[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 146 (Friday, July 30, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41459-41463]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-18814]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services
School-Based Partnership Grant Assessment Solicitation
AGENCY: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, Department of
Justice.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) is
seeking proposals to conduct an assessment of the School-Based
Partnership (SBP) grant program. This notice provides background on the
SBP program, outlines the purpose and needs sought from the assessment,
and identifies questions to be addressed by applicants seeking to
provide services under this cooperative agreement. The assessment is
being announced as an open competition and requires a three-week
turnaround. The selected awardee will be expected to begin work
immediately upon selection.
DATES: Applications for the School-Based Partnerships Assessment
Cooperative Agreement are due on August 17, 1999, by 5:00 p.m. EST.
Please fax a short letter notifying the COPS Office of your intent to
apply for the School-Based Partnerships Assessment Cooperative
Agreement and identify the contact person, phone number, address, and
fax number for receipt of SBP Background Materials. The letter should
be faxed to the attention of COPS/PPSE c/o Stacy Curtis at (202) 633-
1386 no later than August 3, 1999. The selected awardee will be
notified by phone and fax and should plan to begin meeting with the
COPS Office in September to begin planning the project.
REQUIREMENTS/LIMITATIONS: Package should include the original
application and three copies. Applications should not exceed 15 double-
spaced, 12-point typed pages. Budget materials, letters of support/
cooperation, and time lines are considered acceptable appendices.
ADDRESSES: Please send application package to: Office of Community
Oriented Policing Services Program/Policy Support and Evaluation
Division 1100 Vermont Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20530 (20005 for express
services) Attn: Stacy Curtis.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stacy Curtis at (202) 633-1297 or
Karin Schmerler at (202) 633-1321 to obtain additional information
about this solicitation. Additional information can also be obtained
through the COPS Office Internet web site at www.usdoj.gov/cops or by
calling the Department of Justice Response Center at 1-800-421-6770.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In 1998, the COPS Office announced the first round of School-Based
Partnerships grantees to 155 law enforcement agencies. The COPS Office
issued a second grant solicitation in early 1999, to fund additional
policing agencies and their partners. Funding decisions for SBP '99 are
forthcoming. Various components of this assessment will include
grantees funded in 1998 while other tasks will focus on grantees funded
in 1999. It is possible that some SBP grantees will receive grants in
both 1998 and 1999 to problem solve on different crime and disorder
problems. Applicants for the assessment should consider ways to best
incorporate information from all grantees from the two years of funding
and should not be limited in their proposals to the ideas and tasks
included in this solicitation.
The SBP grant program is part of the COPS Office's commitment to
advancing community policing through collaborative problem solving. The
initiative seeks to facilitate a shift from traditional incident-driven
policing to proactive problem-oriented policing that encourages
community participation to keep children safe by reducing school-
related violence, crime, and disorder. Rather than repeatedly
responding to the same types of crimes after they have occurred,
policing agencies that practice community policing and problem solving
work with community members to identify persistent problems, learn more
about why these problems occur, and address the underlying conditions
that precipitate their occurrence.
The SBP program provides policing agencies with a unique
opportunity to work with schools and community-based organizations to
address persistent school-related crime problems. Grantees were
required to
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focus on one primary school-related crime or disorder problem occurring
in or around an elementary or secondary school. Target problems
include: drug dealing or use on school grounds, problems experienced by
students on the way to and from school, assault/sexual assault, alcohol
use or alcohol-related problems/DWI, bullying/threat/intimidation,
vandalism/graffiti, loitering and disorderly conduct directly related
to crime or student safety, disputes that pose a threat to student
safety, or larceny. Successful applicants provided evidence of
partnerships with schools or community-based agencies and with students
to work cooperatively to analyze the targeted crime or public safety
issue.
The School-Based Partnerships program emphasizes problem analysis,
a key component of problem solving, to help develop effective
responses, many of which include prevention and intervention efforts.
Grantees use problem-solving methods to understand the causes of the
problem, develop specific, tailor-made responses to that problem and
assess the impact of those responses. In order to help communities use
creative problem solving to address school-related problems, the
program funded resources for purchasing computer technology, hiring
crime analysis personnel, conducting student surveys and victim/
offender interviews, utilizing community organizers, school personnel
and/or students to analyze or coordinate the project, and procuring
training and technical assistance in collaborative problem solving.
