[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 98 (Friday, May 22, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24037-24039]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-11964]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

National Institute of Corrections


Solicitation for a Cooperative Agreement: Green Corrections

AGENCY: National Institute of Corrections, 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 who would like to 
enter an 8-month cooperative agreement to write a 45-50 page white 
paper exploring implementation strategies to introduce and increase 
awareness of environmental and conservation efforts to the field of 
corrections.
    The Research and Evaluation Division will use the information from 
the white paper to collaborate with other Institute divisions (Prisons, 
Jails, Community Corrections, and Transition and Workforce Development) 
in developing and implementing training and technical assistance 
opportunities. The final white paper will become available to the 
public domain.

DATES: Applications must be received by 4 p.m. EST on Thursday, June 
19, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Mailed applications must be sent to Director, National 
Institute of Corrections, 320 First Street, NW., Room 5007, Washington, 
DC 20534. Applicants are encouraged to use Federal Express, UPS, or 
similar service to ensure delivery by the due date.
    Hand delivered applications should be brought to 500 First Street, 
NW., Washington, DC 20534. At the front desk, call (202) 307-3106, 
extension 0 for pickup.
    Faxed applications will not be accepted. Only electronic 
applications submitted via http://www.grants.gov will be accepted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of this announcement and the 
required application forms can be downloaded from the NIC Web site at 
http://www.nicic.gov/cooperativeagreements.
    All technical or programmatic questions concerning this 
announcement should be directed to Sherry Carroll, Correctional Program 
Specialist, National Institute of Corrections. She can be reached by 
calling 1-800-995-6423 extension 0378 or by e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Background: NIC's interest in this project is to contribute to the 
advancement of corrections by developing innovative solutions to raise 
the awareness of correctional administrators and to help them stay 
abreast of societal issues that are being raised in legislative, 
societal, and political forums. Additionally, NIC aims to inform 
correctional administrators of new legislation that has been brought 
before Congress addressing energy efficiency and renewable energy.
    The Bureau of Justice Statistics found that per capita expenditure 
for each justice function increased between 1982 and 2003, with 
corrections having the largest per capita increase of 423% (BJS, 
2003)--a growth rate higher than both law enforcement and the 
judiciary. With agencies competing for performance-based budgets, 
agencies must show they are operating effectively and efficiently.
    This is the beginning of what could be a new generation of 
correctional facilities. Facilities may be required to enhance their 
infrastructures by implementing self-sustaining and environmentally 
friendly processes for day-to-day operations, or as backup plans during 
times of emergency. This also increases the potential for facilities to 
create green products and services that will reduce costs and improve 
green-collar job skills inside and outside of the facility. Reducing 
operational costs will allow more funding to be directed to programs 
designed to produce long-term, positive effects on offenders re-
entering the community.
    Correctional administrators have attempted to address workforce 
challenges by introducing skilled trades, vocational programs, 
apprenticeships, and college courses to offenders. Still, few job 
assignments are offered to offenders. Dr. Raquel Pinderhughes (2007) 
completed a study suggesting that there are barriers to employment for 
former offenders with low levels of education.
    According to the American Solar Energy Society, jobs in renewable-
energy and energy-efficiency industries could increase to 40 million by 
2030 (MacMillian, 2008). It is believed that most firms are not 
prepared to handle the rapid growth of these types of jobs and will 
experience a shortage of qualified green-collar workers. There will 
also be a greater need for green-collar jobs as traditional blue-collar 
jobs have become less available and competition for them increases 
(Jones and Wyskida 2007).
    New green-collar jobs require less licensing than some blue-collar 
jobs (Pinderhughes, 2007). This may increase the potential for former 
offenders to find gainful employment after their release. Green-collar 
skills are transferable and

[[Page 24038]]

