[Federal Register: May 18, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 94)]
[Notices]
[Page 23204-23207]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18my09-80]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
National Institute of Corrections
Solicitation for a Cooperative Agreement--Women Offenders: Gender
Responsive Approaches to Risk and Need Assessment
AGENCY: National Institute of Corrections, Department of Justice
ACTION: Solicitation for a cooperative agreement.
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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Corrections is seeking through a
cooperative agreement award to fund further support, development and
dissemination of the Women's Risk and Need Assessment Instruments. The
[[Page 23205]]
Women's Risk and Need Assessment Instruments were developed via a
cooperative agreement with a national university and include gender
responsive assessments for use in institutional settings and community
settings (probation, parole).
Funds are available for tasks involved in ongoing support of
jurisdictions seeking to implement the Women's Risk and Need Assessment
Instruments. Included in this work will be: (a) Further dissemination
of materials and assessments to interested users; (b) technical
assistance to jurisdictions planning to implement the gender-responsive
tools; (c) assisting agency efforts to utilize the assessments; and (d)
conducting research to further validate and refine the assessment
instruments.
DATES: Applications must be received by 4 p.m. EST on Wednesday, June
24, 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 a
similar service to ensure delivery by the due date, as mail at NIC is
sometimes delayed due to security screening.
Applicants who wish to hand-deliver their applications should bring
them to 500 First Street, NW., Washington, DC 20534, and dial 202-307-
3106, ext. 0, at the front desk for pickup.
Faxed or e-mailed applications will not be accepted.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of this announcement and the
required application forms can be downloaded from the NIC web page at
http://www.nicic.gov/cooperativeagreements.
All technical questions concerning this announcement should be
directed to Pam Davison at 202-353-0484 or at pdavison@bop.gov
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background: Over the past two decades NIC has had a deliberate
focus on women offenders. With the recent emergence of evidence-based
practices in criminal justice, NIC has taken the opportunity to combine
two bodies of work (gender responsive research and knowledge focusing
on women and evidence based practices) into products designed to
improve outcomes for criminal justice involved women.
Over the years, jurisdictions managing women offenders were
becoming increasingly concerned about the rapid growth of female
offender populations, exceeding the rate of growth in male offender
populations and adverse consequences in the application of gender-
neutral instruments to assess and classify women. Surveys of state
correctional classification directors revealed that only 14 systems had
instruments that were validated with populations of women. Instruments
not validated for women were creating over classification, often with
women being held in more austere conditions than warranted by their
risk.
In 2002 NIC held a `gender-responsive assessment meeting' attended
by prominent researchers in correctional and women offender research,
Federal agency representatives with responsibilities for correctional
research, and practitioners who required accurate assessments of women
to manage programs and institutions effectively. Key findings from the
event were numerous and concerns were raised that traditional emphasis
on risk was largely misplaced with women, there may be other factors
with improved predictability for women, and assessing treatment and
programming needs, separate from risk but likely impacting risk, should
be further explored. Recommendations from the event included continuing
to advance the theoretical underpinning of gender-specific assessment,
further the body of research in this field by developing a research
agenda and the development of ethical and scientific standards for this
research; establishing quality control/monitoring mechanisms; exploring
issues related to women's behavior in general and women's criminal
behavior in particular; funding demonstration projects that emphasize
research design and replicability; and provide technical assistance for
the implementation of improved assessment practices and for testing
models and processes.
The recommendations were acted upon. A collaborative effort between
several state and local correctional agencies, NIC and a national
university was formed and the construction and validation of two
gender-responsive risk and needs assessments for women offenders were
created. The instruments are a result of a multi-year collaboration
covering design research and data collection procedures; project
implementation and support; data collection; scale construction at
designated sites; IRB approvals; training site staff in data collection
and research protocols; travel to sites and preparation of research
articles and presentations.
