36724 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 112 / Friday, June 9, 2000 / Notices

ADDRESSES: Bureau of Justice

Assistance, 810 Seventh Street, NW,

Washington, DC 20531.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

program guidance and technical

assistance, please log on to the Office of

Justice Programs Home Page at: http://

www.ojp.usdoj.gov and select ‘‘Funding

Opportunities’’ and then ‘‘SCAAP,’’ or

call the Office of Justice Programs

Grants Management System Hotline at

1–888–549–9901. For general

information about on-line application

procedures for solicitations, please call

the U.S. Department of Justice Response

Center 1–800–421–6770.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Authority

This action is authorized under the

Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets

Act of 1968, Sections 201–03, as

amended, 42 U.S.C. 3721–23 (1994).

Background

SCAAP provides Federal assistance to

states and units of local government for

costs incurred for the imprisonment of

undocumented criminal aliens who are

convicted of felony or misdemeanor

offenses. Potential applicants no longer

may submit hard copy application forms

and diskettes. For FY2000, state and

local governments apply for payment

via a paperless, electronic, end-to-end

distributive, Internet-based web-site.

BJA anticipates providing over 390

payments of varying amounts from a

FY2000 funding total of $585,000,000.

Potential applicants with questions

should call the U.S. Department of

Justice Response Center at 1–800–421–

6770 or the Office of Justice Programs

Grants Management System Hotline at

1–888–549–9901. For access to program

guidance and the on-line application,

connect to http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov and

select ‘‘Funding Opportunities’’ and

then ‘‘SCAAP.’’

Nancy E. Gist,

Director, Bureau of Justice Assistance.

[FR Doc. 00–14530 Filed 6–8–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4410–18–P

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

National Institute of Corrections

Solicitation for a Cooperative

Agreement—Critical Issues in

Managing Women Offenders

AGENCY: National Institute of

corrections, Department of Justice.

ACTION: Solicitation for a cooperative

agreement.

SUMMARY: The Department of Justice

(DOJ), National Institute of Corrections

(NIC), announces the availability of

funds in FY 2000 for a cooperative

agreement to develop a 24–36 hour

curriculum on Critical Issues in

Managing Women Offenders. The

cooperative agreement represents the

first part of a two-phased project to

develop and deliver the curriculum in

the next 15 months. NIC will award this

project in two parts: in the current year

(FY 2000), NIC will award a cooperative

agreement for a six month project to

develop the curriculum. Based on

satisfactory performance in the

development phase, in FY 2001 NIC

will award a supplement to deliver the

curriculum as a regional training

program at two different locations.

$50,000 is available for part one of the

project, and $50,000 will be available in

FT 2001 for training program delivery

under a regional partnership format.

Regional partnerships are funded in part

by participating agencies. The funding

for FY 2001 is contingent on

congressional approval of the federal

budget at the beginning of the fiscal

year.

A cooperative agreement is a form of

assistance relationship where the

National Institute of Corrections is

substantially involved during the

performance of the award. An award is

made to an organization that will, in

concert with the Institute, provide a

clearer articulation of gender-responsive

strategies which are grounded in current

theory and research, drawn from

different relevant disciplines and

agencies, and applied to the realities of

correctional practice in prisons, jails,

and community corrections. No funds

are transferred to state or local

governments.

Background

Women offenders and related gender

issues are gaining increased focus from

policy makers in corrections for

numerous reasons. During the last

decade, the women offender population

has nearly tripled in every sector of

corrections. Changes in mandatory

sentencing for drug offenders on the

federal and state levels are resulting in

larger numbers of women serving longer

periods of time in correctional facilities.

A variety of critical issues such as crossgender supervision, appropriate

relationships between staff and

offenders, management of population

growth, parity in programming, and

appropriate interventions are increasing

in numbers and visibility within the

criminal justice community and with

the public, many due to residual court

action.

NIC has a five year history of

designing and delivering a seminar on

Critical Issues in Managing Women

Offenders. The first seminar occurred in

July, 1994; a group of highly motivated

and experienced practitioners convened

to consider the issues facing them in

promoting more effective correctional

practice with women offenders. Over

time, through four seminars, the

program has solidified its focus on

policy makers and top managers as the

primary audience. Its purpose is to

provide a solid grounding in policy and

practice issues which face criminal

justice agencies in addressing the

unique circumstances and needs of

women offenders from a system-wide

perspective. Participants include agency

administrators and deputy directors

from jails, community corrections and

prisons; judges, prosecutors, public

defenders, and other court personnel.

