Solicitation for Evaluations of the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners Program (1997). Solicitation for Evaluations of the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners Program (1997) Series: NIJ Solicitation Published: 1997 9 pages 17,658 bytes Solicitation for Evaluations of the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners Program (1997) Deadline: July 15, 1997 I. Introduction The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is soliciting proposals for evaluations of the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners Program. It is anticipated that up to 14 awards will be made for local evaluations of programs in individual States. Local evaluations will represent collaborative partnerships between researchers and pertinent State agencies. All local evaluations shall be coordinated with the ongoing national evaluation of the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners Program. This document includes: o Information on the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners Program. o Solicitation of proposals. o Application information. o How to obtain application materials and information on requirements for evaluation award recipients. o How to obtain information on the ongoing national evaluation. The evaluations will be conducted through cooperative agreements between the grantees and NIJ. NIJ, with input from the Office of Justice Program's Corrections Program Office (CPO), will consult with awardees concerning study design, data collection, and other factors. Funding has been tentatively set at up to $60,000 for each of up to 14 new evaluations. II. Background The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, codified at 42 U.S.C. 3796 ff, as amended (the Act), authorizes programs to support both treatment and sanctions of drug-using and violent offenders. The Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners (RSAT) Formula Grant Program, created by Subtitle U of the Act, addresses the treatment goal by providing funding for the development of substance abuse treatment programs in State and local correctional facilities. States are encouraged to adopt comprehensive approaches to substance abuse treatment for offenders, including relapse prevention and aftercare services. The Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Program is administered by the Office of Justice Program's Corrections Program Office, U.S. Department of Justice. In Fiscal Year 1996, $27 million was appropriated for this program; in Fiscal Year 1997 $30 million was appropriated. Authorized funding for subsequent years is as follows: FY 1998: $63,000,000; FY 1999: $72,000,000; and FY 2000: $72,000,000. RSAT grant awards have been made to the State Office designated under Section 507 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act to administer the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Formula Grant Program. Grant funds are allocated to the States using the following formula: o Each participating State is allocated a base amount of 0.4 percent of the total funds available for the program. o The remaining funds are allocated to each participating State on the basis of the ratio of the State prison population of such State to the total prison population of all participating States. National Prisoner Statistics collected by the Bureau of Justice Statistics will be used to make these allocations. FY 1997 allocations are listed in Appendix A. Each fiscal year's allocations to any nonparticipating States will be added to the allocations of participating States in the following fiscal year. The Federal share of a grant funded project may not exceed 75 percent of the total costs of the project. Also, formula grant funds shall be used to supplement, not supplant, non-Federal funds that would otherwise be available for activities under this program. The awards will be made for the fiscal year of the appropriation, plus two additional years. The Residential Substance Abuse Treatment formula grant funds may be used to implement residential substance abuse programs that provide individual and group treatment activities for inmates in residential facilities operated by State and local correctional agencies. Programs must: o last between 6 and 12 months; o be provided in residential treatment facilities set apart from the general correctional population (set apart means a totally separate facility or a dedicated housing unit within a facility exclusively for use by program participants); o be directed at the substance abuse problems of the inmate; and o be intended to develop the inmate's cognitive, behavioral, social, vocational, and other skills so as to solve the substance abuse and related problems. States are required to give preference to subgrant applicants who will provide aftercare services to program participants. These services must involve coordination between the correctional treatment program and other human/social service and rehabilitation programs. Participation in the residential substance abuse treatment program should be limited to inmates who have 6 to 12 months remaining to be served in confinement so that they can be released from prison after completing the treatment program rather than being returned to the general prison population prior to release from correctional supervision. In designing and implementing the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Formula Grant Program, States are required to ensure coordination between correctional representatives and alcohol and drug abuse agencies at the State and, if appropriate, local levels. This should include coordination between activities initiated under RSAT