Draft - CSO Staff Safety Training SOW.docx

SECTION C – DESCRIPTION | SPECIFICATIONS | STATEMENT OF WORK

C.1 Introduction and Agency Mission The Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA) is a federal executive branch agency that performs adult offender supervision in the District of Columbia, in coordination with the DC Superior Court and the U.S. Parole Commission. CSOSA's primary mission is public safety and the fair administration of justice, working closely with city, state, and federal law enforcement partners.

The Community Supervision Officer (CSO) is a federal law enforcement officer with responsibility for probation, parole, and supervised release, and performs those duties at agency offices, on the streets, and in the homes of offenders throughout the District of Columbia - some with a history of violence. CSOs are unarmed and do not possess arrest powers. To mitigate the historical risk of acts of violence toward probation/parole officers throughout the U.S., to include homicide, CSOSA is committed to providing quality officer safety training and solicits the development and delivery of an annual CSO Officer Safety Training (CSO OST).

C.2 Scope of Work The Contractor shall develop and deliver one (1) three-day CSO OST Train-the-Trainer (T4T) for 24 staff, and seven (7) CSO OST back-to-back courses for 280 staff in the Base Period - as described in the CSOSA technical in-service staff-safety program for community supervision staff. The Contractor shall provide all personnel, materials, and logistical support to deliver high quality instruction and scenario facilitation in accordance with the terms and conditions of this contract. The CSO OST will be held in the DC, Maryland, Virginia (DMV) area and the delivery concept below reflects the annual training of 280 CSOs: 40 CSOs per day, in 4 teams of 10, progressing through an integrated scenario-based practical.

Class Delivery Concept

Training Schedule. The table below depicts the anticipated training schedule. The program will kick off with a T4T for developing future CSO OST facilitators - who will serve as observers/assistants in Courses 1-4, and possible role players/co-facilitators throughout Courses 5-7.

Table C.1: Anticipated Training Schedule

Base Period – 2026

Option Year 1 – 2027

C.2.2.Training Program The training will be tailored to the CSO, integrating theory with the practical application of essential officer safety skills, to be delivered in sequential, performance-based law enforcement training program. The CSOSA concept uses a layered learning approach, with scenario-driven stations that are delivered sequentially and are designed to demonstrate the ability of the participant to retain information and correctly perform each task. All training will align with CSOSA policy and current law enforcement best practices. Scenario training is fundamental to the success of this deliverable. CSOSA will provide the scenarios and relevant policies that will inform the design/development process. Experiential learning is the foundation of this requirement: watching, thinking, planning to act, and doing. This “learning by doing” approach will provide CSOs with numerous repetitions, in realistic scenarios with intentional stressors, for the purpose of improving muscle memory and individual skill, and the opportunity to work with a partner to anticipate, deflect, defend against, or escape violence.

The Contractor shall provide the following:

Design, develop, deliver, and evaluate 7 iterations of the CSO OST. The topic order is intentional, as it anticipates the threats and/or escalation that can occur during a Home Visit – a mandatory high-risk activity that requires CSOs to engage with violent offenders in the office, on the street, and in their residences.

The following is not a script.

In collaborating with the vendor to produce the most relevant and realistic training possible, CSOSA provides this level of detail as a starting point - to be expounded upon and reshaped by vendor subject matter expertise, best practices, limitations related to instructional time and available resources, and future communication between CSOSA and the vendor.

DAY 1 | STATION 1 3:45 hours | 2 vendor facilitators | 1 CSOSA observer

PO Case Studies | Use of Force Continuum (UoFC) | Situational Awareness

Facilitator presents a high-quality slideshow (+videos when possible) that details incidents involving violence against probation/parole officers, emphasizes how rapidly violence occurs, and correlates the escalating elements in those events to the UoFC the CSO will use throughout the CSO OST, and in the field.

1. Facilitator provides the CSO with any legal changes, updated CSOSA policy, or federal guidance in the past 3 years that affect a CSO’s personal liability or agency liability.

