[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 120 (Wednesday, June 21, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38602-38604]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-15575]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

National Institute of Corrections


Solicitation for a Cooperative Agreement--Descriptive Analysis of 
Community Corrections Strategies for Women Offenders

AGENCY: National Institute of Corrections, Department of Justice.

ACTION:  Solicitation for a Cooperative Agreement.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Justice (DOJ), National Institute of 
Corrections (NIC), announces the availability of funds in FY 2000 for a 
cooperative agreement to develop a descriptive analysis of community 
corrections options for women offenders. The project will result in a 
state of the art publication which summarizes descriptive information 
on community based supervision of women offenders. The project is the 
second part of a two-phased effort to provide current, relevant 
information on gender responsive strategies for women offenders in the 
community. The first phase is a survey of correctional agencies to 
identify gender responsive approaches. $150,000 are available in FY 
2000 for one cooperative agreement award for a fifteen month period for 
the descriptive analysis.
    A cooperative agreement is a form of assistance relationship where 
the National Institute of Corrections is substantially involved during 
the performance of the award. An award is made to an organization that 
will, in concert with the Institute, develop the state of the art 
document on community based approaches for women offenders. No funds 
are transferred to state or local governments.

Background

    The Community Corrections Division is engaged in a multi-year 
effort to develop current, relevant information on community-based 
supervision approaches designed specifically for women defendants and 
offenders. These approaches may be specialized caseloads or supervision 
strategies, women-only interventions or groups, a women offender track 
in a larger program option (such as a separate track in a day reporting 
center), residential programs, and others. The distinctive feature of 
these approaches will be a purposeful design to improve outcomes for 
women in community settings by addressing their specific 
characteristics, circumstances and needs.

The Two-Part Project

    1. The NIC Information Center is conducting the first part of the 
project, a survey of community based programs for women. The purpose of 
the survey is to develop a national directory of gender specific 
approaches employed as pretrial supervision and sentencing options. 
Directory entries will include the program name, a brief description of 
the approach or program, and contact information. The survey cover 
letter and instrument may be downloaded from the NIC website. (Click on 
``What's New,'' then, ``Miscellaneous,'' to find the entry: Research on 
Specialized Programs for Women in Community Corrections.) The survey 
was mailed to approximately 230 State and local corrections agencies in 
early May, 2000. Many of these agencies made further distribution to 
local offices and programs.
    2. The second part of the project is a descriptive analysis of the 
different types of approaches identified by the survey. It is the 
central purpose of this solicitation. The cooperative agreement awardee 
will take the survey findings--the supervision approaches and programs 
listed and profiled in the directory--and collect more detailed 
information through telephone interviews and on-site visits. The work 
will result in a publication describing the state of the art in 
community-based supervision of women offenders. It will pay particular 
attention to programs which collect evaluative information (both 
process and outcome) and those which employ an assessment component 
specifically developed for women. The anticipated award date of

[[Page 38603]]

the cooperative agreement is September 1, 2000.
    The national directory (Part 1) also will serve the interests of a 
new venture in the development of effective options for women 
offenders: the U.S. DOJ, Office of Justice Program's (OJP) initiative 
called the Mother-Child Community Corrections Project. The Project will 
establish a resource center for information and support on the 
development of community-based residential programs for mothers and 
their children (as distinct from a prison nursery program). It is the 
project's hope that these programs will serve as alternatives to jail 
or prison sentences for women with children. It is a collaborative 
venture between OJP and two service providers: the Center for Effective 
Public Policy and the International Community Corrections Association. 
The results of the NIC national directory project in the area of 
residential programs for women and their children will be turned over 
to this new Center for further development.
    There are many reasons why the information from this two-part 
effort is critically important.
     First, most of the available information on women 
offenders and current program options is on women in custody settings. 
Very little is known about the range of specialized approaches in the 
community, in part, because these programs are much harder to find. 
Many credible efforts are managed and funded entirely on a local basis, 
and through joint arrangements with other service agencies. In 1991, 
the National Council on Crime and Delinquency conducted a survey of 
community corrections programs for women for NIC. This earlier survey 
focused primarily on programs operated by private, non profit 
organizations. While the publication, Female Offenders in the 
Community: An Analysis of Innovative Strategies and Programs, 
September, 1992, is very useful, many of the programs described are no 
longer operating. Also, there remains a serious gap in our 
understanding of strategies employed by public probation, parole and 
community corrections agencies.
     The survey results will support networking among 
practitioners interested in creating or refining approaches that are 
gender responsive to women. Agency administrators, mid-level 
supervisors and staff working with women offenders often feel isolated 
and frustrated. This can be due to the constant need to justify doing 
something``equal but different'' for women in corrections where fair, 
consistent and gender-blind treatment remains an high value. It also 
results from the very real demands of working with women offenders, 
given the array of needs and complexity of issues they bring to the 
criminal justice system. A further part of the challenge of supervising 
women in the community is that these women also are clients of other 
agencies and systems with equally demanding requirements (substance 
abuse and mental health services, child protective custody, welfare to 
work, and others).
     Finally, NIC is engaged in a project to summarize multi-
disciplinary research and practice on gender responsive principles for 
adult corrections from both operational and programmatic perspectives. 
Drs. Barbara Bloom and Barbara Owen are co-principal investigators on 
the NIC, three-year developmental effort. It is already clear that 
there is a dearth of evaluative research on women offender programs. 
Much more research is needed to understand what is gender-responsive 
practice and how it can be measured. The descriptive analysis will 
provide important information on promising approaches in the community 
which can serve as ``learning'' sites for more extensive evaluative 
research.

