[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 89 (Friday, May 8, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26577-26579]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-11098]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration


Announcement of Requirements and Registration for Offender 
Reintegration Toolkit Challenge

    Authority:  15 U.S.C. 3719.

AGENCY: SAMHSA, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: (1) What action is being taken?
    The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 
(SAMHSA) has issued an Offender Reintegration Toolkit Challenge to help 
reduce recidivism and promote the public health and safety of 
communities.
    (2) Why is this action necessary?
    Studies show that people leaving the criminal justice system have a 
higher proportion of substance use and mental disorders than the 
general population. Treatment and recovery support, along with housing 
and employment are necessary to help newly released individuals address 
substance use and mental disorders and to keep them from reoffending. 
Easy to find information and resources can help them (and their family 
and friends) as they return to their communities.
    (3) What is the objective of the challenge?
    To reduce recidivism and provide resources and support for 
individuals leaving the criminal justice system and re-entering their 
communities.
    (4) What is the intended effect of this action?
    Family, friends, parole officers, and community service staff will 
help ex-offenders connect to resources for housing, employment, 
healthcare, and treatment and recovery for substance use and mental 
health disorders. By connecting them to necessary supports,

[[Page 26578]]

ex-offenders will successfully transition back into their communities 
and live successful, healthy lives.
    SAMHSA is seeking solutions to this problem through cost-effective, 
portable, technology-based products that effectively reach a diverse 
population of ex-offenders being released from jail or prison, and the 
friends, family, parole officers, case managers, and service center 
staff who help them. Technology-based products may include, but are not 
limited to, web applications, mobile apps, and Web sites.

DATES: The challenge starts on June 1, 2015 10:00 a.m. ET. The 
challenge ends on July 29, 2015 11:59 p.m. ET.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dina Passman, Public Health Advisor, 
SAMHSA/CSAT/PMB, 1 Choke Cherry Road, Room 5-1070, Rockville, MD, 
Phone: (240) 276-2854, Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Subject of Challenge Competition: Reentry Resources for Individuals 
leaving the criminal justice system.
    Eligibility Rules for Participating in the Competition:
    ``To be eligible to win a prize under this challenge, an individual 
or entity--
    (1) Shall have registered to participate in the competition under 
the rules promulgated by [the issuing agency];
    (2) Shall have complied with all the requirements under this 
section;
    (3) In the case of a private entity, shall be incorporated in and 
maintain a primary place of business in the United States, and in the 
case of an individual, whether participating singly or in a group, 
shall be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States; and
    (4) May not be a Federal entity or Federal employee acting within 
the scope of their employment.''
    (5) Shall not be an HHS employee working on their applications or 
submissions during assigned duty hours.
    (6) Shall not be an employee of SAMHSA.
    (7) [Federal grantees may not use Federal funds to develop COMPETES 
Act challenge applications unless consistent with the purpose of their 
grant award and specifically requested to do so due to the competition 
design. Therefore, unless specifically requesting Federal grantees to 
compete, include the following text in your Federal Register notice: 
``Federal grantees may not use Federal funds to develop COMPETES Act 
challenge applications unless consistent with the purpose of their 
grant award.'']
    (8) Federal contractors may not use Federal funds from a contract 
to develop COMPETES Act challenge applications or to fund efforts in 
support of a COMPETES Act challenge submission.
    ``An individual or entity shall not be deemed ineligible because 
the individual or entity used Federal facilities or consulted with 
Federal employees during a competition if the facilities and employees 
are made available to all individuals and entities participating in the 
competition on an equitable basis.''