As part of a successful application, SBP grantees were required to
allocate at least 5% of the total project cost to found a local-level
evaluation. The COPS Office included this requirement to assure that
the impacts of the SBP projects are well documented and to promote
local-level practitioner-researcher partnerships. Policing agencies
typically have partnered with universities or colleges, research
agencies, or have accessed internal resources to conduct the
evaluation. At a minimum, the local-level evaluations must include data
on outcome measures to evaluate the project's impact on the target
crime or disorder problem. Ideally, local level evaluators will also
assess the implementation of the problem-solving process. The
combination of process and outcome evaluations will provide the most
thorough assessment of the SBP grant program. Grantees will be required
to submit a final report detailing the implementation of the project,
including hurdles and particular successes with the problem-solving
model, as well as indicators of the impact of the problem-solving
process on the targeted problem.
Information Assistance Needs
In recent years the number of departments across the country
implementing problem-solving approaches has increased dramatically. In
1997, the COPS Office first facilitated collaborative problem-solving
initiatives through the Problem-Solving Partnerships grant, which
focuses on crime and disorder problems in communities across the
country. The School-Based Partnerships program applies the same
problem-solving model to crime and disorder experienced in and around
schools. Anecdotal accounts of problem solving indicate that
collaborative efforts to analyze crime and disorder problems prior to
implementing a standard response have been very effective at enhancing
quality of life and deceasing the targeted crime and disorder problems.
However, the field of policing continues to lack well-documented
research on the use of problem-solving approaches to reducing crime and
disorder.
The local-level evaluation of the SBP grant program provides the
COPS Office an opportunity to understand the processes and outcomes
associated with collaborative problem-solving involving police
officers, schools, and community members. It will also allow the COPS
Office to examine the factors that facilitate as well as impede the
implementation of problem-solving approaches. Because the scope and
intensity of local-level evaluations will vary across agencies, a
national assessment of the SBP program will help provide a more
comprehensive look at the COPS grant program's impact by documenting
and assessing two rounds of grant funding.
The COPS Office is seeking to work with a provider to collect and
analyze several project reports from all SBP '98 grantees. These
reports will allow for systematic data collection from all grantees and
will yield information on how departments operationalized the problem-
solving model in the field. These reports will also provide in-depth
information on lessons learned and the subsequent impact of problem
solving in the targeted problems. Additionally, the COPS Office is
interested in funding in-depth case studies of a subset of grantees
awarded in fiscal year 1999. These case studies would use a quasi-
experimental design to study the impact of problem solving in target
schools compared to similar schools not participating in this school-
based project but located in the same or similar jurisdiction as the
policing agency and school participating in the SBP project. One of the
primary goals of this solicitation is to provide information to law
enforcement and educational agencies to stimulate the promotion of
problem solving as a way to address crime and disorder problems in and
around schools. In summary, the successful applicant will: (1) Develop
(based on a previously used questionnaire), distribute, and synthesize
findings from a progress report questionnaire on analysis activities
undertaken by SBP '98 grantees; (2) review evaluation strategies
provided by local-level evaluators and provide technical assistance
when needed; (3) develop, distribute, and synthesize findings from a
progress report questionnaire on the response activities of SBP '98
grantees; (4) develop, distribute, and synthesize findings from a
survey of all SBP '98 grantees on their experiences implementing
problem solving; (5) conduct case studies with a subset of SBP '99
grantees; and (6) prepare a final report of findings from SBP '98 and
'99 grantees. Applicants should not be limited to these tasks as
outlined below. Although the following deliverables are required, we
are also seeking creative ideas on other problem-solving products
relating to schools that would benefit the policing and education
communities.
Scope of Work
For a period hereinafter set forth, the COPs Office and the Awardee
will cooperatively furnish the necessary personnel, travel, supplies,
and otherwise perform all things necessary for, or incident to, the
performance of work (the accomplishment of functional objectives) as
set forth below:
Specific Requirements
At a minimum, the following specific tasks are required.
