[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 47 (Thursday, March 12, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10774-10776]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-5406]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

National Institute of Corrections


Solicitation for a Cooperative Agreement: Document--A Guide to 
Developing a Jail Information System

AGENCY: National Institute of Corrections, Department of Justice.

ACTION: Solicitation for a Cooperative Agreement.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Corrections, Jails Division, is 
seeking applications for the development of a document that provides 
jail administrators, managers, and technical support staff with a 
practical guide to developing and using a jail information system.

DATES: Applications must be received by 4 p.m. (EDT) on April 2, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Submit mailed applications to: Director, National Institute 
of Corrections, 320 First Street, NW., Room 5007, Washington, DC 20534. 
Applicants are encouraged to use

[[Page 10775]]

Federal Express, UPS, or a similar service to ensure delivery by the 
due date.
    Submit hand-delivered applications to 500 First Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20534. At the front desk, dial 7-3106, ext. 0 for 
pickup.
    Faxed or e-mailed applications will not be accepted. Submit 
electronic applications via http://www.grants.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Download a copy of this announcement 
from the NIC Web site at http://www.nicic.gov.
    Direct all technical or programmatic questions concerning this 
announcement to Fran Zandi, Correctional Program Specialist, National 
Institute of Corrections. She can be reached by calling 1-800-995-6423, 
ext. 7-1070 or by e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Background: Each day jail administrators and practitioners 
routinely make decisions about jail management and operations that have 
a significant influence on resource acquisition and management, inmate 
supervision and behavior management, staffing levels, staff 
performance, planning for future jail construction, and population 
management. To make effective decisions, jail administrators and 
managers should have sufficient information to assess the issue at 
hand, identify their options, project the implications of those 
options, choose the best option that they can explain and justify 
clearly, and plan and implement the choice.
    Accurate and timely information is essential not only to decisions 
about jail operations, but also to the work of the local criminal 
justice system. The jail is an integral part of this system, and jail 
practitioners must be able to provide information about the inmate 
population to criminal justice stakeholders as they develop strategies 
to manage the system to ensure its overall effectiveness and 
efficiency. Information is critical to decisionmaking, and jails must 
develop the analytic infrastructure needed to turn data into useful 
information.
    NIC has produced documents in the past such as ``How to Collect and 
Analyze Data: A Manual for Sheriffs and Jail Administrators,'' ``Jail 
Crowding--Understanding Jail Population Dynamics,'' ``Objective Jail 
Classification: A Guide for Jail Administrators,'' and the three-part 
``Budget Guide for Jail Administrators.'' Each of these documents 
provides specific information and instruction about a particular 
component of jail operations. The proposed document should not 
replicate the previous material but provide a framework for 
jurisdictions to develop an overall information system.
    Objectives: The National Institute of Corrections wishes to produce 
a document that gives jail administrators, managers, and technical 
support staff guidance on defining an information system, identifying 
the decisions for which administrators need data, building a data 
collection plan, determining access to and distribution of the data, 
and planning for automation.
    Document Audience: This guide is for use by jail administrators, 
managers, and technical support staff in jails of all sizes.
    Use of Document: The document will be a practical guide for 
developing a comprehensive jail management information system.
    Document Distribution: NIC expects to distribute the document 
widely. It will make the document available on the NIC Web site and 
through the NIC Information Center, upon request and free of charge.
    Document Content: The document will be a clear, practical guide for 
jail administrators, managers, and technical support staff on defining, 
building, and using an information system. It must account for 
diversity among jails in terms of their relative size and resources. 
The document will include, at a minimum, (1) A description or 
definition of an information system. (Agencies often assume the term 
``information system'' refers only to an automated system or computer 
system.) Researchers have well documented the benefit of collecting and 
analyzing data. Jurisdictions, however, have less success in developing 
a system that gathers critical data at specific intervals, uses the 
data for decisionmaking, and gives stakeholders access to the data in a 
well-designed manner. An information system must be more than a data 
repository. (2) Guidance on how to build a data collection plan or 
process. The document should outline the process in developing a data 
collection plan. Activities such as agreeing on a common strategy, 
addressing each participant's needs, building in accountability and 
quality assurance for data input, and understanding its limitations are 
necessary to developing a robust and sustainable plan. (3) 
Identification of the types of decisions for which data is needed, such 
as those relating to new jail planning, the implementation and 
effectiveness of inmate programs, staffing levels, budget needs, staff 
performance, inmate behavior management, inmate risk and needs 
assessment, and inmate population management. The document should lead 
jail practitioners to the realization that organized, quality data is 
essential to effective decisionmaking. (4) A brief discussion of 
statistics, how to interpret them, and how to turn data into usable 
information. The document should include an appendix with tools, forms, 
and supplementary materials that will assist jurisdictions in 
developing, implementing, and managing their information system. (5) 
Specific examples of how jails have used information systems 
successfully (brief case studies or other strategy). (6) Discussion of 
retention schedules. Although retention schedules vary from state to 
state, retaining paper documents and electronic material for a specific 
length of time is critical to the development of an information system. 
Although retention schedules most often refer to paper files and 
materials, the document should also address electronic storage. (7) 
Guidance on broadening the use of data management throughout the larger 
criminal justice system. The jail is one component of the criminal 
justice system, but it can provide critical data to criminal justice 
stakeholders as they grapple with planning and policy development. (8) 
Guidance on preparing for automation. Jurisdictions are often ill 
equipped to evaluate and select an automated system and may be 
unsatisfied with the results. Changing or modifying business practices 
is just one component of preparing for automation that is overlooked or 
misunderstood. The document should assist jurisdictions in identifying 
possible barriers to successful automation. (9) A glossary of terms 
applicable to this project.
    Project Description: The awardee will produce a completed document 
that has received initial editing from a professional editor. NIC will 
be responsible for the final editing process and document design, but 
the awardee will remain available during this time to answer questions 
and revise to the document as necessary.
    Project Schedule: The following list shows the major activities 
required to complete the project. Document development will begin upon 
award of this agreement and must be completed 18 months after the award 
date. The schedule for completion of activities should include, at a 
minimum, meeting with an NIC project manager for an overview of the 
project and initial planning; reviewing materials that NIC provides; 
completing the initial outline of document content and layout; meeting 
with an NIC project manager to

