[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 45 (Friday, March 7, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10586-10588]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-5699]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
National Institute of Corrections
Request for Applications
Authority: Public Law 93-415.
Summary: The Department of Justice (DOJ), National Institute of
Corrections (NIC) announces the availability of funds in FY '97 for a
cooperative agreement to deliver the project, Intermediate Sanctions
for Women Offenders: A Program of Training and Technical Assistance for
Selected Local Jurisdictions.
Purpose: The National Institute of Corrections is seeking proposals
for a cooperative agreement to assist four, high population local
jurisdictions in examining their sentencing practices for women
offenders and developing a system of correctional options that is more
effective and appropriate for women.
A cooperative agreement is an assistance relationship in which the
National Institute of Corrections is substantially involved in all
aspects of the project during the performance of the award. An award is
made to an organization who will, in concert with the Institute,
provide technical assistance to selected jurisdictions. No funds are
transferred to State or local governments.
Project Objectives
The objectives of the Project are to work collaboratively with
jurisdictions to:
1. Develop a sound information base regarding the offense and
background characteristics of the jurisdiction's women offenders;
current sentencing practices, supervision processes, and programs; and
responses to women offenders' needs by community corrections and human
service agencies.
2. Use the databases and the experiences of the team members and
others to explore the existing community sanctioning options and their
outcomes for women offenders and identify gaps in the range of
sanctions and services.
3. Develop a sound conceptual plan for creating a range of desired
intermediate sanctions that includes both concrete action steps for
initiation of the plan within six months and a statement of where the
community corrections system should be in 3 to 5 years with its
sanctioning policies and services for women offenders.
4. Document the policy and program development process.
Design and Content of the Project
In broad outline, the Project will provide training and technical
assistance to support policy and program development, on intermediate
sanctions for women offenders, by system-wide actors in four
jurisdictions. Applicants may be any adult probation, parole or other
community based corrections agency in a local jurisdiction with a
population of 200,000 or more.
The focus of the Project's work will be a policy group or team of
key criminal justice decision makers, human services administrators,
and public and private local corrections managers. The community
corrections agency will be expected to take the lead in forming a
policy team or working with an existing or modified policy forum. The
agencies must be willing to involve these critical decision makers in a
process of exploring current sentencing practices for women offenders,
and developing consensus on gaps or problems with intermediate
sentencing options and appropriate solutions to those problems. The
process must be grounded in the use of sound information on sentencing
practices and program outcomes.
Project assistance will consist of three national meetings for a
leadership team of three members from each jurisdiction, facilitation
of the site specific policy team work, the technical assistance
tailored to the needs of each jurisdiction. A complete description of
the Project can be found on pages 6-7 in the NIC Annual Program Plan,
Fiscal Year 1997. To obtain a copy of the Program Plan, please call
Judy Evens at 1-800-995-6423, ext. 159.
Project Status
Five jurisdictions responded to the Project announcement by the
October 15, 1996, deadline. Applications were received from counties/
cities in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York and Ohio.
[[Page 10587]]
The Community Corrections Division has completed both an initial
review of the applications and site-visits to some of the jurisdictions
in order to obtain a more complete picture of the level of interest,
the presenting problems and the commitment of key members of the policy
teams. Decisions regarding applicant selection will be made by February
28, 1997.
Cooperative Agreement Scope of Work
Applicants should propose an integrated training and technical
assistance approach which will accomplish the following tasks:
1. National Meetings for Site Teams
The awardee will design and conduct three national meetings for
three to four person teams from each of the participating sites. The
meetings will be 2-3 days in length. The purposes of the meetings are
to clarify and develop: the project's conceptual framework and problem-
solving activities; information base development and analysis;
strategies to effectively manage work groups; approaches to
establishing links with community resources; individual site action
plans; and other critical issues in sentencing and managing women
offenders. The work will include:
a. Planning the meeting agendas, preparing faculty, and conducting
the two or three day meetings for up to four team members from each
site. NIC will retain final approval of the meeting goals, curricula
and faculty selection.
b. Identifying meeting locations, making all logistical
arrangements, and paying the per diem, lodging and ground
transportation of faculty and participants. The travel expenses
(airline or train) for these meetings for three persons from each site
and faculty will be paid directly by NIC through individual
authorization letters. This arrangement allows the use of lower cost
Government fares and the scheduling of meetings on those days of the
week which are most convenient for all involved. Sites may send
additional team members at their own expense.
2. Site Coordination and Technical Assistance
The awardee will provide the expertise to support the ongoing work
of the sites. This will include designating a staff contact/facilitator
for each site team who serves as a co-strategist to the leadership
team, assesses technical assistance needs and arranges other critical,
technical assistance between the national meetings.