Task 1
During the first quarter, the awardee will work collaboratively
with the COPS Office to revise a progress report questionnaire
developed previously to gather information on the analysis activities
of grantees conducting projects under the Problem Solving partnerships
grant (the questionnaire will be made available to the chosen
provider). The awardee will distribute the progress report
questionnaire to SBP '98 grantees and will collect and synthesize the
data, culminating in the development of written reports on the major
problem types. The awardee will
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then distribute these reports to SBP '98 and '99 grantees. The purpose
of this task is to provide all SBP grantees with important information
regarding analysis findings and the ways their fellow grantees have
addressed challenges in the analysis phase that may assist them in
implementing their own grants. This tasks will also help the COPS
Office anticipate challenges that may be faced by SBP '99 grantees, and
help inform any future program design that may be necessary.
Throughout the course of this cooperative agreement, the awardee
will provide information on the status of the project. A schedule for
reporting will be established between the awardee and the COPS office.
Deliverables for Task 1
(1) The awardee will help the COPS Office refine the existing
analysis phase progress report questionnaire, send it to the 155 SBP
'98 grantees, collect responses, and synthesize data into at least four
separate analysis reports covering the major problem types.
(2) The awardee will disseminate the reports to all SBP '98 and '99
grantees according to their focus problem.
(3) Throughout the course of the project, the awardee will submit
progress reports on project activities according to an established
schedule.
Task 2
During the first and second quarters of the cooperative agreement
the awardee will review proposed local-level evaluation strategies
submitted to COPS by SBP '98 grantees. Throughout the project, the
awardee will assist local-level evaluators in refining these strategies
when technical assistance appears to be required. It is estimated that
providing technical assistance to local-level evaluators will make up
approximately 10% of staff time on this project.
Deliverables for Task 2
(1) As necessary, the awardee will provide technical assistance to
local level evaluators of SBP '98 grants.
(2) The awardee will develop a final report on the evaluation
assistance provided to local level evaluators during the course of the
cooperative agreement.
Task 3
During the second quarter, the awardee will work collaboratively
with the COPS Office to revise a progress report questionnaire used
previously to gather information on the responses utilized by Problem
Solving Partnerships grantees to tackle the crime and disorder problems
being addressed through the problem-solving model (the report will be
made available to the awarded provider). The awardee will distribute
the progress report questionnaire to SBP '98 grantees and will collect
and synthesize the data, culminating in the development of written
reports on the major problem types. The awardee will then distribute
these reports to SBP '98 and '99 grantees. The purpose of this task is
to provide SBP '98 and '99 grantees with important information
regarding issues their fellow grantees have faced with respect to
generating, selecting and implementing effective responses. This
information may prove to be vital as SBP '99 grantees implement their
own grant projects. This task will also help the COPS Office anticipate
challenges that may be faced by SBP '99 grantees and will help inform
future COPS program design.
Deliverables for Task 3
(1) The provider will help the COPS Office refine the existing
response phase progress report questionnaire, send it to the 155 SBP
'98 grantees, collect responses, and synthesize data into at least four
separate reports covering the major problem types.
(2) The provider will disseminate the reports to all SBP '98 and
'99 grantees according to their focus problem.
Task 4
During the third quarter, the awardee will develop a tool to
collect project information that spans the life of the grant project
from all SBP '98 grantees on their experiences implementing
collaborative problem solving focused on problems in and around
schools. The tool should include both process and outcome indicators
and narrative descriptions provided by grantees outlining and processes
and impacts of the grant projects. The awardee will work
collaboratively with the COPS Office to assure that the instrument
adequately addresses the goals of the SBP grant program. If necessary,
in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, the awardee will submit
the instrument to the COPS Office to be cleared by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB). The awardee will be available to assist
local level evaluators in completing this report. In addition, the
awardee will identify a subset of grantees that implemented successful
projects and will develop 10 short (3 to 5 page) case studies on these
projects (an example, ``What Works: Promising Practices from the
Field,'' will be provided to potential applicants pending submission of
Notice of Intent to Apply, See SBP Background Materials). These case
studies will include information generated by the information
collection tools described previously and phone and other
correspondence between the awardee and SBP '98 grantees. Given
conditions at the local level and beyond the control of the COPS
Office, this cooperative agreement may include a no-cost extension to
incorporate additional time for the awardee to conduct case studies.
