Second Chance Act: Responding to the FY 2016 Solicitation for Smart Supervision: Reducing Prison Populations, Saving Money, and Creating Safer Communities Juliene James, Senior Policy Advisor, Bureau of Justice Assistance U.S. Department of Justice Dr. Nicole Jarrett, Deputy Program Director, Corrections & Reentry Council of State Governments Justice Center Daisy G. Diallo, Policy Analyst, Corrections & Reentry Council of State Governments Justice Center
Š 2016 Council of State Governments Justice Center
The Council of State Governments Justice Center • A national non-profit, non-partisan membership association of state government officials. • Engages members of all three branches of state government. • Provides practical, nonpartisan advice informed by the best available evidence.
Csgjusticecenter.org/nrrc •
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The NRRC is a project of the CSG Justice Center and is supported by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. NRRC staff have worked with over 600 SCA grantees, including 40 state corrections agencies. The NRRC provides individualized, intensive, and targeted technical assistance, training, and distance learning to support SCA grantees.
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The Second Chance Act • Public Law 110-199 signed into law on April 8, 2008. • Authorizes grants to state, local, and tribal governments and nonprofit organizations to support programs, policies and practices that reduce recidivism.
The Second Chance Act: Current Funding Opportunities •
In fiscal year (FY) 2016, $68 million was appropriated for Second Chance Act programs.
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Four FY 16 have been released to date:
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Smart Supervision: Reducing Prison Populations, Saving Money, and Creating Safer Communities: https://www.bja.gov/funding/smartsupervision16.pdf.
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Comprehensive Community-Based Adult Reentry Program Utilizing Mentors: https://www.bja.gov/Funding/SCAmentoring16.pdf.
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Reentry Program for Adults with Co-Occurring Substance Abuse and Mental Disorders: https://www.bja.gov/Funding/SCACoOccurring16.pdf.
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Technology-based Career Training Program for Incarcerated Adults and Juveniles https://www.bja.gov/Funding/SCAtechcareers16.pdf
To receive announcements when new SCA solicitations are posted, sign up for the NRRC newsletter at http://csgjusticecenter.org/subscribe/.
SCA Smart Supervision Grant Program Total Amount Awarded
Total Number of Awards
FY 2015
7
$ 4,771,344.00
FY 2014
7
$ 4,558,858.00
FY 2013
$ 3,837,793.00
6
FY 2012
9 0
2
4
6
8
$ 3,675,366.00 10
29 Total Awardees Across the Nation
12 State awardees 17 County awardees
Bureau of Justice Assistance • Mission: to provide leadership and services in grant administration and criminal justice policy development to support local, state, and tribal justice strategies to achieve safer communities. The Second Chance Act has supported over $300 million in reentry investments across the country.
https://www.bja.gov/
BJA’s “Smart Suite” Programs include • Project Safe Neighborhoods • Smart Policing Initiative • Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation • Prescription Drug Monitoring Program • Second Chance Act Demonstration Field Experiment • Smart Defense (Indigent Defense) • Smart Supervision Program • Smart Prosecution Program • Field Initiated Programs
Fostering Practitioner-Research Partnerships to reexamine every aspect of the criminal justice system to identify what is working in the field to reduce crime and recidivism and make our communities safer. https://www.bja.gov/ Programs/CRPPE/sma rtsuite.html
SCA Smart Supervision Grant Program Solicitation is available at: https://www.bja.gov/funding/smartsupervision16.pdf. Applications are due on April 11, 2016. More information about the Smart Supervision Program: https://www.bja.gov/ProgramDetails.aspx?Program_ID=122
Eligibility • Eligible applicants are states, units of local government, and federally recognized Indian tribal governments (as determined by the Secretary of the Interior). • BJA welcomes applications that involve two or more entities that will carry out the funded federal award activities; however, one eligible entity must be the applicant (e.g. grant manager and fiscal agent) and the others must be proposed as subrecipients.
Goals, Objectives, and Deliverables • To develop and test innovative strategies and implement evidence-based probation and parole approaches that improve supervision success rates, thereby increasing community safety and reducing violent and other crime by effectively addressing individuals’ risk and needs and reducing recidivism.