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review, discuss, and agree on a content outline; researching content 
topics and related resources; submitting draft sections of the document 
to NIC for review; revising draft sections for NIC's approval; 
submitting the document to an editor that the awardee has hired for 
first content edit; submitting a draft of the entire document to NIC 
for review; revising the document for NIC's approval; and submitting 
the document to NIC in hard copy and on disk in Microsoft Word 1997-
2003 format.
    Throughout the project period, the awardee should make provisions 
for meetings with NIC staff, to be held in Washington, DC, at critical 
planning and review points in document's development.
    Document Preparation: For all awards in which a document will be a 
deliverable, the awardee must follow the Guidelines for Preparing and 
Submitting Manuscripts for Publication as found in the ``General 
Guidelines for Cooperative Agreements,'' which will be included in the 
award package.
    Application Requirements: An application package must include OMB 
Standard Form 424, Application for Federal Assistance; a cover letter 
identifying 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); and an outline of 
projected costs. The following additional forms must also be included: 
OMB Standard Form 424A, Budget Information--Non-Construction Programs; 
OMB Standard Form 424B, Assurances--Non-Construction Programs (both 
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://www.nicic.gov/Downloads/PDF/certif-frm.pdf).
    The application should be written concisely, typed double-spaced, 
and reference the NIC application number and title provided in this 
announcement.
    If you are hand delivering or submitting an application via Fed-Ex, 
please include an original and three copies of your full proposal 
(program and budget narrative, application forms, and assurances). The 
original should have the applicant's signature in blue ink. As 
previously stated, electronic submissions will only be accepted via 
http://www.grants.gov.
    The narrative portion of the application should include, at a 
minimum, a brief paragraph indicating the applicant's understanding of 
the purpose of the document and the issues to be addressed; a brief 
paragraph summarizing the project's goals and objectives; a clear 
description of the methodology that will be used to complete the 
project and achieve its goals; a statement or chart of measurable 
project milestones and timelines for completing each milestone; a 
description of the qualifications of the applicant organization and a 
resume for the principle and each staff member assigned to the project 
that documents relevant knowledge, skills, and ability to carry out the 
project; a minimum of three references for which the applicant has 
provided similar service; a budget that details all costs for the 
project, showing consideration for all contingencies for this project, 
and notes a commitment to work within the proposed budget; and a sample 
of at least one document completed by the applicant.
    Applicants must specify their role in the production of the sample 
document(s).
    Authority: Public Law 93-415.
    Funds Available: NIC is seeking applicants' best ideas regarding 
accomplishments of the scope of work and the related costs for 
achieving the goals of this solicitation. Awardees may use funds only 
for the activities linked to the desired outcome of the project.
    Eligibility of Applicants: Applications are solicited from any 
state or general unit of local government, private agency, educational 
institution, organization, individual or team with expertise in the 
described areas. Applicants must have demonstrated ability to implement 
a project of this size and scope.
    Review Considerations: A team of NIC staff will review all 
applications.
    Among the criteria to evaluate the applications are an indication 
of a clear understanding of the project requirements; background, 
experience, and expertise of the proposed project staff, including any 
subcontractors; effectiveness of the creative approach to the project; 
clear, concise description of all elements and tasks of the project, 
with sufficient and realistic timeframes necessary to complete the 
tasks; technical soundness of project design and methodology; financial 
and administrative integrity of the proposal, including adherence to 
federal financial guidelines and processes; a sufficiently detailed 
budget that shows consideration of all contingencies for this project 
and commitment to work within the budget proposed; working knowledge of 
jails and jail and criminal justice information systems; and 
availability to meet with NIC staff.

    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).

    Applicants can receive a DUNS number at no cost by calling the 
dedicated toll-free DUNS number request line at 1-800-333-0505 (if you 
are a sole proprietor, dial 1-866-705-5711 and select option 1).
    Applicants may register in the CCR online at the CCR Web site: 
http://www.ccr.gov. A CCR handbook and worksheet can also be reviewed 
at the Web site.
    Number of Awards: One.
    Applicants' Conference: An applicants' conference will be held on 
March 25, 2009 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. (EDT) at the NIC office, 500 1st 
Street, NW., 7th Floor, Washington, DC. The conference will give 
applicants the opportunity to meet with NIC project staff to ask 
questions about the project and the application procedures. Attendance 
at the conference is optional, and those who will be unable to attend 
in person may request a telephone conference instead. Applicants who 
plan to attend or who would like to participate via telephone should 
call Fran Zandi, NIC Jails Division, Correctional Program Specialist, 
at 1-800-995-6423, ext. 7-1070 by 4:30 p.m. (EDT) on March 20, 2009 to 
confirm attendance.

NIC Application Number 09J68.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 16.601

    Executive Order 12372: This project is not subject to the 
provisions of Executive Order 12372.

Thomas J. Beauclair,
Deputy Director, National Institute of Corrections.
 [FR Doc. E9-5406 Filed 3-11-09; 8:45 am]
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