SOW_Career_Readiness_Revised.pdf

Attachment II 15BNAS19RCA00141

U.S. Department of Justice

Statement of Work for Career/Work Readiness Certificate Program

(CWRCP)

Federal Bureau of Prisons

8/7/19

Statement of Work for Career/Work Readiness Certificate Program (CWRCP)

BACKGROUND AND SCOPE

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) is an agency of the Department of Justice (DOJ). It consists of 122 institutions throughout the United States, including Hawaii and Puerto Rico; 6 regional offices, a Central Office (headquarters), 2 staff training centers, and 26 Residential

Reentry Management offices (previously known as community corrections offices).

The BOP is responsible for the custody and care of over 150,000 Federal offenders. A significantly large portion of these offenders will inevitably release back into society. The agency is committed to providing resources to establish a supportive environment promoting the successful reintegration of offenders into the community after completing their sentences.

The mission of the Bureau Education Branch is to provide mandatory literacy programs, as required by Federal law and rules language; which meet the needs and interests of the inmate population, provide options for the positive use of inmate time, and enhance successful reintegration into the community. The Bureau also facilitates post-secondary education, training in vocational and occupationally oriented areas, and a myriad of inmate programs to address criminogenic needs related to substance abuse, deficits in education, employment and more, thereby ensuring inmates' successful transition to the community.

In 2016, the U.S. Sentencing Commission found that only 34% of the inmates released from the

Bureau of Prisons in 2005 were rearrested or had their supervision revoked over a three year period. This figure reflected a 16% decline over the past couple of decades, and was half the rate of many large state Departments of Corrections as reported by the Bureau of Justice

Statistics. The FBOP is committed to enhancing public safety and reducing recidivism through inmate programs. On a typical day, approximately 36% of the federal inmate population are participating in one or more education/training programs. Programs serve an important role in enhancing inmates’ potential for success in life after prison.

The FBOP also recognizes that a High School Equivalency (HSE) credential alone may not be enough to secure employer confidence in basic work skills for those reentering society after incarceration. The ability to obtain sustainable wages is a major factor in combating the recidivism rates for formerly incarcerated individuals. It is increasingly more evident, especially https://www.bop.gov/inmates/custody_and_care/ https://www.bop.gov/inmates/custody_and_care/ as the number of states implementing workforce readiness education into secondary and post-secondary education continue to increase. Basic skills will not be enough to keep pace with the current and projected workforce needs, thus requiring an alignment with higher standards and high-quality assessments of workplace skills to ensure employer confidence.

PURPOSE

The FBOP intends to make a single award to an entity that will be responsible for providing an evidence based Career/Work Readiness Certificate Program (CWRCP) to the FBOP. The certificate program must include a curriculum designed for adult learners to identify and develop key competencies and abilities for entry into the workforce and provide a portable credential certifying those skills at the appropriate levels. Delivery of services and test administration must be classroom and paper based. The contract will be paper-based testing (PBT) and classroom instruction related services for the performance period specified.

The vendor must clearly demonstrate evidence based jobs skills and their alignment with employer needs. The product shall be aligned with the College and Career Readiness Standards supported by the United States Department of Education (www.ed.gov). This product shall also support the performance and accountability requirements of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Upon completing the CWRCP curriculum, students shall be able to demonstrate fundamental to advanced level employability skills, and ultimately be prepared to take and pass a multi-level skills assessment culminating in a portable employer recognized certificate.

The curriculum must have measurable work objectives and goals, as well as clear criteria, which establishes minimum expectations for program completion and assessment of student progress. The product must also successfully provide a comprehensive student progress and skills analysis report. Keeping in mind that this product will service various levels of adult learning skills, the product should support the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) approach.

The product must be available in both English and Spanish.

Additionally, the vendor must provide printed textbooks/workbooks, test materials, teacher resources/guides and printable curriculum. The vendor shall also provide institutional training for instructional staff on the correct service delivery and administration of the product. All materials must provide adaptations for inmates with disabilities and/or special learning needs.

The product may need to be streamlined for facilitation in a correctional environment.

The following BOP Program Statements, which are available electronically at http://www.bop.gov/, are applicable to this contract.

http://www.bop.gov/

1. Program Statement 5300.21 – Education, Training, and Leisure Time Program Standards.

2. Program Statement 5310.15 – Minimum Standards for Administration, Interpretation, and Use of Education Tests

Content – Curriculum and Assessments

● The curriculum shall contain evidence based instructional modules which develop the cognitive and soft skills required for formative assessments addressing the needs and demands most required by employers:

o Math/Technical Skills o Literacy/Reading o Communication – Verbal and non-Verbal o And other desirable workplace and/or soft skills

● Instructional materials and assessments/tests must be available in both English and Spanish.

● A printed curriculum shall be available to each institution and a printed copy for the Central

Office Education branch.

