STATEMENT OF WORK - Peer Support.pdf

STATEMENT OF WORK

A. BACKGROUND

Within the context of the First Step Act, the Bureau is charged with implementing a criminogenic risk-needs assessment system and ensuring the delivery of evidence-based treatment programs that address inmate’s needs. Among those needs are antisocial peers and work. These needs are particularly salient for inmates with mental health disorders and substance use disorders, due to stigma and the potential for relapse.

One strategy to address this ongoing need for positive peers and work/job training among inmates with chronic behavioral health disorders is to train them to provide peer support services. BOP has been encouraging peer support services among inmates for years. This initially occurred through the Inmate Companion Suicide Watch Program where inmates are trained to safeguard other inmates on suicide watch and act as supportive peers. In more recent years, peer support has been formalized through the BOP’s Modified Therapeutic Communities and Mental Health Companion Programs. In 2016, the BOP formalized an apprenticeship for

Peer Support Specialist with the Department of Labor.

Peer support is a growing occupation in which individuals with lived experience offer support to individuals in earlier phases of mental health and/or substance use recovery.

Currently 47 states offer Medicaid reimbursement for this service. Based on the BOP’s need for these services in prison, it is logical that BOP would train individuals with lived experience to provide these services in prison and that they could transfer the skills they learn to employment opportunities in the community.

B. SCOPE OF WORK

The scope of work for this contract occurs in two phases:

(1) Auditing existing peer support training and certification requirements across states and federal jurisdictions (e.g., Veterans Administration) in support BOP’s efforts to train inmates to state standards and inform BOP’s efforts to develop relationships with future employers of inmates who receive training;

(2) Using knowledge of BOP’s needs and state and federal jurisdiction training requirements to develop an introductory training curriculum for peer support specialists.

Audit of Peer Support Training and Certification Requirements. In order to develop a curriculum that meets the community standard, BOP and the contractor must understand the current training and certification requirements in each state. Therefore, the contractor will develop a database that provides a snapshot of each state’s training requirements, certification standards, exclusionary criteria (e.g., felonies, sex offenses), recognition of advanced certification, relevant statutes, and point of contact. These data points should be provided for both peer support specialists and peer recovery specialists, if applicable. In addition, the database will contain information on approximately how many peer specialists and peer recovery specialists are employed in each state. The contractor will also provide a summary document with key observations and recommendations. Finally, the contractor will obtain and submit samples of commonly used training protocols.

Peer Support Specialist Curriculum. This contract is intended to produce an intensive, introductory training curriculum for Peer Support Specialists (mental health) and Peer Recovery

Specialists (substance use disorders). The contractor will design a curriculum to support 80 hours of classroom instruction. This training will blend didactic and experiential training. It will include instructional materials for individuals with diverse learning styles and will be accessible to individuals who have a serious mental illness. The training may be divided into basic and advanced classes. The training will also include follow-up activities to support skill maintenance and the application of skills as peers begin the supervised practice of peer support.

Specifically, the contractor will design a multi-modal curriculum with richly illustrated written materials, video vignettes, and audio files. This curriculum will be supported by a facilitator manual that promotes group interactions, feedback, and role plays. This manual should be appropriate for use by a BOP staff member or an advanced Peer Support Specialist in training who has advanced to the point of teaching skills to others. All materials will be specific to incarcerated individuals. Although the materials are not designed specifically for men or women, they will be sensitive to gender differences and how they influence peer relationships.

C. TASKS/OBJECTIVES

1. AUDIT OF PEER SUPPORT TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor will conduct a thorough assessment of existing states and federal jurisdictions to assess their training and certification requirements. The Contractor will provide a comprehensive detailed report that includes the following components:

1) executive summary including a description of common characteristics across states and federal jurisdictions;

2) database of findings that includes the following data points for both peer support specialists and peer recovery specialists: training requirements, certification standards, exclusionary criteria (e.g., felonies, sex offenses), recognition of advanced certification, relevant statutes, point of contact, and number of currently employed specialists;

3) Copies of standardized training curricula that occur five or more times across states and one or more times within federal jurisdictions;

4) recommendations for development of BOP’s standardized training protocol for peer specialists.