The empirical foundation of the two instruments was drawn from two
offender rehabilitation perspectives: (1) Canadian researchers (Paul
Gendreau, Donald Andrews, James Bonta and others) emphasizing the
importance of assessing and treating dynamic risk factors and (2)
feminist criminologists stressing the ``pathways'' to crime research
(Kathleen Daley, Joanne Belknap, Barbara Bloom, Stephanie Covington,
Barbara Owen, Meda Chesney-Lind and others). Both bodies of research
are fundamental to assessing and programming for dynamic risk factors
specific to women. However, the ``pathways'' model asserts that women's
unique needs are not adequately tapped by the current risk/need
instruments. The two new women's assessments identify needs such as
trauma and abuse; unhealthy relationships; parental stress; depression;
and self efficacy.
These two assessments are (1) A Gender Responsive Risk/Needs
Interview--this is a stand-alone risk needs instrument identifying
needs noted to be predictive of offense-related outcomes for women, and
(2) The ``Trailer''--this assessment serves as an addendum to
established gender neutral assessment (e.g. Northpointe Compas, LSI-R,
etc.), allowing systems using those instruments to access areas that
guide programming explicitly for women. For further information on
these two instruments, refer to http://www.uc.edu/womenoffenders.
The interest in the instruments has been strong. A number of
jurisdictions are in the implementation and validation process while
additional jurisdictions are contemplating the implementation and
validation of one of the two instruments. Data continues to be
collected and gender responsive measures of specific risk and need
factors continue to be refined. In order to meet the needs of the field
and maintain quality control with the instruments, a number of
strategies, noted in this request for application, will be employed.
Scope of Work/Products: It is expected that the Women Offenders:
Gender-Responsive Approaches to Risk/Needs Assessment award will
include:
(1) Dissemination of products to include fielding inquiries from
interested parties; making assessments available for review; conducting
on-line events (training, presentations) regarding use of assessments;
presenting at professional conferences; preparing publications for
refereed journals and newsletters; maintaining the assessment
instrument registration process for purposes of quality control and
fidelity; and maintaining a web page with detailed explanation of the
assessments, listing all relevant publications and training
opportunities.
The dynamic Web site will also contain information on psychometric
properties and notification of any changes to assessment tools.
[[Page 23206]]
(2) Provision of Technical Assistance in conjunction with NIC to
requesting jurisdictions contemplating the use of the assessments.
Services would include (a) evaluating a site's existing classification
systems; (b) tailoring new assessments to system-specific needs; and
(c) recommending implementation plans.
(3) Developing agency capacity to administer the assessments and
use them for case planning purposes--refine training materials to
incorporate emerging information; provide ongoing support to agencies
during the implementation process, and address the technical questions
of those using the tools; train staff to administer the assessment;
development of a curriculum to build capacity for training assessors;
and conducting the training sessions.
(4) Further validation of the assessment--designing and conducting
ongoing validation studies of the assessment instruments; incorporate
changes that result from ongoing field tests and research findings and
further developing assessment manuals and scoring guides.
Deliverables: At the end of the 18 month period, tangible products
should include, at a minimum, reports and materials used for each
technical assistance event, documentation of site inquiries and support
provided, detailed web page, finalized assessment manual and scoring
guide.
Budget and Strategy Narratives: The applicant's submission
narrative should include suggested protocols and estimated costs for
technical assistance, assisting agencies in implementation and support
process.
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 425, 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); and an outline
of projected costs with the budget and strategy narratives described in
this announcement. 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); DOJ/FBOP/NIC Certification
Regarding Lobbying, Debarment, Suspension and Other Responsibility
Matters; and the Drug-Free Workplace Requirements (available at http://
www.nicic.org/Downloads/PDF/certif-frm.pdf).
Applications should be concisely written, typed double-spaced and
reference the NIC Opportunity Number and Title provided in this
announcement.
If you are hand delivering or submitting via Fed Ex, please include
an original and three copies of your full proposal (program and budget
narrative, application forms, assurances and other descriptions). The
original should have the applicant's signature in blue ink. Electronic
submissions will only be accepted via http://www.grants.gov.