Deliverables for Task 4
(1) The awardee will develop an information collection instrument
to collect final project information from all SBP '98 grantees on their
experiences implementing collaborative problem solving focused on
problems in and around schools. Prior to its administration, the
awardee will submit the instrument to the COPS Office for review and
approval.
(2) The awardee will produce a report to document survey findings.
(3) The awardee will produce 10 short case studies from the SBP '98
program.
Task 5
During the second and third quarters of the grant period, the
awardee will select a subset of five SBP '99 grantees with which to
conduct an in-depth case study of the processes and outcomes of their
SBP grant projects. The awardee will identify promising projects
through SBP '99 applications and follow-up contact with the grantees.
Selected grantees should be able to implement a quasi-experimental
design to compare a series of measures collected at the target schools
and similar schools not participating in the School-Based Partnerships
grant project. Technical assistance from the awardee is anticipated.
Control schools should be located in the same or similar jurisdiction
as the policing agency and school participating in the SBP grant
project. Through subcontracts, the selected locales will be eligible
for additional funding of up to $5,000 to collect information from
control schools. Many control schools will already collect data on
suspensions, attendance, calls for service, etc., and additional
funding will allow grantees to conduct student/faculty surveys,
environment surveys, etc., as deemed appropriate by the awardee in
conjunction with the local level evaluator. The awardee will develop
site selection criteria for review by the COPS Office and will submit a
list of potential case study sites for final review and selection in
collaboration with representatives of the COPS Office. It is
anticipated that the awardee will travel to selected sites during the
course of
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these studies. The awardee will develop data collection instruments for
use during site visits and will submit these to the COPS Office for
review. The awardee will continue to be available to assist local-level
evaluators. Given conditions at the local level and beyond the control
of the COPS Office, this cooperative agreement may include a no-cost
extension to incorporate additional time for the awardee to conduct all
aspects of this cooperative agreement.
Deliverables for Task 5
(1) The awardee will develop a short proposal identifying potential
case study sites selected from the pool of SBP '99 grantees. This
proposal will include site selection criteria and justifications for
including these grantees as potential case study candidates.
Ultimately, five candidates will be selected in collaboration with the
COPS Office to be included as case studies. Case studies will include
the processes and outcomes of implementing collaborative problem
solving, including a focus on the obstacles encountered and benefits of
engaging in problem-solving partnerships with schools, community-based
agencies (where applicable), and students. The awardee will provide
oversight to ensure the integrity of the data and assessment process.
(2) The awardee will develop data collection instruments to
document the experiences and outcomes of sites implementing the SBP
grant program. The awardee will submit these for review by the COPS
Office.
(3) The awardee will develop short reports (10 pages or fewer) that
document the research methods and findings from each case study. These
reports shall include a summary section and a description of each
individual case study.
(4) The awardee will disseminate these case studies to all SBP '98
and '99 grantees and to other audiences as identified by the COPS
Office and/or the provider.
Task 6
During the fourth quarter of the grant period, the awardee will
write a report on the SBP grant program. The report will include an
analysis of information collected from all SBP '98 grantees and in-
depth information from the case study sites of SBP' 99 sites. This
report should include an examination of the processes undertaken by SBP
grantees, lessons learned, and recommendations to policing agencies and
schools seeking to implement similar problem-solving partnerships. In
addition, this report should include information on the impact of the
projects and the methods and measures local-level evaluators used to
assess the projects' impact. Given conditions at the local level and
beyond the control of the COPS Office, this cooperative agreement may
include a no-cost extension to incorporate additional time for the
awardee to conduct all aspects of this cooperative agreement.
Deliverable for Task 6
(1) The awardee will develop a final report based on findings from
an outcome evaluation of the SBP grant program.
(2) The awardee will disseminate widely copies of the report to SBP
grantees and other policing agencies. The report must receive written
approval from the COPS Office prior to dissemination.
Task 7 (Optional)
Applicants may propose additional problem-solving products that
would make significant contributions to school safety.
1Applicant Criteria
Applicants should meet the following criteria:
1. Prossess expertise in the areas of community policing,
collaborative problem-solving, and schools (or evidence of a
partnership with a school organization/consultants with significant
experience with school safety issues). Significant experience in the
areas of community policing and general problem solving will be
essential. In addition, prior experience working with schools or youth
crime prevention issues is essential.