2. To set the stage for situational awareness, the facilitator will do warmup with interactive memory exercises. These Observe and Recall exercises can be competitive and fast-paced and range from simple to complex. They could be presented as:

· Items in a box (participant glances in the box and recalls everything they can)

· Items on a screen (participants see items in a still photo for 5 seconds)

· Items in a 1st person video (participants identify and recall potential threats)

· Items can be job related: weapons, drugs, proceeds of crimes, license plates, faces.

3. The facilitator will establish the relevance of situational awareness through use of general probation/parole situations and historical CSOSA incidents (provided to the vendor prior to project start) - scenarios where a CSO was not situationally aware and could have been seriously injured. Vendor will recreate these scenarios to provide CSOs with the opportunity to respond to similar situations.

Facilitated content and large group discussion occurs before breakout rooms/scenarios.

Room 1 | Team 1

Room 2 | Team 2

Room 3 | Team 3

Room 4 | Team 4

10 participants

5 cycles

· As a possible approach to scenarios throughout the course, each cycle should pair two CSOs on a home visit, responding as partners.

· Observation by the group of each cycle might be beneficial in certain scenarios.

LUNCH

DAY 1 | STATION 2 3:45 hours | 2 vendor facilitators | 1 CSOSA observer

De-escalating Potentially Violent Situations | OC Tactic-Techniques-Procedures (TTP)

Facilitator introduces the next step of the Home Visit scenario, transitioning from Situational Awareness into the ‘De-escalation Process’ - using visual tools: slides, photos, YouTube video of escalating violence, vendor-generated POV video of hostile behavior or escalating violence. The facilitator focuses on the principles below to build scenarios and elicit demonstration of the techniques:

· Awareness – Did the CSO see the situation/person clearly and have a plan?

· Connection – Did the CSO make a connection and reduce the aggression?

· Problem Solving – Did the CSO establish/resolve the reason for the aggression?

· Closing – The CSO describes the way forward (not part of the scenario).

· Disengagement – CSO de-escalation is unsuccessful and leaves the conversation.

Facilitator meets the objectives in the scenarios to follow, using a step-by-step approach to learning and demonstrating techniques for transition from verbal to use of force.

Scenario 1: Awareness | CSO responds to a situation with detectable threats and a role player who escalates the situation verbally.

Scenario 2: Connection | CSO demonstrates ability to use de-escalation techniques to connect with a hostile role player.

Scenario 3: Problem Solving | CSO demonstrates the techniques for identifying the origin of the aggression and elicit from the role player a mutually beneficial way forward.

Scenario 4: Disengagement | CSO recognizes that the role player aggression has reached a level it is unmanageable and safely disengages from the situation.

Scenario 5: Transition to OC | CSO attempts disengagement, moves toward door, warns role player (who continues to encroach), and under stress, retrieves their OC device.

Scenario 6: Deploy OC | CSO attempts to disengage, moves toward door, warns role player (who continues to encroach), retrieves their OC device, and deploys the irritant (CSO is equipped with an OC device that sprays water, and the role player is equipped for being sprayed in the face).

Facilitated content and large group demonstrations occur before breakout rooms/scenarios.

Room 1 | Team 1

Room 2 | Team 2

Room 3 | Team 3

Room 4 | Team 4

1 vendor facilitator 1 CSOSA observer/ co-facilitator/role player

Minimum 3 cycles

Proven effective. A technique that has proved very effective with this audience, dramatically improving participant performance, is a detailed facilitator talk-through demonstration in advance - showing the learner precisely how the task is done appropriately. This would reduce time and allows the facilitator to focus the participant on building muscle memory by executing the task correctly. The element of surprise is diminished, but with a solid demo less time is devoted on the basic steps.

Role Players. One of the vendor facilitators, or the agency observer/co-facilitator, can double as a role player.

DAY 2 | STATION 3 3:45 hours | 2 vendor facilitators | 1 CSOSA observer

Self Defense Tactics | Evade/Escape Threats or Violence

Facilitator proceeds with the next step of the round-robin Home Visit scenario, using visual techniques (slides, photos, video, POV video) and narrative to bridge from De-escalation (Disengagement) to Self-Defense Tactics (DT) and evade the attack/escape the residence.

