This 
cooperative agreement is not subject to review as governed by Executive 
Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.

Availability of Funds

    Approximately $906,000 will be available in Fiscal Year 1995 to 
fund this project for the first of 3 years. It is expected that the 
project will begin on or about September 15, 1995 and based on funding 
availability and first year results, additional funding is anticipated 
for up to 2 subsequent years.
    The National Institute of Corrections will administer the 
cooperative agreement and will coordinate with program officials of the 
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services' Center for Substance Abuse 
Treatment and the Center for Mental Health Services in the management, 
oversight, and evaluation of project activities.

Purpose

    Research has shown a high degree of dual diagnosis or co-morbidity 
of addictive and mental disorders (up to 80%) among offender 
populations resulting in a need to establish an integrated network for 
knowledge development, analyses of state-of-the-art practices, and 
knowledge application and technical assistance related to techniques 
for appropriately intervening, managing/supervising and treating 
persons in the criminal justice system who are dually diagnosed with 
substance abuse and mental illness. There is a need to establish an 
expert knowledge and practice base through the creation of a center 
that serves as a resource to enhanced collaboration among mental 
health, substance abuse treatment, and criminal justice professionals, 
consumers, family members, and State and local officials.
    This project will increase the ability to effectively acquire, 
adapt, and apply existing knowledge and practice that will result in 
system change and improved mental health and substance abuse 
interventions, outcomes and management with dually diagnosed 
individuals in contact with the criminal justice system.
    Through a cooperative agreement with a detailed strategic plan that 
(1) builds upon and augments the work already accomplished with the 
earlier jail population initiative of NIC and CMHS and (2) addresses 
how additional correction system target populations are to be reached 
over the lifetime of the award, the project through the creation of a 
center will address the following goals:
    Goal 1: Create a commitment and common understanding regarding the 
need to share responsibility for the treatment, care, and management/
supervision of dually diagnosed individuals who have contact across the 
Criminal Justice System, as well as the Mental Health Care System, and 
the Substance Abuse Treatment System.
    Goal 2: Across all 3 systems, decrease stigmatization of those 
individuals with dual diagnosis of substance abuse and mental illness.
    Goal 3: Increase individual jurisdictions' abilities to 
appropriately intervene and use of a range of graduated sanctions, with 
individuals dually diagnosed with substance abuse and mental illness.
    Goal 4: Develop knowledge application strategies and opportunities 
to improve the treatment and management/supervision of substance abuse 
and mental illness of dually diagnosed offenders by promoting system 
change within each and across all three systems.

Objectives

    Specifically, PRI will prepare an application for a center that 
will include cost, timeframes, and anticipated outcomes to:

--Consolidate, synthesize and assess promising research and program 
evaluation information identifying promising practices ready for 
dissemination and knowledge application to a wide range of 

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audiences, to include female adult and juvenile offenders, violent 
offenders and those at risk for violence, offenders from racial/ethnic 
minority groups, and offenders who are chronically mentally ill.
--Provide technical assistance regarding the development and 
implementation of populations specific, e.g. gender-specific and 
racial/ethnic specific, treatment guidelines for dually diagnosed 
offenders regardless of offense and length and type of sanctioning, 
e.g. ranging from individuals in pre-trial status to those with long 
prison terms. Provide information and analyses relevant to the 
inclusion of these populations in approaches to the provision of 
``managed care.''
--Identify the most appropriate audiences suitable for technical 
assistance, including the judicial system, and match these audiences to 
the most effective and efficient means of technical assistance, 
including knowledge application and marketing strategies. Describe how 
the relative effectiveness of various forms of such technical 
assistance, knowledge application, and marketing will be assessed.
--Describe how the 3 systems in question will be addressed through the 
center and how the project will build incrementally on the legal status 
(based on court dispositions) of offender populations.
--Create networks and examine and evaluate different modes of structure 
and organization of these networks of policy makers, researchers, 
mental health, substance abuse and corrections providers and 
administrators, consumers, family members, advocacy organizations, and 
public/private organizations to assist in accomplishing the systems 
change goals of this project as well as participating in technical 
assistance and knowledge application activities.
--Identify and assist key organizations to meet shared goals related to 
the interventions, sanctioning, treatment, and management/supervision 
of offenders, e.g. issues of family access and family participation to 
offenders with mental illness of concern to the National Alliance for 
the Mentally Ill.
--Provide technical assistance to relevant systems officials regarding 
the availability of services for offenders dually diagnosed with 
substance abuse and mental illness in the community and in jails and 
prisons. Strategize with relevant officials on how to stabilize and 
maintain the chronic dually diagnosed offender in community settings, 
especially when minor offenses have been committed. Explore more 
diversion and sanctioning options for the non-violent dually diagnosed 
offender.
--Increase the awareness and use of a range or continuum of 
interventions, including sanctions, assuring appropriate matching of 
services to the specifics of the population. Increase the use of 
screening and assessment processes to identify and help place the 
dually diagnosed within the corrections system. Provide technical 
assistance in developing common (across jurisdictions, States, 
counties) screening and assessment instruments. Provide technical 
assistance to improve the classification system for dually diagnosed 
offenders. Assist in identifying and developing more effective and 
reliable instruments that allow for non-detention options while 
awaiting adjudication. Increase the ability of the offender to fulfill 
obligations related to legal violations.
--Identify the need for new research, evaluation, and data-base 
building and assess and identify voids and gaps in knowledge and 
subsequently recommend research, evaluation and data-base building 
needed to expand the knowledge base on how to treat and manage the full 
spectrum of dually diagnosed offenders in all components of the 
criminal justice system, including community corrections, jails, and 
prisons.