The narrative portion of the application should include, at a
minimum: Brief paragraph indicating the applicant's understanding of
the project's purpose; brief paragraph that summarizes the project
goals and objectives; clear description of the methodology that will be
used to complete the project and achieve its goals; statement or chart
of measurable project milestones and time lines for the completion of
each milestone; description of the qualifications of the applicant
organization and a resume for the principal and each staff member
assigned to the project that documents relevant knowledge, skills and
ability to carry out the project; budget that details all costs for the
project, and noting a commitment to work within the proposed budget.
The total narrative portion of the application should not exceed
ten double-spaced type written pages, excluding attachments related to
credentials and relevant experience of staff.
Authority: Public Law 93-415.
Funds Available: NIC is seeking the applicant's best ideas
regarding accomplishments of the scope of the work and the related
costs for achieving the goals and objectives 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 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 the ability to
implement a project of this size and scope.
Review Considerations: Applications received under this
announcement will be subjected to a 3-5 person NIC Review Process. The
criteria for the evaluation of each application will include:
Organizational/Staff Background
An application review panel will review the background, experience
and expertise of the proposed project staff, including subcontractors.
Does staff have previous demonstrated experience and knowledge in the
theory, research and practical application of gender-responsive
strategies for criminal justice involved women? Does the staff have a
clear understanding of evidence based practices, the evolution of
offender assessment instruments for risk management, as well as
treatment planning? Can staff speak to the utility of blending the two
bodies of work to improve outcomes for women offenders? Is the number
of staff involved realistic and appropriate for the scope of the work,
and does the applicant have the capacity to deliver all aspects of the
project on time? Is there a reason that each member of the proposed
team has been included?
Project Design/Content
Does the applicant clearly understand the goals of this project? Is
the practical application of research-based principles and gender-
responsive strategies specific to women evident in the project design?
Are project tasks, time lines, benchmarks and expected objectives
evident? How sound are the technical strategies proposed? Have the
strategies been demonstrated to be effective in other projects? Are the
final work products identified, and do the proposed strategies lead to
their completion within the time frame? Are there innovative
approaches, techniques, or design aspects proposed that will enhance
the project? How will the applicant measure its own performance and the
performance of adjunct team members? Is the applicant willing to work
with NIC staff as necessary?
Budget
Does the budget narrative clearly tie to the numbers, and can the
products be delivered on the desired time line, within the proposed
budget? Are the final work products clearly defined and identified on
the work plan? Is a Gantt chart provided that aligns budget with
objectives along a time line that shows, at a minimum, quarterly
benchmarks?
Note: NIC will NOT award a cooperative agreement to an
applicant who does not have a Dun and Bradstreet Data 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
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dedicated toll-free DUNS number request line at 800-333-0505 (if you
are sole proprietor, dial 866-705-5711 and select option 1).
Applicants may register online with CCR at the Web site: http://
www.ccr.gov. A CCR handbook and worksheet can also be reviewed at the
Web site.
Number of Awards: One.
Applicant's Conference: An applicant's telephone conference will be
held June 3, 2009 between 12 noon EST and 1 pm EST. Applicants who are
interested in participating in this applicant's conference call should
indicate their expectation to participate by e-mailing Pam Davison at
pdavison@bop.gov no later than 12 noon on June 1, 2009. This telephone
conference will give applicants the opportunity to ask questions about
the project and the application procedures. Participation in the
telephone conference is optional.
Note that interested applicants need to provide complete contact
information, including e-mail address and phone number, to Pam Davison
when they indicate their expectation to participate.
NIC Opportunity Number: 09M12. This number should appear as a
reference line in the cover letter, where the opportunity number is
requested on the 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 project is not subject to the
provisions of Executive Order 12372.
Morris L. Thigpen,
Director, National Institute of Corrections.
[FR Doc. E9-11530 Filed 5-15-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-36-P