Scenario 1: Disengagement to Break Physical Contact | CSO unsuccessfully attempts to de-escalate, unsuccessfully attempts to disengage, moves away from the offender and toward the door, unsuccessful attempts to deploy OC, and is forced to use DT to protect themselves from a role player in a Red Man suit (who grabs the CSO) - breaks away from the offender, and escapes the residence.

Scenario 2: Disengagement to Escape to Gain Safety (ETGS) | CSO unsuccessfully attempts to de-escalate/disengage, moves toward the door, and is forced to protect their head from a role player in a Red Man suit (the aggressor is moving forward while throwing easily blocked blows to the face). CSO protects their face, breaks away, and escapes the residence.

Scenario 3: Disengagement to ETGS (Straight Blast) | CSO unsuccessfully attempts to de-escalate/disengage, moves toward the door, defends against an advancing role player in a Red Man suit, CSO protects their face then uses straight blast techniques to strike the offender until they can break away and escape the residence.

LUNCH

DAY 2 | STATION 4 3:45 hours | 2 vendor facilitators | 1 CSOSA observer

First Aid Self-Care/Buddy Aid | Critical Incident Reporting

Facilitator proceeds with the next step of the round robin Home Visit scenario, using visual techniques (slides, photos, video, POV video) and narrative to move from defensive tactics and escaping the residence to First Aid and Critical Reporting. Facilitator will use explanation and demonstration to review Red Cross techniques for recognizing and treating “Life Threatening Bleeding”. Facilitators use survivor case studies to emphasize the necessity for the survivor mindset, techniques for controlling stress, and provide CSOs with a clear understanding of critical incident reporting.

Scenario 1: CSO has a knife or gunshot wound and must perform First Aid/Stop the Bleed on themselves, after they have escaped the residence and moved to a position of cover or concealment.

Scenario 2: CSO’s partner has a knife or gunshot wound and CSO must drag them from the residence and to a point of cover or concealment, where they perform First Aid/Stop the Bleed on their partner.

Scenario 3: While stressed/winded, the CSO calls 911 and uses proper technique to report their location and situation.

Activity: CSO writes/verbalizes the incident; the facilitator uses discussion to emphasize what should be in the report, the limitations of post-trauma memory, and the appropriate language for reporting use of force incidents.

AGENCY-IDENTIFIED TRAINING GAPS

Use of Force Continuum CSOs have not previously carried OC Spray and require clear, relevant guidance as to personal and agency liability for misuse of force, and the situations where use of less than lethal or lethal force is acceptable.

Situational Awareness (SA) CSOs require improved/advanced SA training, as their job demands they enter potential threat locations, make observations, and accurately document those observations in official records submitted to the court.

Scenarios could/should include: 1) Flash threat assessment outside the residence – to include the street, persons outside, and approach to the residence, 2) Assessment inside the residence – to include room layout, and the number and location of persons, 3) Recognition of firearms or other weapons, drugs/drug paraphernalia, fortification of doors, IEDs/bomb-making components, stolen property, etc., 4) Unusual or suspicious behaviors of offenders, and 5) Recognizing threat indicators in real time and adapting to escalating violence.

De-Escalating Potential Violence All probationary CSOs require, and established CSOs would benefit from, the opportunity to de-escalate situations where an offender becomes increasingly agitated. Dealing w/aggressive, offensive, and/or openly hostile offenders is a daily probability for CSOs.

Role playing should include: 1) Visible agitation and refusal to follow CSO instructions, 2) Threats of violence or death threats, 3) Encroachment on CSO space, aggressive movements and gestures, etc.

TTP for OC Spray [Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures for less-than lethal] CSOs have completed the familiarization course, during which they were sprayed with cap stun gel, but OC has not been incorporated in escalating violence scenarios. OC, like all lethal/non-lethal weapons must be stress trained.