Evaluation of Project

    The awardee is required to evaluate the center established through 
this project to assure consistency with stated goals, objectives, 
strategic plans, and timeframes as well as to determine the outcome and 
impact of this project on improved sanctioning practices, treatment for 
dually diagnosed substance abuse and mental illness, and management of 
the dually diagnosed offender.

Reasons for Selecting Policy Research, Inc. as Recipient of this 
Cooperative Agreement Award

    Policy Research, Inc. is the non-profit arm of Policy Research 
Associates (PRA), research firm committed to the application of 
rigorous social science research methods to policy issues at the 
Federal, State, and local levels. The delivery of technical assistance 
and the application of new research to pressing service and 
organizational issues have been major foci of PRA activities since its 
inception.
    PRA has been recognized nationally and internationally as a leader 
in research and its applications in the areas of mental health and 
substance abuse services in the criminal justice system, violence and 
mental disorders and mental health services for persons who are 
homeless. Its national leadership in bringing together other 
researchers, service providers, administrators, advocates, and key 
political leaders in these areas to focus on issues of extreme national 
importance is well documented.
    This unique capacity and long-term commitment to the issues that 
are at the core of the project and this capacity exists in no other 
single organization: private or public, research firm or university. 
Because PRA does so much cutting-edge policy analysis, it understands 
the practicalities of interpreting and applying research to foster 
program development and systemic change, an essential ingredient for 
this project to succeed. PRA drafted the report required by Congress in 
Public Law 102-321, section 703 requiring `` a report concerning the 
most effective methods for providing mental health services to 
individuals who come into contact with the criminal justice system. . 
.and the obstacles to providing such services.'' PRA drafted this 
report and conducted a series of meetings that brought together key 
constituent groups for their input. PRA has supported a range of 
technical assistance activities in assisting the National Institute of 
Corrections Jail Division's evaluation of its jail mental health 
technical assistance center, preparing a brochure on the current 
research summarizing data on mental disorder and violence and 
conducting a workshop to develop model contracts between jails and 
mental health service providers.

Evaluation Criteria

    NIC routinely uses four categories of criteria in reviewing 
applications for financial assistance. They are programmatic, 
organizational, project management, and financial/administrative. A 
description of the general elements that compose these criteria 
categories follows:
    Programmatic--Indication of a clear understanding of the problem to 
be addressed, the key issues underlying the problem area, and the 
relevance of the proposed project, well defined project objectives, and 
resources necessary to meet the objectives; potential for NIC's using 
the results of the project in other undertakings or programs.
    Organizational--Background, experience and expertise of the 

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    proposed project staff, including any proposed consultants; and 
sufficient realistic time commitments from key project staff.
    Project Management--Description of all elements and tasks of the 
project, and realistic timeframes necessary to complete the tasks; 
technical soundness of the design and methodology for achieving the 
project goals; identification of realistic process of ensuring 
achievement of tasks and milestones; provisions for adequate evaluation 
of the effectiveness of the project.
    Financial/Administrative--financial and administrative integrity of 
the proposal, including adherence to Federal financial guidelines and 
processes; adequate project cost detail/narrative to support the 
proposed budget; reasonableness of estimated cost in relation to the 
anticipated results.

Executive Order 12372

    Not subject to review.

    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: The Catalog of 
Federal Domestic Assistance Number applicable to this program is 
16.602

Application Process

    Policy Research, Inc. is to submit an application using OMB 
Standard Form 424, Application For Federal Assistance, including as 
appropriate required certifications and assurances (e.g. drug-free 
workplace, debarment, lobbying activities, etc.) The original 
application must bear the original ink-signature of the president or 
chief executive officer of PRI.)
    A budget must be part of the application and composed of a 
narrative description linking costs to projected tasks, outcomes, and 
time frames, as well as a summary projection of costs/prices by major 
categories such as personnel, benefits, travel, supplies, equipment, 
and indirect costs.

    Dated: June 28, 1995.
Morris L. Thigpen,
Director, National Institute of Corrections.
[FR Doc. 95-16357 Filed 7-3-95; 8:45 am]
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