Participants attend as individuals and

not as agency teams.

The goals of the seminar (as defined

for the April, 1999, session) were to:

• Better understand and articulate the

emerging and critical issues to consider

in shaping policy for women offenders;

• Be able to identify the benefits of

applying a systems perspective in

planning for women offenders;

• Have increased knowledge of the

information and resource (research,

expertise, and practical strategies)

available to address women offender

issues and how to access them;

• Articulate a vision for improving

criminal justice policy and practice

regarding women offenders in their

jurisdiction and develop three action

steps for moving toward that vision.

Based on the success of this program,

NIC seeks to expand its capacity to

deliver the seminar through a multistate regional format. The audience will

remain individuals from across the

system who are policy makers.

NIC assumes that the successful

applicant will review the materials

developed for the prior 5 seminars

including the agendas, participant

manuals and handouts, and records of

meeting, and will work closely with the

Project Manager in designing the

curriculum.

Purpose

The National Institute of Corrections

is seeking an applicant organization or

team which offers curriculum design

expertise, overall knowledge of women

offenders and corrections, experience

with training of policy level

participants, expertise in competencybased curriculum including writing,

editing, formation, assembling and

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 112 / Friday, June 9, 2000 / Notices 36725

packaging; and knowledge of adult

learning theory and training.

The purpose of the cooperative

agreement is:

(1) To fully develop and refine one (1)

24–36 hour training curriculum package

on Critical Issues in Managing Women

Offenders. The curriculum will have the

following elements:

a. Instructors Guide with Lesson

Plans. This must include performance

objectives that specify the knowledge or

skills/competencies that will be

obtained by the participants. They must

be detailed to the degree that other

trainers with some experience in the

topic can use them to deliver training.

b. Computer Generated View Graphs

created in Corel Presentations of key

points that will be emphasized by the

trainers. The lesson plans must include

a small representation of the full size

view graph and indicate where and

when they are used. As appropriate,

some of the view graphs may be

designed as handouts to participants.

Other multi-media or visual aids (such

as news print, videos, etc.) used to

support the delivery of lesson modules

must be coordinated and indicate when

and where to be used.

c. Participant Manual and Materials

that correlate with each module, topic

by topic, as appropriate to deliver the

training. These materials may include

overviews, published articles (if

copyrighted must obtain copyright

release), check lists, key points outlines,

examples of instruments, reports and

other materials used by participants to

perform their work.

d. Evaluation Questions and

Strategies (if appropriate) that will be

used pre or post delivery for the

curriculum. These should directly relate

to the objectives in each module.

e. Resource Materials, such as video

and audio tapes, books, journals and

other information to support the

objectives of the curriculum.

(2) To deliver the curriculum in two

regional seminars in the spring and

summer, 2001, under a supplemental

cooperative agreement.

Work to be Performed by the Service

Provider: The following represents the

kinds of work activity required by the

project and the expectations of the

relationship between NIC, the Program

Manager and the service provider.

• Consult with the NIC Program

Monitor on an agreed time line to assure

progress and understanding of the scope

of work.

• Conduct a review of the Critical

Issues in Managing Women Offenders

agendas, participant materials, and

records of meeting.

• Thoroughly review any other

existing training materials developed by

NIC, OJP, or other agencies for relevant

parts that could be re-written for

application to this project.

• Conduct necessary planning with

content experts (selections with input

from Program Manager) to generate the

framework, concepts, modules, content,

strategies and performance objectives.

(All of the above is subject to final

approval by the Program Manager.)

• Assign and coordinate writing,

development and revisions of the

modules and content areas for the

curriculum including multi-media

materials.

• Develop, edit, revise, format and

package the curriculum, lesson plans,

and other course materials.

• Submit preliminary draft for review

by the Program Manager per the

specified time line. Make revisions and

submit second draft if requested.

