[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 232 (Friday, December 4, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63788-63790]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-29004]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

National Institute of Corrections


Solicitation for a Cooperative Agreement: Quarterly Publication 
of a ``Corrections Mental Health Newsletter''

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 to enter into a 
cooperative agreement for a twelve-month period to publish a 
``Corrections Mental Health Newsletter'' on a quarterly basis providing 
up-to-date information, news, research, relevant issues, highlighted 
training and programs, etc. to a correctional audience responsible for, 
and interested in mental health issues in community corrections, 
prisons and jails. It is expected that such a newsletter will be 
published quarterly with the first publication anticipated to be 
released in February/March 2010 and continue quarterly thereafter for 
the calendar year. The recipient of this award may be awarded a 
cooperative agreement for up to two successive years in 2011 and 2012 
to continue the publication.

DATES: Applications must be received by 2 p.m. EDT on Friday, January 
15, 2010.

[[Page 63789]]


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, dial 7-3106, extension 0 
for pickup.
    Faxed applications will not be accepted. Electronic applications 
can be submitted via http://www.grants.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of this announcement can be 
downloaded from the NIC Web page at http://www.nicic.gov.
    All technical or programmatic questions concerning this 
announcement should be directed to Michael Dooley, Correctional Program 
Specialist (CPS), National Institute of Corrections (NIC) at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Overview: The overall goal of the initiative is to provide 
corrections mental health professionals, practitioners, policy makers 
and others with an interest in mental health and corrections an up-to-
date outlet for communicating relevant, comprehensive and timely 
information on issues and resources pertaining to mental illness and 
mental health issues in jails, prisons and community corrections.
    Background: Substantial numbers of persons with mental illness have 
found their way into all areas of the criminal justice system including 
corrections. According to the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health: 
Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, ``people with serious mental 
illnesses who come in contact with the criminal justice system are 
typically poor and uninsured, are disproportionately members of 
minority groups, and often are homeless and have co-occurring substance 
abuse and mental disorders. They cycle in and out of homeless shelters, 
hospitals, and jails, occasionally receiving mental health, substance 
abuse services, but most likely receiving no services at all (APA, 
2000).'' The large and disproportionate number of offenders under 
correctional custody and supervision continues to be a serious 
management and safety problem in both our correctional institutions and 
our communities. This is not a new problem and has been a trend over 
the past four decades.
    A new study conducted by the Council of State Governments Justice 
Center, in partnership with Policy Research Associates on the 
prevalence of adults with serious mental illnesses in jails released in 
the summer of 2009 found that more than 20,000 adults entering five 
local jails document serious mental illnesses in 14.5 percent of the 
men and 31 percent of the women, rates in excess of three to six times 
those found in the general population. Prevalence estimates for females 
were double those for male inmates. This gender difference is 
particularly important given the rising number of women in U.S. jails. 
These findings represent the most reliable estimates in the last 20 
years of rates of serious mental illness among adults entering jails. 
(Steadman, Osher, Robbins, Case and Samuels, June 2009)
    In a NIC 2008 Needs Assessment, interviewees noted that problems 
with mental illness continue to challenge both prison and jail 
operations, and there is a critical need for more collaboration with 
providers of services for the mentally ill and a review of policies 
driving them into the corrections system. According to the 2005 NIC 
Needs Assessment ``Adequacy of offender mental health care'' was the 
second highest (2.48) concern to senior corrections officials (Clem and 
Eggers, 2005).
    The challenges to corrections are significant and multi-faceted. 
This frequent involvement with the criminal justice system will 
continue to have a significant adverse impact on corrections, public 
safety and government spending, not to mention the devastating impact 
for these individuals and their families. The mentally ill offender, 
along with the professionals and practitioners who make policy and make 
operational decisions, need a conduit and voice for the current news, 
trends and issues. It is about being routinely informed so that best 
policy, best practice and best responses emerge as the foundation for 
managing mentally ill offenders in jails, prisons and community 
corrections.
    Project Deliverables: The following are the expected products and 
services for the project: Publish four quarterly ``News Letter'' over 
one calendar year; Develop a layout format and prototype of the 
newsletter; Develop a method and conduct a comprehensive survey of the 
corrections mental health field for trends and issues that can generate 
topics and items for the publication; Develop and maintain a targeted 
distribution list of corrections mental health professionals and 
community websites that reach these practitioners (e.g., NIC Web site, 
CMHS GAINS Center website, National Commission on Correctional Health 
Care Web site, etc.); and Distribute the publication at no charge to 
recipients.
    Publication Specifications: The newsletter publication must be 
designed and developed adhering to the following standards and 
specifications: Make available in either HTML or PDF format for 
electronic distribution.