Purpose

    The National Institute of Corrections is seeking an applicant 
organization or team which offers the required expertise in research, 
analysis and writing; publication design; and overall knowledge of 
women offenders and community corrections.
    The purposes of the cooperative agreement are: To conduct a 
descriptive analysis of various types of supervision approaches 
identified by the NIC Information Center in the national directory, and 
to prepare a camera ready publication which summarizes the state of the 
art in community based approaches for women.
    The work activity required by the Project includes, but is not 
limited to, the following.
     Consult with the NIC Program Manager on project approach 
and time line to assure progress and understanding of the scope of 
work.
     Conduct a review of the national directory entries to 
assess the adequacy of coverage of pretrial and sentenced options for 
women offenders.
     Thoroughly review existing material developed by other 
agencies to describe supervision and treatment approaches for women 
defendants and offenders.
     Conduct necessary planning with content experts to 
finalize the project methodology and objectives. (The above is subject 
to final approval by the Program Manager.)
     Coordinate research, analysis, and drafting findings of 
the descriptive analysis.
     Develop, edit, revise, and format the descriptive analysis 
publication.
     Submit preliminary draft for review by the Program Manager 
per the specified time line. Make revisions and submit second draft if 
requested.
     Prepare all materials using WordPerfect 7.0 or higher word 
processing software and submit final copies of all materials on 3.5" 
computer disks (or zip drive disks) and in ``camera ready'' hard copy 
format (4 paper copies).

Application Requirements

    Applicants must prepare a proposal that describes their plan to 
provide the project outcomes. The plan must include goals and 
objectives, methodology, deliverables, management plan, and a budget 
and budget narrative for the 15 month project. Applicants must identify 
their key project staff and the relevant expertise of each, and address 
the manner in which they would perform all tasks in collaboration with 
the NIC Project Manager. Proposals are limited to twenty-five double-
spaced pages in length, not including resumes, other addenda, and SF-
424 forms.

    Authority: Public Law 93-415.

Funds Available

    Project funds are limited to a maximum total of $150,000 for both 
direct and indirect costs for 15 months. Funds may only be used for 
activities that are linked to the desired outcomes of the project.
    All products from this funding effort will be in public domain and 
available to interested agencies through the National Institute of 
Corrections.

Deadline for Receipt of Applications

    Applications must be received by 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 1, 
2000. They should be addressed to: National Institute of Corrections, 
320 First Street, NW, Room 5007, Washington, DC 20534, Attention: 
Administrative Officer. Hand delivered applications can be brought to 
500 First Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20534. The Front desk will call 
Bobbi Tinsley at (202) 307-3106, extension 0 for pickup.

Addresses and Further Information

    Requests for the application kit, which consists of copies of this 
announcement, the required forms, and the survey of community 
corrections approaches for women offenders' cover letter and 
instrument, should be

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directed to Judy Evens, Cooperative Agreement Control Office, National 
Institute of Corrections, 320 First Street, NW, Room 5007, Washington, 
DC 20534 or by calling (800) 995-6423, extension 159 or (202) 307-3106, 
extension 159. She can also be contacted by E-mail via [email protected]. 
All technical and/or programmatic questions concerning this 
announcement should be directed to Phyllis Modley (NIC Project Manager 
for this project) at the above address or by calling (800) 995-6423 or 
(202) 307-3106, extension 133, or by E-mail via [email protected]. 
Application forms may also be obtained through the NIC website: http://www.nicic.org. (Click on ``What's New'' and then, ``Cooperative 
Agreements.'')
    Eligible Applicants: An eligible applicant is any state or general 
unit of local government, public or private agency, educational 
institution, organization, team, or individual with the requisite 
skills to successfully meet the outcome objectives of the project.
    Review Considerations: Applications received under this 
announcement will be subjected to an NIC three to five member Peer 
Review Process.
    Number of Awards: One (1).
    NIC Application Number: 00C02. This number should appear as a 
reference line in the cover letter and also in box 11 of Standard Form 
424.

    The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number is: 16.602.

    Dated: June 15, 2000.
Larry B. Solomon,
Deputy Director, National Institute of Corrections.
[FR Doc. 00-15575 Filed 6-20-00; 8:45 am]
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