2. Posses significant experience coordinating assessments of
efforts between policing agencies and other government agencies and/or
community-based entities.
3. Possess significant experience providing technical assistance on
evaluation to third-party evaluators, overseeing projects involving
quasi-experimental designs, and conducting on-site interviews.
4. Possess experience administering federal grants or cooperative
agreements of more than $300,000.
5. Have a person record of working collaboratively on projects with
other organizations.
6. Possess experience working with local policing agencies in
rural, suburban, and urban communities in jurisdictions ranging from
15,000 to over 1,000,000 persons.
Proposal Questions
Applicants competing for this cooperative agreement must submit a
Notice of Intent to Apply (see DATES section). The COPS Office will
provide potential applicants with required forms including, a
background information form and budget worksheets (a full lists of
forms is included in SBP Background materials). Applicants must
complete these forms and provide a double-spaced narrative proposal to
apply. The narrative should not exceed 15-pages; the required forms and
budget do not count toward the page length. The proposal should address
all of the following questions:
Capabilities
1. Describe your organization's previous experience working on
assessments of community policing and collaborative problem-solving
efforts. Describe your agency's background working with schools of
youth crime prevention initiative. Please also describe your
organization's experience providing technical assistance to third-party
evaluators.
2. Discuss how you work on this project will enhance your
organization's ability to be a long-term contributor to the assessment
of innovative collaborative problem-solving strategies and community
policing efforts. Please outline how your organization would build upon
the efforts and infrasturture developed under this project to impact
policing departments and communities over the next five years.
3. Discuss your management plan for implementing this project with
respect to internal and external management of personnel and resources.
Also address how you would facilitate and manage the operations of this
project beyond the life of the Cooperative Agreement.
4. Describe a potential management plan for conducting the
collection of information to best inform grantees of lessons learned?
Provide research questions and topic areas for analysis.
Plan for Case Studies
5. Describe a potential management plan for conducting the five
quasi-experimental case studies of SBP '99 grantees. Provide your plan
for identifying potential sites, research questions and topic areas for
analysis.
Plan for Final Report/Other Problem-Solving Products
6. Discuss how data collected from SBP '98 grantees and sites
participating in the case studies could be analyzed, documented,
reviewed, and disseminated to promote the ideal implementation of
problem-solving
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approaches in the future. Provide a description of any additional data
collection efforts or other activities you would like to undertake and
the deliverables that would result. Discuss how policing agencies and
researchers could access the products developed out of this project.
Timeline
7. Provide a detailed timeline of the assessment activities
described above. Although funds will be awarded for one calendar year,
applicants may submit a timeline that exceeds 12 months in anticipation
of a no-cost extension to allow for circumstances at the local level
and beyond the control of the COPS Office or the awardee of this
cooperative agreement.
Budget
Prepare a detailed budget for a one-year agreement. Applicants may
apply for up to $350,000. The budget may include travel and per diem
costs related to the case studies, mailing or telephone costs for data
collection instruments, and production and dissemination costs of all
deliverables.
SBP Background Materials
The following materials will be provided to potential applicants
following their submission of a Notice of Intent to Apply (See DATES).
Materials are also available from the COPS Office internet web site at
www.usdoj.gov/cops.
--SF 424, Application for Federal Assistance
--Budget Detail Worksheet
--Certifications Regarding Lobbying; Debarment, Suspension and Other
Responsibility Matters; Drug-Free Workplace Requirements; Coordination
with Affected Agencies; Non-Supplanting; and Retention (one form)
--Assurances
--Disclosure of Lobbying Activities
--School-Based Partnerships Application Kit and Fact Sheet
--Problem-Solving Tips
--List of SBP grantees and problem types awarded in 1998; grantees
awarded in 1999 will be available following the announcement of funding
decisions (likely September 1999)
--Anticipated time line for SBP '98 and SBP '99 projects
--What Works: Promising Practices from the Field
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) reference for
this program is 16.710.
Dated: July 9, 1999.
Mary Lou Leary,
Interim Director.
[FR Doc. 99-18814 Filed 7-29-99; 8:45 am]
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