    Note: The format will depend on further consultation with NIC 
Information Center staff and NIC publications staff (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); adhere to best 
practice technical and editing standards and formats for this type 
of electronic newsletter; publication content and topics must span 
and attend to the interest of the broad array of correctional 
stakeholders including jails, prisons, and community corrections. 
Topics and items published must focus on current issues pertaining 
to corrections and mental health, and may include but not be limited 
to, feature articles on NIC initiatives and work, innovative work 
and programs, demonstrated best practices, current research trends, 
legal issues, scheduled events/workshops/conferences, and articles 
from practitioners in the field.

    Work Requirements: The recipient of this cooperative agreement 
award must, at a minimum, do the following within the scope of 
performing work on this project:
    Consult with the Correctional Program Specialist (CPS) assigned to 
manage the cooperative agreement to ensure understanding of, and 
agreement on, the scope of work to be performed;
    Consult and work with the NIC Information Center for posting and 
availability through the website including the Corrections Community, 
Corrections News, and Blogs. The applicant can visit the NIC Web site 
at http://www.nicic.gov/.
    Submit a detailed work plan with time lines and milestones for 
accomplishing project activities to the assigned CPS for approval prior 
to any work to be performed under this agreement;
    Designate a point of contact, which would serve as the conduit of 
information and work between the CPS and the awardee;
    Submit a layout and prototype to the CPS/Project Manager or 
designee for approval before the first edition is published.
    Consult periodically with the CPS/Project Manager or designee on 
the proposed content for the newsletter.
    Required Expertise: The successful applicant will need the skills, 
abilities and knowledge in the following areas: Knowledge of mental 
illness and mental health issues in jails, prisons and

[[Page 63790]]

community corrections, or be able to access such knowledge and 
expertise; knowledge and skill in designing, editing and publishing an 
electronic newsletter; knowledge and skills in soliciting content, 
articles and features for inclusion in the newsletter; project 
management experience; effective written and oral communication skills.
    Application Requirements: Applications 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 of fiscal 
year that the applicant operates under (e.g., July 1 through June 30), 
an outline of projected costs, and the following forms: OMB Standard 
Form 424A, Budget Information--Non Construction Programs, OMB Standard 
Form 424B, Assurances--Non Construction Programs (available at http://www.grants.gov), and DOJ/NIC Certification Regarding Lobbying; 
Debarment, Suspension and Other Responsibility Matters; and Drug-Free 
Workplace Requirements (available at http://www.nicic.gov/Downloads/PDF/certif-frm.pdf).
    Applications may be submitted in hard copy, or electronically via 
http://www.grants.gov. If submitted in hard copy, there needs to be an 
original and three copies of the full proposal (program and budget 
narratives, application forms and assurances). The original should have 
the applicant's signature in blue ink. The program narrative text must 
be limited to no more than 10 double spaced pages, exclusive of resumes 
and summaries of experience.
    A sample of a prior or proposed newsletter publication including 
format done by the applicant is preferred as a supplement to the 
application. Please do not submit full curriculum vitae.
    A Web conference will be conducted for persons with the intent to 
respond to the solicitation on Friday, December 18, 2009 at 12 p.m. 
EDT. In this conference NIC project managers will respond to questions 
regarding the solicitation and expectations of work to be performed. 
You must pre-register to attend the conference. To register for the Web 
conference go to: https://nic.webex.com/nic/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=718386703 and follow the registration instructions. You 
will be provided further instructions for accessing the session once 
you have registered for the Web-conference.
    Authority: Public Law 93-415.
    Funds Available: NIC is seeking the applicant's best ideas 
regarding accomplishment of the scope of work and the related costs for 
achieving the goals of this solicitation. Funds may only be used for 
the activities that are linked to the desired outcome of the project.
    Eligibility of Applicants: An eligible applicant is any 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 Peer Review 
Process.

    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: 10P08. 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: 16.601.
    Executive Order 12372: This project is not subject to the 
provisions of Executive Order 12372.

Morris L. Thigpen,
Director, National Institute of Corrections.
[FR Doc. E9-29004 Filed 12-3-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-36-P