A23_RFQ_Attachment_1_-_Statement_of_Work.pdf

RFQ ATTACHMENT #1

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS (OJP)

OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS (OCR)

EXPERT CONSULTANTS –

RISK ASSESSMENT CONSULTANT SERVICES

STATEMENT OF WORK

1. Introduction and Overview

The Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) ensures that recipients of federal financial assistance (recipients) from the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office), and the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) comply with civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination against individuals in the recipients’ delivery of services or benefits. As part of its efforts to address discrimination, the OCR investigates complaints and conducts compliance reviews of service delivery in funded entities. The OCR needs the services of a consultant to assist it in investigating and resolving allegations of discrimination in the pretrial bail practices of funded local jurisdictions.

2. Background

The OCR’s enforcement authority arises from several nondiscrimination statutes and regulations that require recipients to adhere to particular civil rights requirements. The following statutes and regulations prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability:

The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, or sex in certain OJP-, OVW-, and COPS-funded programs or activities (42 U.S.C.

§ 3789d and 28 C.F.R. § 42.201 et seq.);

The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, or sex in certain OJP-funded programs or activities (42 U.S.C. § 5672(b));

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994, as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability in programs authorized under VAWA (42 U.S.C. § 13925(b)(13));

Section 1407 of the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) of 1984, as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, or disability in VOCA-funded programs or activities (42 U.S.C. § 10604);

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in OJP-, OVW-, and COPS-funded programs or activities (42 U.S.C. § 2000d and 28 C.F.R. § 42.101 et seq.);

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in OJP- and COPS-funded programs or activities (29 U.S.C. § 794 and 28 C.F.R. § 42.501 et seq.);

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as it relates to discrimination on the basis of disability in OJP-, OVW, or COPS-funded programs or activities (42 U.S.C. § 12132 and 28 C.F.R. pt. 35); and

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended, as it relates to discrimination on the basis of sex in OJP-, OVW, and COPS-funded training or education programs (20 U.S.C. § 1681 and 28 C.F.R. pt. 54).

3. Applicable Documents

The above-referenced statutes and regulations; Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (Title VII) of 1964, as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, or sex (42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq.).

4. Scope

The OCR is seeking to obtain the services of a consultant who has experience in assisting local jurisdictions and courts eliminate or reduce racial and ethnic disparities in pretrial bail systems through the development and implementation of evidence-based approaches in risk assessment to inform the release or detain decisions of arrestees and defendants while maximizing public safety and court appearances. The consultant will assist OCR attorneys in investigating allegations of discriminatory bail practices, devising remedies to address findings of racial and ethnic disparities in bail practices, and in ensuring that any risk assessment tool used by the local jurisdiction is properly validated. At the direction of OCR staff, the consultant may also be required to work with any local jurisdiction that is under investigation to assist them in developing systems to collect and analyze data relevant to developing, implementing and maintaining risk-based, race neutral bail system.

5. Tasks

Risk Assessment Consultant Tasks

Task 1.0

Review and produce a written report on the validation study of the risk assessment tool for each jurisdiction, advising the OCR whether the validation study is satisfactory. When appropriate, offer alternative, less discriminatory alternatives to recipients’ validation studies.

Task 2.0

Assess data collection procedures to ensure the appropriate information is being collected to assess whether use of a risk assessment tool or other policy is accurately assessing the goals of maximizing public safety and court appearances. The consultant may be required to travel to local jurisdictions under review

Task 3.0

Identify pools of data the local jurisdiction already collects to determine if that information may be used in assessing risk.

Task 4.0

The consultant will monitor local jurisdictions’ success rate (defined as the rate at which defendants are not rearrested and appear in court as scheduled). The consultant will analyze this and the totality of the pre-trial process and suggest improvements to maximize a jurisdiction’s success rate.

Task 5.0

When appropriate, advise OCR and the local jurisdiction on alternative pretrial practices that support public safety and likelihood of a defendant’s return to court while also reducing racial and gender disparities.