can change how institutions view job assignments in their facilities, 
prompting practitioners to create green collar jobs within the 
institution and develop green-collar job readiness training programs.
    Prisons Industry work programs offer another avenue to create more 
environmental awareness through the services and products they produce. 
Prison Industries have the potential to create green-collar jobs, 
promote awareness through producing energy-efficient and 
environmentally friendly products, create new programs inside 
correctional facilities, and lower pollution and byproduct wastes.
    Progress to date: There are a number of innovative and creative 
solutions being developed in mainstream society to improve 
environmental quality through energy alternatives, material reuse, and 
conservation. These include the use of windmills, solar panels, 
biofuels, composting, recycling metals, water and other materials, crop 
production, and the use of hybrid vehicles. Listed below are a few 
examples of environmental and conservation efforts.
    Many correctional facilities are recycling aluminum cans, 
initiating bike recycling and repair programs, and engaging in facility 
composting. Prison industries are recycling computers and electronics, 
participating in E-scrap Programs in waste management, turning wood 
pallets into furniture, and recycling rubber for children's 
playgrounds.
    Organizations such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design 
(LEED) have established nationally accepted benchmarks for the design, 
construction, and operation of high-performance green buildings. Dr. 
Pinderhughes conducted research in Berkeley, California, that 
documented an analysis of providing high quality jobs for men and women 
with barriers to employment with green-collar jobs (Pinderhughes, 
2007).
    California has three non-profit organizations--San Francisco 
Conservation Corp., Rising Sun Energy Center, and Solar Richmond that 
work to prepare men and women with barriers to employment to enter the 
labor market with green-collar jobs.
    The San Francisco Sheriff's Department's Garden Project modeled for 
community change is an integrated, community-wide, systemic response to 
crime, high rates of recidivism, and unemployment. It is an intensive 
program where participants can learn horticulture skills and grow 
organic vegetables that they can share with senior citizens.
    Rocky Mountain Institute is a nonprofit organization that fosters 
the efficient and restorative use of resources so that companies, 
governments, and organizations are more efficient, make more money, and 
do less harm to the environment.
    Charlotte Correctional Institute, located in Punta Gorda, FL, has 
facilities onsite to provide drinking water and wastewater treatment. 
They also use reclaimed water for institutional laundry and all prison 
toilets.
    Project Goal: Complete 45-50 page white paper on three topic areas: 
(1) Investigating green-collar job readiness programs; (2) strategies 
to make penal industry products and services more environmentally 
friendly and (3) strategies to build or transform agencies into self-
sustaining facilities by addressing and including the following 
objectives:
    Conduct a need assessment on the feasibility of green-collar jobs 
in correctional facilities. This assessment would include specific 
types of green-collar jobs with considerations to offender custody 
levels, gender, and special needs;
    Research and identify new and existing job readiness training 
programs that may be or are delivered to prisoners;
    Develop training strategies that may be delivered to staff such as 
job employment specialists and/or job coordinators and allow linkages 
for soon-to-be released offenders with employment services in the 
community;
    Assess existing programs for environmental awareness (pollution) 
and green-collar job readiness training (heating and cooling, biofuels, 
etc.) in penal industries;
    Identify new programs to increase green collar products and skills, 
i.e., recycling, production, machinery, etc., in penal industries;
    Create an assessment/resource tool for administrators to consider 
in the areas of building environment, transportation, water, energy, 
and other natural resource materials;
    Select a methodology that will determine and establish baseline 
data on prison and jail's energy, water, and resource use and pollution 
generation;
    Introduce cost saving benefits of creating green protocols at 
facilities that can reduce associated costs focused on ``zero waste,'' 
i.e., agriculture, construction design/alterations, composting, 
recycling, energy efficiency, water allocation, etc.;
    Determine strategies to build or transform agencies into self-
sustaining facilities or for the partial implementation of elements for 
self-sustaining, environmentally friendly agencies (i.e., the use of 
solar panels, windmills, alternative sources of energy, etc.).
    Proposal Preparation: The proposal must be no more than 12 pages 
and include a strategic plan detailing how the work will be organized 
and completed, project goals and objectives, methodologies, a list of 
involved persons and their roles, a budget, and the applicant's 
experience working with environmental issues. The proposal and the 
applicant's experience should address previously stated goals and 
objectives in this solicitation.
    Required Expertise: It is highly desirable for the successful 
applicant to demonstrate experience in the following areas: Knowledge 
of green collar jobs; Knowledge of Leadership in Energy and 
Environmental Design (LEED) Standards; Knowledge of recycling, 
conservation and alternative sources of energy; Ability to assess, 
interpret, and summarize research in relevant fields; Ability to serve 
as a liaison with research experts connected to the project; Ability to 
translate concepts into appropriate documents and other forms of 
communication; Knowledge of correctional organization business 
practices; Skills in technical writing; Ability to provide professional 
editing services.
    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: The application should be concisely 
written, typed double-spaced and reference the ``NIC Opportunity 
Number'' and Title provided in this announcement. The application 
package must include OMB Standard Form 424, Application for Federal 
Assistance, 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 program narrative responding to the requirements in this 
announcement, a description of the qualifications of the applicant(s), 
and an outline of projected costs. The following forms must also be 
included: 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), DOJ/NIC 
Certification Regarding Lobbying; Debarment, Suspension and Other

[[Page 24039]]

Responsibility Matters; and Drug-Free Workplace Requirements (available 
at http://www.nicic.org/Downloads/PDF/certif-frm.pdf.) Please limit the 
program narrative text to 12 double-spaced pages, exclusive of resumes 
and summaries of experience. Please do not submit full curriculum 
vitae.
    Additional Resources: Go to http://www.nicic.gov.

    Authority: Public Law 93-415.

    Funds Available: NIC is seeking applicants' best ideas regarding 
accomplishment of the scope of work and the related costs for achieving 
the goals of this solicitation. Funds may be used only for the 
activities that are linked to the desired outcome of the project.
    This project will be a collaborative venture with the NIC Research 
and Evaluation Division.
    Eligibility of Applicants: An eligible applicant is any public or 
private agency, educational institution, organization, individual, or 
team with expertise in the described areas.
    Review Considerations: Applications received under this 
announcement will be subjected to a 3 to 5 person NIC Review Process. 
The criteria for the evaluation of each application will be as follows:
Programmatic (60%)
    Are all of the tasks adequately discussed? Is there a clear 
statement of how each task will be accomplished, including the 
staffing, resources, and strategies to be employed? Are there any 
innovative approaches, techniques, or design aspects proposed that will 
enhance the project?
Organizational (20%)
    Do the skills, knowledge, and expertise of the organization and the 
proposed project staff demonstrate a high level of competency to carry 
out the tasks? Does the applicant organization have the necessary 
experience and organizational capacity to carry out all goals of the 
project? Are the proposed project management and staffing plans 
realistic and sufficient to complete the project within the 8-month 
time frame?
Project Management/Administration (20%)
    Does the applicant identify reasonable objectives, milestones, 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 insure effective coordination? Is 
the proposed budget realistic and provide sufficient cost detail/
narrative, and represent good value relative to the anticipated 
results?

    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.ccr.gov. A CCR Handbook and worksheet can also be reviewed 
at the Web site.
    Number of Awards: One.
    NIC Opportunity Number: 09PEI27. This number should appear as a 
reference line in the cover letter, where indicated on Standard Form 
424, and outside of the envelope in which the application is sent.
    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 16.602.
    Executive Order 12372: This program is not subject to the 
provisions of Executive Order 12372.

Morris L. Thigpen,
Director, National Institute of Corrections.
[FR Doc. E9-11964 Filed 5-21-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-36-P