Goals, Objectives, and Deliverables • Improve supervision strategies that will reduce recidivism. • Promote and increase collaboration among agencies and officials who work in probation, parole, pretrial, law enforcement, treatment, reentry, and related community corrections fields. • Develop and implement strategies for the identification, supervision, and treatment of “high-risk/high-needs” supervisees, including subsets of this population, which may serve as a model for other agencies throughout the nation. • Develop and implement developmentally appropriate strategies for the identification, supervision, and treatment of young adult supervisees that may serve as a model for other agencies throughout the nation.
Goals, Objectives, and Deliverables • Develop and implement strategies to identify and enroll uninsured supervisees into Medicaid, or other insurance through health exchanges, and to connect them to treatment and healthcare providers as appropriate. • Objectively assess and/or evaluate the impact of innovative and evidence-based supervision and treatment strategies. • Demonstrate the use and efficacy of evidence-based practices and principles to improve the delivery of probation and parole supervision strategies and practices.
Goals, Objectives, and Deliverables • An action plan, comprising a problem analysis, logic model, summary of strategies and intended outcomes, and research base for proposed strategies. The action plan is envisioned as a product of collaboration among the supervision agency, research partner, and technical assistance provider. A copy of the action plan that meets BJA’s expectations for this deliverable can be found at: https://csgjusticecenter.org/wpcontent/uploads/2016/02/SCA_Smart_Supervision_PI_Guide.pdf
• Final analysis and report by the research partner.
Mandatory Project Components All projects are required to include the following components within their proposal materials: • Demonstrate agency commitment to the proposed initiative. • Clearly demonstrate the appropriate use and integration of evidence-based principles such as the assessment of risk and needs. • Document a baseline recidivism rate based on historical data. • Incorporate a research partner to assist with a) data collection and analysis, b) problem assessment, c) strategy development, or d) monitoring and evaluation performance.
Allowable Uses for Award Funds Can include the following activities to help state, local, and tribal agencies improve their probation or parole programs: • Increase the capacity of states, localities, and tribal communities to help probation agencies improve supervision strategies. • Test new policies and strategies in community supervision and treatment to increase public safety and generate savings. • Test new policies and strategies in community supervision and treatment to respond appropriately to the unique challenges posed by young adult supervisees. • Develop and/or deploy information technology. • Analyze and implement changes to policies and practices that guide community supervision conditions and revocation procedures.
Allowable Uses for Award Funds Can include the following activities to help state, local, and tribal agencies improve their probation or parole programs: • Promote the use of evidence-based programs and strategies by service providers that provide treatment, aftercare, reentry services, and alternatives to incarceration to those on supervision. • Plan and strategize for how expanded options for access to healthcare can enhance health and safety outcomes for supervisees. • Expand collaboration and strategic partnerships between community supervision agencies and law enforcement. • Convene an interagency working group to analyze the jurisdiction’s probation population drivers and make recommendations. • Evaluate the results of the new strategies and tools tested through this initiative.
Selection Criteria • Abstract • Program narrative must address: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Statement of the Problem (15% of total score) Project Design and Implementation (35%) Capabilities and Competencies (25%) Plan for Collecting Data for the Solicitation’s Performance Measures (5%) Impact/Outcomes, Evaluation, and Sustainment (10%)
• Budget accounts for 10% of total score. • Please see pages 13-22 for a full list of application requirements.
1. Statement of the Problem • Clearly define the scope of the problem. Describe the: – Size and demographic make-up of the population. – Current organization/management structure of the responsible agency/entity. – Use of evidence-based strategies including the type of risk/needs assessment instrument utilized. – Current violation rate and translate to baseline recidivism rate.
• Describe how the applicant anticipates the project’s implementation will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the delivery of offender supervision. • Explain the inability to fund the program adequately without federal assistance.
2. Project Design & Implementation • Clearly articulate how the goals and activities established for this project will address: – the Goals, Objectives, and Deliverables page 5 of solicitation. – Mandatory Project Components on page 6. – the “Allowable Uses for Award Funds” listed on pages 6-7 and describe specifically which areas the project will address.