● The curriculum must have measurable work objectives and goals.

● Pre and Posttests at each level shall be available to measure progress.

● Must contain clear criteria which establishes minimum expectations for completion (as well as minimum expectations/grade level performance for program entry) of formative assessments at various achievement levels, ranging from basic skill levels to highest.

● Student progress and skills analysis reports shall be available for students and CTE instructors (printable) indicating skill gaps and remediation needs.

● The product shall take the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) approach to address the various learners in a correctional environment and may need adaptations to address the needs of that population and those with disabilities and/or special learning needs.

Section 508 compliant where applicable. The vendor shall ensure a method of providing testing accommodations for inmates with special learning, physical, and psychological needs/disabilities. As directed by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), the contractor shall provide special test editions such as large print, Braille, audio-cassettes, or other reasonable accommodations.

● The program and assessments must be deliverable in both the English and Spanish language. Additional languages would be desirable but not mandatory.

● The vendor must provide each student a portable credential, recognized by employers, certifying the assessment and correlation to the achieved skill levels.

● Textbooks/Workbooks, test materials and assessments, instructional resources/guides shall be provided for each facility

Management Accessibility:

● The vendor shall provide examiner policy and procedure manuals, training materials, and other necessary materials (hard copies or via electronic) with copyright permission for use at all FBOP institutions with updates as new manuals and materials become available.

● The credential and assessment reports shall be accessible to students after release from

FBOP custody for presentation to potential employers and/or other interested parties.

● The vendor shall establish a method of accessing student information in the event of demographic changes within the FBOP and upon the student’s reentry to society.

● The vendor shall provide scoring services for all skill assessments/tests. Scoring must be processed within (7) business day after receipt of answer sheets and related documents.

The vendor shall mail two copies of each student score report, certification credentials for each student(if applicable) and site reports via United States Postal Service mail to the FBOP assessment site within (10) days after receipt of the student assessments.

There should be group reporting available for FBOP administrators:

o Students tested by facility with sort capabilities of scores, levels, skills assessed, and certificates issued.

o As directed by the COR, the vendor shall provide printed reports from all FBOP institutions for monthly, quarterly, and/or FBOP fiscal year reporting as needed.

▪ Statistical reports may include the number of students passing specific levels and students who failed assessments.

▪ The statistical reports shall also include percentage data by institutions, regions, age, and other demographic and activity reports as directed by the COR.

▪ All statistical reports should be available electronically which allows for the FBOP to conduct further analyses and disseminate the information to the field and regional locations.

● Due to the diverse inmate population, many inmates will not release to the same state in which they were incarcerated. Inmates may also begin the program or take tests at one institution and transfer to another prior to completion. There must be an available standard process to continue the program at a new location and a process for the vendor to track and combine the student scores.

The maximum quantity for skill assessments, test administrations, and related supplies allocated for a performance period will be listed in task order(s). However, the contractor will be paid based on the actual number of assessments/tests administered, supplies, and reports used in each quarter.

Test and Data Integrity:

● Due to security concerns, all assessment records and related information of the Federal inmates are the property of the FBOP and the individual student and will be treated as confidential information. No records of Federal inmates will be shared with any other entity, agency, or the public without written consent by the FBOP COR or the FBOP inmate.

● The scoring and reporting system shall comply with the USDOJ and the FBOP information security requirements.

● The vendor must provide written assurances of administration and testing integrity and security protocols for skills assessments and student data.

● The vendor shall provide assurances of employer recognition and portability of credentials.

● The FBOP test site administrators will be responsible for establishing testing schedules, as well as approving FBOP students for level tests using the assessment guidelines established by the vendor.

SUPPORT/TRAINING

● The vendor shall dedicate a resource staff specifically to address all issues associated with the administration of the CWRCP. This support shall include, but is not limited to, site administrator and user account support and troubleshooting for institutions and released inmates, data reporting and material requests/purchasing. Additionally the identified resource staff shall address contract administration and any issue or concerns on the program administration with the COR.

● The vendor shall provide training options to FBOP staff on the service delivery and test administration for all forms of the product via mutually agreed upon intervals and modes to include, but not limited to, on-site by vendor training (Train the Trainer), printed manuals, remote/webinar, and/or online training if accessible. The vendor shall work collaboratively with FBOP Central Office Education branch to define the ongoing training solution.

● Training dates will be mutually agreed upon between the vendor and FBOP. The vendor shall provide limited on-site training. All vendor training travel cost will be borne by the vendor.

● The vendor shall provide institutions with content support via portal, email, chat, and phone support Monday – Friday from 8:00 am – 7:00 pm EST.

● The vendor shall provide updates to materials/resources when made available through the publisher.

● The vendor shall provide, on a quarterly basis, by the 25th day after the end of each quarter, an itemized invoice sent via e-mail to the FBOP Central Office Business office and the COR.