With the use of scenarios, CSOs will be forced to decide when/how to produce OC, verbal warnings to accompany escalation of force, and in a best-case scenario, discharge OC on a “violent” role player. This will demonstrate several key performance factors: the ability to produce the OC device from concealment, and remove the safety under stress or while retreating, have the tool ready as they use words and position their body for escape, find obstructions to slow the approach of the threat, and accurately discharge the gel into the eyes/face of the threat.

Scenarios should build on de-escalation scenarios: 1) Visible agitation and/or refusal to follow CSO instructions, 2) Battery or attempted battery, 3) Threats of violence or death threats, 4) Encroachment on CSO space, 5) Concealed hands, aggressive movements, and gestures, etc.

Consideration: CSOs carry a gel-based OC, which is more applicable to scenario training because far fewer people will need protective gear. The threat - a role player escalating to violence - would be masked and suited (with seams sealed) to provide them with protection in depth, as the training participant will be spraying them directly in the face.

An inability of a CSO to produce the weapon under duress, or ineffectually discharge the weapon, makes carrying the weapon moot – and may amplify risk to the CSO. It is key that CSOs possess real confidence in the tool (not the false sense of security that comes from their personal reaction to the irritation). As many people do not respond to OC, CSOs must be able to quickly adjust their tactics to the offender who continues the attack after being sprayed (or) becomes even more violent because they were sprayed.

Self-Defense Tactics CSOs must be able to demonstrate that they are able to respond to two types of attack: Violence that stemmed from escalation, to which the CSO unsuccessfully applied their risk mitigation tools: situational awareness, verbal de-escalation, and less than lethal – prior to hands-on self-defense. Or, a spontaneous violent event that did not provide the opportunity to do anything other than block, strike, or grapple. *Because CSOSA has a defensive tactics system/vendor, agency continuity dictates that the tactics instructed at this station will mirror training previously received. The vendor will be provided with copies of that training, to be used as appropriate. CSOSA has two Red Man suits, and they will be used to add realism to CSO responses.

Scenarios will increase in intensity: 1) Diverting unwanted physical contact, 2) Addressing an offender that obstructs/blocks CSO movement/egress, 3) Breaking free from a confined space, 4) Blocking punches and kicks, 5) Striking to neutralize, 6) CSO use of impromptu weapons found in the space to protect themselves from attack or to strike the offender.

Consideration: Because CSOSA has consistently used a defensive tactics system/vendor, agency continuity dictates that the tactics instructed at this station will mirror training previously received. CSOSA has two Red Man suits, and they will be used to add realism to CSO responses. Industry standard participant/instructor/role player safety measures will be clearly outlined in writing and religiously followed to ensure no injuries beyond scrapes, bumps, and bruises occur during this training.

Evade/Escape Threats CSOs lack focused training on the second-by-second reality of escaping lethal threats. Because probation/parole officers face a historical reality where serious injury or death at the hands of their supervised person is possible, and CSOSA has not previously done so, CSOSA seeks to incorporate scenarios that replicate (as closely as possible) those prior attacks. To be effective, it is not important that officers know granular details, but law enforcement generally respond more seriously to scenarios that recreate the realities of the profession.

This will start with developing the survival mindset and provide case studies of survivors to reinforce the ‘survive at all cost’ mental conditioning. This is the ‘fight for your life and crawl out of the residence to safety’ phase of the CSO’s response to evolving violence.

Life Saving Self-Care/Buddy Aid While many CSOs have attended the Red Cross/NSC basic first aid training, non-stress awareness-level classroom training does not in any way prepare officers for dragging (or simulated dragging) of themselves or a wounded partner from the threat area - or the application of Stop-the-Bleed techniques to themselves or a seriously wounded partner. This station will recall the importance of situational awareness on approach, in the identification of the cover and concealment needed after a successful escape from the residence, to apply lifesaving first aid.