Task 6.0

For each local jurisdiction under investigation produce a written report detailing findings and suggested revisions to the risk assessment tools & procedures, including action items for future implementations.

6. Staffing

The expert consultant must possess extensive experience in assisting local jurisdictions and courts in eliminating or reducing racial and ethnic disparities in pretrial bail systems through the development and implementation of evidence-based approaches in risk assessment; these approaches inform the release or detain decisions of arrestees and defendants while maximizing public safety and court appearances.

7. Deliverables and Delivery Schedule

The consultant will provide deliverables to OCR no later than 30 days after OCR submits its request unless the OCR and the consultant a mutually agree upon a different timeframe for the production of deliverables. The risk consultant will provide the OCR with information regarding the consultant’s analyses and opinions in oral and written form on an ongoing basis, or as requested. At the conclusion of the consultant’s review, the OCR may ask the consultant to produce a report regarding his/her performance of the above tasks and to contribute to a written report that the OCR will send to the recipients it reviews. In preparing any written material, the consultant should, to the extent possible, explain his/her analysis and opinions in a manner that is detailed but accessible to a non-specialist. The risk assessment consultant will provide quarterly, written status reports of his/her activities and progress in reviewing every assigned case.

The risk assessment consultant should deliver any written material to the OCR within mutually agreed-upon timeframes in electronic format (ideally in a Word document). The OCR may also ask the risk assessment consultant to provide oral testimony during administrative proceedings that arise from the OCR’s reviews of particular recipients’ policies, procedures, practices, and training. The risk assessment consultant should be available to meet with OJP staff, either in person or via tele- or video-conference, on a schedule that comports with the OJP’s standard business hours (i.e., Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time zone)).

All work performed under this task order shall be governed by the DOJ/OJP’s IT Systems Rules of Behavior, as enumerated by OJP policy and summarized by the DOJ’s Computer Security Awareness Training program.

8. Government Furnished Property (GFP)

No Government furnished property is anticipated.

9. Place of Performance

The expert consultants may complete tasks under this contract at a site deemed suitable under mutually agreed-upon terms. It is not anticipated that the work shall be performed at the OJP’s offices.

10. Period of Performance

The period of performance will be for one (1) 12-month base period and up to two (2) 12-month option periods from the date of award.

The OJP will not require the expert consultants to perform work on the following federal holidays or on days observed in lieu thereof:

New Year’s Day Martin Luther King Day President’s Day Memorial Day Independence Day Labor Day Columbus Day Veteran’s Day Thanksgiving Day Christmas Day Inauguration Day (When Applicable)

11. Security

The expert consultant shall perform unclassified work under this contract; however, upon award, all contractor personnel will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement, affirming that the expert consultant will not divulge any aspect of this award or the efforts required to fulfill the requirements of this award. The expert consultant must protect the confidentiality of any communications, strategies, plans, or data received from or sent to the OCR. Security requirements may include special security clearance requirements.

All work performed under this contract shall be governed by the DOJ/OJP’s IT Systems Rules of Behavior, as enumerated by OJP policy and summarized by the DOJ’s Computer Security Awareness Training program.

12. Conflicts of Interest

All individuals assigned to this contract will have an affirmative obligation to identify any, and all, potential conflicts of interest that exist or may arise during the course of their work on this contract. Conflicts of interest include, but are not limited to, prior, current or potential employment, consulting or voluntary engagements, organizational affiliations, business and/or personal relationships.

Prior to commencing work on any specific review, the Contractor and each assigned expert consultant shall have an affirmative obligation to determine whether they have any actual or potential conflicts of interest and if so disclose them to

OJP.

If a conflict is identified the expert consultant will have an affirmative obligation to assign non-conflicted individuals to that review or to identify an alternative subcontractor to work on that review. Alternative reviewers must be approved in advance by OJP.