and the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant provided by the Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Each State participating in the RSAT program is required to submit an evaluation report not later than March 1 of each fiscal year. The report should include a summary of the activities carried out with formula grant funds, an assessment of the impact of such activities in meeting the goals of the program, and the results of any program or project evaluations. The Annual Evaluation Report Summary form is attached as Appendix B. Further details about the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners Program can be found in the Program Guidance and Application Kit, which is available on the Internet at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/cpo or can be requested from the Corrections Program Office by calling (202) 307-3914 or (800) 848-6325. Applicants with questions about the RSAT Program may also call these numbers for further information. III. Areas of Research Required This section solicits proposals for new local evaluations of residential substance abuse treatment programs in individual States. By focusing on programs in individual States, local evaluations are designed to complement the ongoing national evaluation. The national evaluation is assessing the entire RSAT Program and will include information pertaining to individual programs in all participating States. The national evaluation will also serve to coordinate the local evaluations, thereby enhancing their utility. As described below, local evaluations will be required to cooperate and collaborate with the national evaluation. Contacts for obtaining more information about the national evaluation are provided in the final section of this Solicitation. It is anticipated that up to 14 awards will be made for new local evaluations of programs in individual States participating in the RSAT Program. Each of these awards is expected to be funded in the amount of up to $60,000 and for a period of up to 15 months. Researchers will be eligible to conduct at most one local evaluation in collaboration with the appropriate State agencies. These funds are intended to encourage multiple, non-redundant evaluations and build research capacity in this topic area. Preference will be given to evaluations of programs in States in which local evaluations are not currently being conducted. Local evaluations are currently being conducted in California, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, and Wisconsin. Local evaluations should be designed to examine individual State programs in more detail than the scope of the national evaluation or the standard State annual reports. Local evaluations may focus on all participating programs in an individual State, on some subset of programs in an individual State, or on a single State program. Local evaluation awards will be chosen to reflect a broad spectrum of programs, including programs for adults, juveniles, males or females; State correctional facilities and local jails; programs based on different theoretical approaches; and programs in different regions of the United States. Some discretion is provided with regard to the specific topics associated with these evaluations. Such topical discretion is afforded so that the evaluations can address topics of importance in the individual States. Applicants must describe why the proposed topics are important and how the proposed evaluation will address them. Because programs differ in intensity and duration, measurement of program characteristics is needed. Examples of topics that might be included in local evaluations are the number of program participants and the proportion of participants who successfully complete the program; supplemental demographic and other information about participants; and in-prison performance of participants on pertinent dimensions. While NIJ understands that substantial impact evaluations are unlikely to be feasible in the 15 month time- frame of the local evaluations, evaluation designs are encouraged that: o allow and prepare for subsequent impact evaluation; o incorporate some meaningful comparison group; and o use valid and reliable measurement tools. (NIJ anticipates providing future funding to a limited number of local evaluation grantees to conduct impact evaluations. Any such future funding will be based on the promise shown by both the program and the local evaluation, in terms of advancing the field of residential substance abuse treatment for State prisoners.) Participating States in which NIJ-funded local evaluations are conducted will still be required to submit standard annual reports and participate in national evaluation activities. All local evaluations must, to the extent possible, be conducted in collaboration and cooperation with the national evaluation. Such collaboration and cooperation may include, but is not limited to, use of common data elements and standardized data formats; data sharing; participation in planning conferences; and coordination of presentation of findings. Contacts for obtaining more information about the national evaluation are provided in the final section of this Solicitation. Applicants should include in their proposed budgets one trip to Washington, DC to participate in a cluster conference with the national evaluation grantee and other local evaluation grantees. Applications for the local evaluation awards will be accepted from researchers in academic or non- academic settings, including government agencies. Applicants must describe how the local evaluation will be conducted in a credible and objective manner, independent of institutions operating the