Scenarios: 1) Crawling from the residence, finding cover or concealment, and simulating a 911 call, 2) Dragging a partner (weight/dummy) out of the threat area, 3) Self-aid - using basic first aid to apply gauze/pressure/tourniquet to a gunshot/knife/blunt object wound, 4) Buddy Aid - using basic first aid to apply gauze/pressure/tourniquet to a partner’s gunshot/knife/blunt object wound, 5) self-aid/buddy aid – using only available materials (first aid kit unavailable) to address life threatening injury, etc.

Considerations: With each scenario, facilitators can use the opportunity to emphasize the survival mindset and what CSOs must think/verbalize in the moment. This will start with simultaneous action and verbalization ‘describe what you are doing right now’ which will allow instructors to see and hear the learner’s level of understanding. Verbalization firmly imprints the learner’s mind with the individual steps. This is followed by ‘..what are you telling your buddy right now’ which evaluates the emotional support CSOs will provide a wounded co-worker ‘I am telling him to hang in there; help is on the way...as I attempt to stop the bleed’.

Critical Incident Reporting CSOs require a better understanding of, and practical application of the critical incident report. With the litany of issues that will face a CSO post-attack/injury/escape, the CSO must be able to manage their stress to the degree that they can make a coherent 911 call, followed by a call to their supervisor. CSOs must understand the effects of elevated stress on their response to incidents of violence, and on their physiological state and memory. Supervisory CSOs and fellow CSOs must understand how to support/talk to CSOs who are the victims of trauma. CSOSA management must understand the unreliability of CSO reporting immediately following a violent, or life and death situation and have a solution for obtaining necessary information. CSOs must be able to articulate their words and actions, and the words and actions of the offender(s), throughout the incident – then replicate those recollections with clarity, verbally and in writing.

Consideration: Like other stations, this training will include case studies. To effectively imprint the mind of the learner who can barely imagine the unimaginable scenario where they fight for their life, CSOs will benefit from hearing from survivors or being briefed on how survivors managed to control their emotion and continue doing their job.

C.2.2.1. CSO Officer Safety Training Development

· Review CSOSA staff safety curriculum and CSOSA policies and engage with agency SMEs and training staff to inform final training materials.

· Provide electronic copies of final training curriculum.

C.2.2.2. CSO Officer Safety Training - Objectives The course objectives, as defined by existing CSOSA training, policies, and CSOSA-provided scenarios + any vendor provided inputs that address training deficiencies and contribute to an exemplary training experience.

C.2.1.1 CSO Officer Safety Train-the-Trainer (T4T) Course Objectives:

· Train subject current probation/parole employees as well as training staff on how to deliver the program outlined in C.2.3.2 with a high level of proficiency and fidelity

· Coach participants to deliver the curriculum independently in a mock-training environment followed by oral and written feedback

· Observe participants deliver the curriculum to a live audience followed by oral and written feedback

· Provide electronic versions of all CSO OST course materials, for future use, replication, and distribution at CSOSA staff.

C.2.1.2 Officer Safety for End Users Course Objectives: combines course objectives from C2.2.2. and C2.2.3 to ensure that the vendor supports CSOSA trainers with ongoing fidelity and quality assurance of CSO OST curriculum.

C.3 Deliverables.

C.3.1 The Contractor shall hold a post award meeting (kick off) within 10 calendar days of contract award.

C.3.2 The Contractor shall be responsible for providing all training materials. The training materials shall include, but are not limited to, safety waivers, equipment, props, safety gear, visual aids, participant handouts, facilitator guides, session exercises and practical applications, workbooks, pre and post training tests, rubrics on effective execution of skills with observation and feedback for training participants, agendas and all other instructional tools in both hard copy and electronic forms.

C.3.3 The Contractor shall provide a training plan no later than 20 calendar days of award, which defines how the Contractor proposes to conduct the CSOSA training and ensure that a high-quality training program is delivered. Each session must be tailored to unarmed probation and parole personnel that do not have arrest powers, heavily focused on real-world application based on common probation and parole-based scenarios (e.g., office and field), and include role-plays with targeted feedback on participant application of target safety skills. The training plan shall include a proposed timeline for the overall project and scheduling of the training sessions, performance objectives, associated instructional strategies, proposed materials, and assessment tool learning formats to be employed for each Session, and include a discussion of the quality control measures that the Contractor will implement to ensure that a high-quality training program is delivered.