• Use data to support the project design. • Describe roles and responsibilities of the research partner and how the role is integrated into the SSP strategy. • Indicate the number of people under community supervision who would receive services if this proposal is funded.
3. Capabilities & Competencies • Describe the management structure and staffing of the project, identifying the agency responsible for the project and the grant coordinator. • Demonstrate the capability of the implementing agency and collaborative partners to implement the project, including gathering and analyzing information, developing a plan, and evaluating the program. • Describe the qualifications of the SSP research partner and the prior experience of the researcher with “action research,” including prior work with probation or parole agencies and other criminal justice partners.
4. Plan for Collecting Data • Current performance measures are available at https://www.bjaperformancetools.org/help/SSPMeasures.pdf • By applying for the solicitation, all applicants agree that they will report on these measures when they are released in their final form. • All applicants must describe their method and process for collecting and reporting required performance metrics data.
5. Impact/Outcomes, Evaluation, & Sustainment • Identify goals and objectives for program development, implementation, and outcomes. • Describe how performance will be documented, monitored, and evaluated, and identify the impact of the strategy once implemented. • Outline what data and information will be collected and describe how evaluation and collaborative partnerships will be leveraged to build longterm support and resources for the program. • Describe a plan for the evaluation of the project and document a collaborative relationship with an objective, third-party evaluator such as a local college or university. • Discuss how this effort will be integrated into the state or tribal justice system plans or commitments, how the program will be financially sustained after federal funding ends, and the expected long-term results for the program.
6. Budget • Contingent upon the availability of funds, awards of up to $750,000 will be made for a period of up to 36 months (with an optional 24 month follow up period for research activities). • Submit a budget that is complete, cost effective, and allowable (e.g., reasonable, allocable, and necessary for project activities). • Include an appropriate percent of the total grant award for research, data collection, performance measurement, and performance assessment. • Allocate funding to travel to Department of Justice-sponsored grant meetings. Estimate the costs of travel and accommodations for three staff to attend two meetings in Washington D.C.
Matching Requirement This solicitation does not require a match. However, if an application proposes a voluntary match amount, receives an award, and OJP approves their budget, the match amount becomes mandatory and subject to audit.
Additional Attachments • See pages 19-22 for complete list of “Additional Attachments” required, including: – – – – –
Letters of support Project timeline Position descriptions Disclosure of pending applications Research and evaluation independence and integrity
Contact Information For questions about the process of submitting an application: – contact the Grants.gov Customer Support Hotline at 1-800-518-4726 or via email to support@grants.gov. The Grants.gov Support Hotline hours of operation are 24 hours, 7 days a week, except federal holidays.
For questions about the specific requirements of the solicitation: – contact the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Response Center: toll-free at 800-851-3420; via TTY at 301-240-6310 (hearing impaired only); email grants@ncjrs.gov; fax to 301-240-5830; or web chat at https://webcontact.ncjrs.gov/ncjchat/chat.jsp. The NCJRS Response Center hours of operation are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. eastern time, Monday through Friday, and 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. eastern time on the solicitation close date.
Other Helpful Resources Applicants can obtain more information on evidence-based strategies for probation supervision from the following resources: – A Ten-Step Guide to Transforming Probation Departments to Reduce Recidivism, Council of State Governments Justice Center (https://csgjusticecenter.org/documents/0000/1150/A_TenStep_Guide_to_Transforming_Probation_Departments_to_Reduce_Re cidivism.pdf). – Putting Public Safety First: 13 Strategies for Successful Supervision and Reentry, The Urban Institute (www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/411800_public_safety_first.pdf) – Maximum Impact: Targeting Supervision on Higher-Risk People, Places and Times, The Pew Center on the States (http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/pcs_assets /2009/maximumimpactwebpdf.pdf).
Questions and Answers
Thank you! https://csgjusticecenter.org/nrrc This presentation was prepared by the Council of State Governments Justice Center, in partnership with Juliene James, Senior Policy Advisor to the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice. Presentations are not externally reviewed for form or content. The statements reflect the views of the authors and should not be considered the official position of the CSG Justice Center, the members of the Council of State Governments.