Registration Process for Participants

A. Registration

    (i) Beginning on June 1, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, visit 
CHALLENGE URL (the ``Competition Web site'') and click ``Sign Up'' to 
create a ChallengePost account, or click ``Log In'' and log in with an 
existing ChallengePost account. There is no charge for creating a 
ChallengePost account.
    (ii) After a Contestant signs up on the Competition Web site a 
confirmation email will be sent to the email address provided by the 
Contestant. The Contestant should use the confirmation email to verify 
their email address.
    (iii) Contestant should indicate their agreement in participating 
by clicking ``Register'' on the Competition Web site in order to 
receive important Competition updates.
    (iv) In the event of a dispute pertaining to this Competition, the 
authorized account holder of the email address used to sign up for the 
ChallengePost account used to enter the Submission will be deemed to be 
the Contestant (in case of an individual) and the Contestant's 
Representative, in the case of a team or Organization. The ``authorized 
account holder'' is the natural person or legal entity assigned an 
email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider 
or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the 
domain associated with the submitted address. Contestants generally and 
potential winners may be required to show proof of being the authorized 
account holder.
    Amount of the Prize: 1st prize: $10,000 cash; 2nd prize: $7,500 
cash; 3rd prize: $5,000 cash.
    Payment of the Prize: Prize payment will be paid by contractor.

Basis Upon Which Winner Will Be Selected

    A. All eligible Submissions will be judged by an expert panel of 
impartial judges (the ``Judges'') selected by the Sponsor. The internal 
panel will judge these Submissions on the criteria identified in these 
Official Rules to select finalist Submissions. Finalist Submissions 
will then be judged by the expert judging panel determined by the 
Sponsor. The judging panel is not required to test the Application and 
may choose to judge based solely on the text description and video 
provided in the Submission. The Sponsor and the Administrator reserve 
the right to divide and assign the criteria identified below in these 
Official Rules among different members of the internal and expert 
judging panels. The Sponsor and the Administrator reserve the right to 
substitute or modify the judging panel at any time for any reason.
    B. All Judges shall be and remain fair and impartial. Any Judge may 
recuse him or herself from judging a Submission if the Judge, the 
Sponsor or the Administrator considers that it is inappropriate, for 
any reason, for the Judge to evaluate a specific Submission or group of 
Submissions.
    C. A Contestant's likelihood of winning will depend primarily on 
the number and quality of all of the Submissions, as determined by the 
Judges using the criteria in these Official Rules. The judging period 
is August 5, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time through August 14, 2015 at 
11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (the ``Judging Period '').
    D. Criteria:
    Judging Criteria:
    (i) Quality of Performance (40 points) (includes how well the 
Application functions technically, and extent to which the Application 
responds to the Competition topic and target audience, and how 
thoroughly and clearly the solution utilizes the required assets);
    (ii) Quality of User Experience (25 points) (includes visual 
aesthetic and ease of use);
    (iii) Potential Impact (25 points) (includes the potential impact 
related to successfully informing target audiences about the resources 
available to them for employment, housing, treatment and recovery;) and
    (iv) Feasibility of Use (10 points) (includes how easily target 
audiences and members of the public can access and use the 
Application).
    E. If deemed necessary by the judging panel, each of the top five 
finalists may be asked to participate in a virtual or in-person meeting 
with federal staff to discuss their Application and demonstrate its 
operation. The purpose of these meetings will be to further evaluate 
the Contestant's product, provide any additional information to SAMHSA, 
and clarify any concerns or questions raised by the review panel.
    F. Tie Breakers. In the event of a tie between two or more 
Submissions, the

[[Page 26579]]

tied Submission with the highest score in the first criterion listed 
above shall be deemed the higher scoring Submission. In the event any 
ties remain, this process will be repeated by comparing the tied 
Submissions' scores on the second, third, fourth, and fifth criterion 
listed above, respectively. If two or more Submissions are tied on all 
four criteria, the panel of Judges will vote on the tied submissions.