C.3.4 The Contractor shall supply an electronic and hardcopy of the training materials needed for the provision of the training to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). The timeframe for a draft of these materials will be 45 days after award. The Government will utilize 10 days to review the materials. The timeframe for the final delivery of these materials will be 60 days after award. The training materials shall include, but not be limited to training storyboard, training agendas, facilitator guide, participant guide, visual aids, PowerPoint presentations, student handouts with course goals and objectives, as well as course exercises, videos, and workbooks.

C.3.5 For each training session scheduled, the Contractor shall deliver electronic and hardcopies of all training materials (i.e., handouts, PowerPoint presentations, students’ exercises, case studies, etc.) to the COR no less than three business days prior to each training session.

C.3.6 The COR will provide the Contractor with training attendance rosters for each training session. The Contractor shall ensure that each session attendee signs in on the attendance rosters each day the training is offered. The Contractor shall provide these completed attendance records to the COR at the conclusion of the training session.

C.3.7 The COR will provide the Contractor with training evaluation forms for the training participants in each training session. The Contractor shall disseminate and collect the training evaluation forms. The Contractor shall provide the completed training evaluation forms to the COR at the conclusion of each training session.

C.3.8 The Contractor shall distribute electronic certificates of completion with to each participant upon completion of each session.

C.3.9 Table C.1 provides an anticipated training schedule. The Contractor and COR will jointly coordinate the actual schedule of training sessions identified in Table C.1. Changes to the schedule of training sessions will be mutually agreed upon by the Contractor and the COR. Each training session capacity shall not exceed 40 participants.

C.4 Key Personnel. All instructors performing work on this purchase order are considered key personnel. Instructors must meet the following education and experience:

C.4.1 Education. The instructors shall possess the following education requirements:

C.4.1.1 No minimum education requirement.

C.4.2 Experience. The instructor shall possess the following experience:

C.4.2.1 Minimum of five years’ prior community corrections, law enforcement, public safety, military, or defensive tactics backgrounds.

C.4.2.2 Minimum of three years’ experience delivering training curricula and facilitating group activity in the community corrections, law enforcement, military, or defensive tactics field related to the Session content of this Statement of Work. Preferred but not required: Federal Law Enforcement Training Accreditation (FLETA), International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST) National Certification Program (NCP)™.

C.4.2.3

a. Be a citizen of the United States of America or be lawfully permitted to reside in the United States and possess a valid work permit.

b. Be at least 21 years of age.

c. Be able to speak English fluently.

d. Adhere to the terms of this purchase order

C.5 Training Location. All training sessions will be held in the Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia (DMV) area CSOSA reserves the right to move training to an alternate location in the DMV area within 48 hours advance notice of a scheduled training.

C.6. Post-award Meeting. The Contractor shall participate in a post award meeting scheduled by the COR to review the purchase order goals and objectives. This post-award meeting will take place no later than ten (10) calendar days following award. The Contractor shall prepare meeting minutes of the post-award meeting and provide a copy to the COR within five (5) business days following the meeting.

C.7 Government Furnished Equipment (GFE). The government will provide a training facility equipped with:

C.7.1 Audio visual equipment, including a projector and screen;

C.7.2 Two (2) easel stands and multiple large flip chart pads;

C.7.3 Access to copier or duplication services for last minute or unexpected copy needs;

C.7.4 Related supplies for training, including but not limited to multicolor markers, masking tape, stapler, scissors, writing pads, pens, 3-hole punch and table tents (for participant names);

C.7.5 An assigned host to assist instructors with any logistical or training needs during training events and to provide escort to/from training; and C.7.6 Agency office space (breakout room).

This a draft Statement of Work and does not reflect the Governments final requirement. Its sole purpose is to provide interested parties with a reasonable description of the services that may be required by the Government.

image1.png image2.png image3.svg