Requirement: one comprehensive audit

2. PEER SUPPORT SPECIALIST CURRICULUM

The Contractor will develop a comprehensive training program and related materials and resources for BOP’s Peer Specialist Training Programs. Materials include:

• Outlines of training goals, objectives, and skills;

• One or Two inmate handbooks to support 80 hours of classroom training;

• A facilitator guide with instructional guides/lesson plans for delivery of interactive training;

• Multimodal resources materials to include videos, audio files, worksheets, etc. for each training module;

• One follow up lesson with materials to support skill maintenance and ongoing learning in each skill area to be used in supervision as peers engage in supervised peer support experiences. These may be bound or organized so they can be provided individually, but they are skill review and will not need to be covered in a specific order.

The comprehensive training program will address the following topics:

• Role of Peer Support Specialists

• Attitudes about Help Seeking

• Active listening skills

• Self-awareness skills

• Cultural humility/ diversity

• Stigma

• Recovery

• Trauma and trauma informed care

• Criminal thinking

• Wellness and self-care

• Self-disclosure/ boundaries

• Mental illness and substance use disorders

• Medication management

• Suicide prevention

• Communicating with BOP staff

• Supervision and continuing education

• Ethical practice in peer support

• Community careers in peer support

Other topics will be approved by the Bureau.

Requirement: Comprehensive Training Protocol and Facilitator Manual

D. INSPECTION

The Bureau will monitor the contractor's performance via telephone contact, email inquiries and/or review of the deliverables by the contractor. The monitoring of a contractor's performance is an ongoing process for the life of the contract. The Bureau and its representatives have the right at all reasonable times to inspect, monitor, or evaluate the work the contractor has performed or is performing under the agreement.

E. PERSONNEL

The Contractor must designate a senior staff point of contact for this contract and respond to phone calls or correspondence from the Bureau within one (1) business day. This staff will work closely with BOP’s Psychology Services staff representative and the Contracting Officer’s

Representative (COR) to provide the materials and services as outlined above. Senior staff with expertise in editing, collaborating with the Government, and revising curricula, educational materials, and treatment protocols must be available if a revision is necessary as well as general updates aligned with the SOW.

The Contractor agrees that during the first ninety (90) calendar days of the contract performance period no senior staff personnel substitutions will be permitted unless such substitutions are required by the Government, or necessitated by an individual’s sudden illness, death or termination of employment. Substitutions must be identified in writing to the COR and

CO within three (3) business days of the change occurring.

F. GOVERNMENT PROPERTY

Due to the collaborative nature of this contract, any materials created for this proposal shall be considered the property of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. As such, the Bureau of

Prisons maintains the rights to reproduce any materials, electronic or otherwise, that is developed for and in conjunction with the performance of the tasks identified herein.

G. BOP 52.24-403-70 Notice of Contractor Personnel Security Requirements (Oct 2005)

Compliance with Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 (HSPD-12) and Federal

Information Processing Standard Publication 201 (FIPS 201)1 entitled "Personal Identification

Verification (PIV) for Federal Employees and Contractors," Phase I.

1. Long-Term Contractor Personnel:

In order to be compliant with HSPD-12/PIV I, the following investigative requirements must be met for each new long-term2 contractor employee whose background investigation (BI) process begins on or after October 27, 2005:

a. Contractor Personnel must present two forms of identification in original form prior to badge issuance (acceptable documents are listed in Form I-9, OMB No.

1615-0047, "Employment Eligibility Verification," and at least one document must be a valid State or Federal government-issued picture ID);

b. Contractor Personnel must appear in person at least once before a DOJ official who is responsible for checking the identification documents. This identity proofing must be completed sometime during the clearance process but prior to badge issuance and must be documented by the DOJ official;

c. Contractor Personnel must undergo a BI commensurate with the designated risk level associated with the duties of each position. Outlined below are the minimum

BI requirements for each risk level:

High Risk - Background Investigation (5 year scope)

Moderate Risk - Limited Background Investigation (LBI) or Minimum

Background Investigation (MBI)

Low Risk - National Agency Check with Inquiries (NACI) investigation

d. The pre-appointment BI waiver requirements for all position sensitivity levels are:

1) Favorable review of the security questionnaire form;

2) Favorable fingerprint results;

3) Favorable credit report, if required;3

4) Waiver request memorandum, including both the Office of Personnel

Management schedule date and position sensitivity/risk level; and

5) Favorable review of the National Agency Check (NAC)4 portion of the applicable BI that is determined by position sensitivity/risk level.