Additional Information

Submission

    (i) Contestants must create a working software application which 
runs on a smartphone or tablet (iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows 
Mobile, via a mobile browser or downloadable app), a Windows or Mac 
personal computer, or on a web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Internet 
Explorer, or Safari) (each an ``Application'').
    (ii) During the Competition Submission Period, Contestant must 
visit the Competition Web site and confirm that he or she has or, if 
Contestant is a Representative, all members of their team or 
Organization have, read and agree to the Official Rules. Then, 
Contestant must submit its Submission by providing:
    a. The name of the Application;
    b. a text description of the Application and how it functions;
    c. a text description of testing instructions for the app;
    d. at least one image (screenshot) of the working Application;
    e. a link to a video uploaded to ChallengePost.com and YouTube.com 
that clearly demonstrates the Application's functionality and features 
(by walking through the Application);
    f. the Application platform (iOS, Android, Mac Desktop, Windows 
Desktop, Web);
    g. for web or mobile web Applications, a link to a Web site where 
the Application can be accessed free of charge;
    h. for Mac or Windows desktop Applications, a zip file upload 
including appropriate installation files; and, if available, a link to 
a Web site or app store where the Application can be downloaded;
    i. step-by-step testing instructions including the minimum 
operating system or web browser version required for testing and login 
instructions, if a login is required;
    j. the submitter type (individual, team, or organization);
    k. the Organization name, if the submitter is an Organization; and
    l. the Contestant Representative's phone number.
    (a-l above, are collectively a ``Submission'')
    (iii) For sake of clarity, all parts of the Submission must be 
entered at the same time on the Competition Web site. All Submissions 
must be received by no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on July 29, 
2015.
    (iv) Once a Submission has been submitted and the Competition 
Submission Period has ended, a Contestant may not make any changes or 
alterations to the Submission until the end of the Judging Period. 
Contestants may save draft versions of their Submission before entering 
it on the Competition Web site.
    (v) The Sponsor and/or the Administrator, at their sole discretion, 
may permit a Contestant to modify part of the Submission after the 
Competition Submission Deadline for the purpose of removing material 
that potentially infringes a third party mark or right, discloses 
personally identifiable information, or is otherwise inappropriate. The 
modified Submission must remain substantively the same as the original 
Submission with the only modification being what is permitted by the 
Sponsor and/or Administrator. Any modifications beyond what is 
permitted may result in disqualification.
    (vi) Applications cannot be changed after the Competition 
Submission Period and before the end of the Judging Period, unless the 
Contestant has provided an installation file and testing instructions 
on the Enter an Application form on the Competition Web site.

Submission Requirements

A. Language Requirements
    All Submission materials must be in English.
B. Text Description, Image and Video Requirements
    (i) The text description must describe the Application's key 
features and functionality.
    (ii) The image(s) must be photographs or screenshots of your 
working Application.
    (iii) The video portion of the Submission:
    a. Should be no longer than five (5) minutes;
    b. must clearly demonstrate the Application's features and 
functionality; and
    c. must not include music or other copyrighted material or use 
third party trademarks unless the Contestant has written permission to 
use such material.
    (iv) If the video is primarily promotional rather than a 
demonstration of the Application's functionality and features (by 
walking through the Application), the Submission may be disqualified at 
the Sponsor's and/or Administrator's sole discretion. Challenge 
managers should include any additional information in this section that 
would be relevant for participants. For example, it could include 
background information about the data sources or materials that should 
be accessed for purposes of this challenge, treatment of intellectual 
property rights if it is an area the agency plans to negotiate at a 
later point in the challenge competition, or background information 
about related initiatives or challenges.

Content Requirements

    (i) The Submission must exclusively include information specified 
in the asset file. This information must include, but not be limited 
to, the SAMHSA Opioid Overdose Toolkit. Entries may not substantially 
alter the meaning, intent, or otherwise misrepresent the content from 
SAMHSA's Opioid Overdose Toolkit or other assets in whole or in part. 
The intention of this clause is to ensure that the integrity of the 
content is maintained.
    (ii) The Submission must target individuals, friends, family, and 
people who work in organizations assisting people leaving the criminal 
justice system and re-entering their community. The submission must be 
developed based on the use cases (included in the materials) as their 
target users.
    (iii) Submission must not include an audio or visual performance, 
including but not limited to music, dance, or other performing art, 
third-party copyrighted material or trademarks, unless the Contestant 
has written permission to use such material.
    (iv) The Submission must not use HHS's or SAMHSA's logos or 
official seals and must not claim endorsement.

Summer King,
Statistician.
[FR Doc. 2015-11098 Filed 5-7-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4162-20-P