Site specific technical assistance may include issues such as:
maintaining productive policy teams; strategic planning and the policy
development process; information development; and developing strategies
for building public support. Applicants are encouraged to explore the
use of video conferencing to augment on-site activities when the
technology satisfies project needs and is cost effective. Actual costs
have not been determined on the basis of experience. The awardee will
work with NIC to determine precise costs; however, the following cost
estimates are believed to be representative:
a. Video conferencing can be scheduled and initiated from NIC
offices in Washington, D.C., and Longmont, Colorado--in some instances
at no cost to the project. There may be a $130 per hour connection fee
if the receiving location is a commercial site. An additional $55 per
hour connection fee may be charged for each location on a multi point
call. These costs would be the responsibility of the awardee.
b. Costs at the receiving end--or for calls initiated from other
than NIC locations--would be the responsibility of the grantee or
participating jurisdiction. Some jurisdictions may have free access to
their own video conference equipment.
c. It is estimated that receiving end, commercial rental rates per
site can range from $150 to $180 per hour for point-to-point
conferences; and from $210-$240 per hour for multi point conferences.
Estimated costs for initiating SPRINT compatible video conferences from
commercial locations would need to be determined locally, and that cost
would be the responsibility of the awardee.
3. Quarterly Updates with NIC Management and Final Report
NIC and the awardee will hold quarterly update sessions to review
progress in the sites and make decisions regarding further site-
specific technical assistance. At least one of these sessions will be a
face-to-face meeting in the NIC Washington Offices. The others may be
audio- or video-conferences. The awardee must also prepare a final
report on the Project's activities and achievements.
4. Additional Requirements
In the proposal, applicants must:
a. Identify the principal members of the technical assistance
provider team and their specific, relevant expertise.
b. Address how they will perform the project tasks in collaboration
with NIC.
Background Materials
The following materials are available on request from the NIC
Information Center, 1860 Industrial Circle, Suite A, Longmont, CO
80501, telephone 800-877-1461.
Intermediate Sanctions for Women Offenders, March, 1995. Prepared for
Oregon Criminal Justice Council and the Department of Correction by the
(Oregon) Intermediate Sanctions for Female Offenders Policy Group.
Intermediate Sanctions for Women Offenders--Working Papers: Recruitment
Criteria Checklist, and Program Goals and Project Approach.
Funding Level
Funding for this project has been set at $127,000 (direct and
indirect costs) for the first ten months of a 20 month effort. This
amount will support one cooperative agreement award. Subject to
satisfactory performance in the first 10-months, the approval of a
cooperative agreement proposal for the second ten-month period, and the
availability of funds; an award will be made to the successful
applicant from this solicitation for the subsequent phase of this
twenty-month project. Funding for the second phase is projected at
roughly the same level.
The total dollar amount of the indirect costs proposed in an
applicants application cannot exceed the current indirect cost rate
negotiated and approved by a cognizant Federal agency. NIC cannot
approve charges for indirect costs which have not been negotiated or
approved as stated above.
Funds may not be used for construction, or to acquire or build real
property.
Application Procedures
Applicants must be prepared in accordance with the instructions in
the NIC packet titled Process for Applying for Cooperative Agreements.
Applicants are advised that the narrative description of their program,
not including the budget justification or OMB Standard Form 424
(Application for Federal Assistance), attachments and appendices should
not exceed forty (40), double-spaced, typed pages in length. Applicants
should be received in six copies by the Grants Control Office, National
Institute of Corrections, 320 First Street, N. W., Room 5007,
Washington, D. C. 20534, no later than 4:00 pm, Eastern time, Friday,
March 21, 1997. The street address for overnight mail or hand delivery
of applications is 500 First Street, N.W., Room 700, Washington, D.C.
20534. If you have any questions regarding the solicitation, please
write or call: Phyllis Modley, Community Corrections Division, 800-995-
6423, x133.
[[Page 10588]]
Addresses and Further Information
Requests for the application kit should be directed to Judy Evens,
Grants Control Office, National Institute of Corrections, 320 First
Street, N. W., Room 5007, Washington, D. C. 20534 or by calling 800-
995-6423, ext. 159. All technical and/or programmatic information
should be directed to Phyllis Modley at the above address or by calling
800-995-6423, ext. 133.
Number of Awards: One (1).
NIC Application Number: 97C07. This number should appear as a
reference line on your cover letter and also in box 11 of OMB Standard
Form 424.
(The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No. is: 16.603)
Dated: February 27, 1997.
Morris L. Thigpen,
Director, National Institute of Corrections.
[FR Doc. 97-5699 Filed 3-6-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-36-M