A badge may be issued following approval of the above waiver requirements.

If the NAC is not received within five days of OPM's scheduling date, the badge can be issued based on a favorable review of the Security Questionnaire and the

Federal Bureau of Investigation Criminal History Check (i.e., fingerprint check results).

e. Badge re-validation will occur once the investigation is completed and favorably adjudicated. If the BI results so justify, badges issued under these procedures will be suspended or revoked.

2. Short-Term Contractor Personnel:

It is the policy of the DOJ that short-term contractors having access to DOJ information systems and/or DOJ facilities or space for six months or fewer are subject to the identity proofing requirements listed in items 1a. and 1b. above. The pre-appointment waiver requirements for short-term contractors are:

a. Favorable review of the security questionnaire form;

b. Favorable fingerprint results;

c. Favorable credit report, if required;5 and

d. Waiver request memorandum indicating both the position sensitivity/risk level and the duration of the appointment. The commensurate BI does not need to be initiated.

A badge may be issued following approval of the above waiver requirements and the badge will expire six months from the date of issuance. This process can only be used once for a short-term contractor in a twelve month period. This will ensure that any consecutive short-term appointments are subject to the full PIV-I identity proofing process.

For example, if a contractor employee requires daily access for a three or four-week period, this contractor would be cleared according to the above short-term requirements. However, if a second request is submitted for the same contractor employee within a twelve-month period for the purpose of extending the initial contract or for employment under a totally different contract for another three or four-week period, this contractor would now be considered "long-term" and must be cleared according to the long-term requirements as stated in this interim policy.

3. Intermittent Contractors:

An exception to the above-mentioned short-term requirements would be intermittent contractors.

a. For purposes of this policy, "intermittent" is defined as those contractor employees needing access to DOJ information systems and/or DOJ facilities or space for a maximum of one day per week, regardless of the duration of the required intermittent access. For example, the water delivery contractor that delivers water one time each week and is working on a one-year contract.

b. Contractors requiring intermittent access should follow the Department's escort policy.

Please reference the August 11, 2004, and January 29, 2001, Department Security Officer policy memoranda that conveys the requirements for contractor facility escorted access.

c. Due to extenuating circumstances, if a component requests unescorted access or DOJ IT system access for an intermittent contractor, the same pre-employment background investigation waiver requirements that apply to short-term contractors are required.

d. If an intermittent contractor is approved for unescorted access, the contractor will only be issued a daily badge. The daily badge will be issued upon entrance into a DOJ facility or space and must be returned upon exiting the same facility or space.

e. If an intermittent contractor is approved for unescorted access, the approval will not exceed one year. If the intermittent contractor requires unescorted access beyond one year, the contractor will need to be re-approved each year.

4. An individual transferring from another department or agency shall not be re-adjudicated provided the individual has a current (within the last five years), favorably adjudicated BI meeting HSPD-12 and DOJ's BI requirements.

5. The DOJ's current escorted contractor policy remains unchanged by this acquisition notice.

Notes:

1. FIPS 201 is available at: www.csrc.nist.gov/publications/fips/fips201/FIPS-201-022505.pdf

2. Under HSPD-12, long-term contractors are contractors having access to DOJ information systems and/or DOJ facilities or space for six months or longer. The PIV-I identity proofing process, including initiation and adjudication of the required background investigation, is required for all new long-term contractors regardless of whether it is the current practice to issue affected long-term contractors.

3. For contractors in position sensitivity/risk levels above level 1, a favorable review of a credit check is required as part of the pre-appointment waiver package.

4. In order to avoid a delay in the hiring process, components should request an Advance NAC

Report when initiating investigations to OPM. Per OPM ' s instructions, to obtain an Advance

NAC Report, a Code "3" must be placed in block "B" of the "Agency Use Only" section of the investigative form. This report is available for all case types.

5. For contractors in position sensitivity/risk levels above level 1, a favorable review of a credit check is required as part of the pre-appointment waiver package.