programs, and must affirm that they have obtained the cooperation of participating State and local institutions by providing letters of agreement from program operators. An essential part of NIJ's overall evaluation strategy is to encourage and support the development of improved research and evaluation capability within State and local criminal justice systems. Recognizing that most operational agencies neither have nor can afford substantial in-house research and evaluation expertise, NIJ encourages partnerships between these agencies and research institutions. The purpose of these partnerships is to stimulate collaborative efforts with the goal of developing lasting relationships. NIJ encourages partnerships between researchers and State Departments of Correction, State correctional institutions, or other pertinent agencies. Agencies and researchers are encouraged to develop and submit collaborative applications. As described above, program grant awards are made to the State Office designated under Section 507 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act to administer the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Formula Grant Program. Prospective local evaluation grant applicants may obtain descriptions of funded program(s) from the pertinent State Office. A list of the cognizant State Offices is available; see Page 5 of this Solicitation, "Guidance and information." Applicants should describe how they will conduct the local evaluation, interact with participating institutions, and satisfy the requirements described in the Requirements for Award Recipients. Required materials include a 2,500 word summary, a full technical report, automated data sets, and brief summaries for use by NIJ in preparing annual reports to the President and the Congress. Applications should indicate staffing, timelines, and milestones. IV. How to Apply Those interested in submitting proposals in response to this solicitation must complete the required application forms and submit related required documents. (See below for how to obtain application forms and guides for completing proposals.) Applicants must include the following information/forms to quality for funding: o Standard Form (SF) 424 -- application for Federal assistance o Assurances o Certifications Regarding Lobbying, Debarment, Suspension and Other Responsibility Matters; and Drug-Free Workplace Requirements (one form) o Disclosure of Lobbying Activities o Budget Detail Worksheet o Negotiated indirect rate agreement (if appropriate) o Names and affiliations of all key persons from applicant and subcontractor(s), advisors, consultants, and advisory board members. Include name of principal investigator, title, organizational affiliation (if any), department (if institution of higher education), address, phone, and fax. o Proposal abstract o Table of contents o Program narrative or technical proposal o Privacy certificate, as appropriate o References o Letters of cooperation from organizations collaborating in the research project. o Resumes o Appendixes, if any (e.g., list of previous NIJ awards, their status, and products [in NIJ or other publications]). Due date. Completed proposals must be received at the National Institute of Justice by the close of business on June 24, 1997. Extensions of this deadline will not be permitted. Award period. In general, NIJ limits its grants and cooperative agreements to a maximum period of 12 or 24 months. Awards under this solicitation will be made for up to 15 months. Number of awards. NIJ anticipates supporting 14 awards under this solicitation. Award amount. Each award will be made for up to $60,000. Guidance and information. Applicants may wish to discuss their potential research topics with NIJ program staff. Those who wish to do so should contact the U.S. Department of Justice Response Center at 800-421-6770. Center staff can provide additional guidance and information to potential applicants and refer them to an appropriate NIJ professional. Center staff can also provide information on how to contact State Administrative Agencies for RSAT grants. Applicants may also request from the Response Center information about the RSAT National Evaluation and its relationship to local evaluations. Obtaining application forms. To obtain application forms (including a sample budget worksheet) and guidelines for submitting proposals (including requirements for proposal writers and requirements for grant recipients), applicants can: o Access the Justice Information Center on the World Wide Web: http://www.ncjrs.org/fedgrant.htm#nij. At this site, the NIJ application forms and guidelines are available as electronic files that may be downloaded to a personal computer. o Request hard copies of the forms and guidelines by mail from the National Criminal Justice Reference Service at 800-851-3420. o Request hard copies of the forms and guidelines by mail from the Department of Justice Response Center at 800-421-6770 (in the Washington, D. C., area, at 202-307-1480). ------------------------------ Appendixes Appendix A: Estimated Formula Grant Allocations by State Appendix B: Annual Evaluation Report Summary Form ------------------------------ For more information on the National Institute of Justice and to obtain a printed version of this solicitation, including tables and application forms, please contact: National Criminal Justice Reference Service P.O. Box 6000 Rockville, MD 20849-6000 800-851-3420 e-mail: askncjrs@ncjrs.org You can also download the application forms or the graphic form of this document from the NCJRS Justice Information Center World Wide Web site; go to http://www.ncjrs.org. If you have any questions, call or e-mail NCJRS.