• Prepare all materials using

WordPerfect 7.0 or higher word

processing software and Corel

Presentations (visuals) and submit final

copies of all materials on 3.5′′ computer

disks (or zip drive disks) and in ‘‘camera

ready’’ hard copy format (4 paper

copies).

Application Requirements

Applicants must prepare a proposal

that describes their plan to provide the

project outcomes. The plan must

include goals and objectives,

methodology, deliverables, management

plan, an overall project budget for the

full two years, and a budget and budget

narrative for the first 6 month phase.

Applicants must identify their key

project staff and the relevant expertise

of each, and address the manner in

which they would perform all tasks in

collaboration with the NIC Project

Manager. Proposals are limited to

twenty-five double-spaced pages in

length, not including resumes, other

addenda, and SF–424 forms. Please note

that the Standard Form 424, Application

for Federal Assistance, submitted with

the proposal must contain the cover

sheet, budget, budget narrative,

assurances, and management plan for

the FY 2000 funded portion only, for a

maximum of $50,000.

Authority: Public Law 93–415.

Funds Available

Project funds are limited to a

maximum total of $100,000 for both

direct and indirect costs for two years.

A grant award of $50,000 will be made

in FY 2000, and a supplemental award

of $50,000 will be made in FY 2001.

(Contingent on FY 2001 congressional

budget approval) NIC is committed to

funding the full fifteen month project

and project activity must be completed

within 15 months of the date of the

award. Funds may only be used for

activities that are linked to the desired

outcomes of the project.

All products from this funding effort

will be in public domain and available

to interested agencies through the

National Institute of Corrections.

Deadline for Receipt of Applications

Applications must be received by 4:00

p.m. on Friday, July 17, 2000. They

should be addressed to: National

Institute of Corrections, 320 First Street,

NW., Room 5007, Washington, DC

20534, Attention: Administrative

Officer. Hand delivered applications can

be brought to 500 First Street, NW,

Washington, DC 20534. The Front desk

will call Bobbi Tinsley at (202) 307–

3106, extension 0 for pickup.

Addresses and Further Information

Requests for the application kit,

which consists of a copy of this

announcement and copies of the

required forms, should be directed to

Judy Evens, Cooperative Agreement

Control Office, National Institute of

Corrections, 320 First Street, NW, Room

5007, Washington, DC 20534 or by

calling (800) 995–6423, extension 159 or

(202) 307–3106, extension 159. She can

also be contacted by E-mail via

jevens@bop.gov. All technical and/or

programmatic questions concerning this

announcement should be directed to

Andie Moss at the above address or by

calling (800) 995–6423 or (202) 307–

3106, extension 140, or by E-mail via

amoss@bop.gov. Application forms may

also be obtained through the NIC

website: http://www.nicic.org. (Click on

‘‘What’s New’’ and then, ‘‘Cooperative

Agreements.’’)

Eligible Applicants

An eligible applicants is any state or

general unit of local government, public

or private agency, educational

institution, organization, team, or

individual with the requisite skills to

successfully meet the outcome

objectives of the project.

Review Considerations

Applications received under this

announcement will be subjected to an

NIC three to five member Peer Review

Process.

Number of Awards: One (1).

NIC Application Number: 00P17. This

number should appear as a reference

line in the cover letter and also in box

11 of Standard Form 424.

The Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance number is: 16.602.

36726 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 112 / Friday, June 9, 2000 / Notices

Dated: June 2, 2000.

Morris L. Thigpen,

Director, National Institute of Corrections.

[FR Doc. 00–14671 Filed 6–8–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4410–36–M

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training

Administration

Proposed Collection; Comment

Request

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as

part of its continuing effort to reduce

paperwork and respondent burden

conducts a preclearance consultation

program to provide the general public

and Federal agencies with an

opportunity to comment on proposed

and/or continuing collections of

information in accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

(PRA95) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This

program helps to ensure that requested

data can be provided in the desired

format, reporting burden (time and

financial resources) is minimized,

collection instruments are clearly

understood, and the impact of collection

requirements on respondents can be

properly assessed. Currently, the

Employment and Training

Administration is soliciting comments

concerning the proposed revision/

extension for collection of the ETA 227

Report, Overpayment Detection and

Recovery Activities. A copy of the

proposed information collection request

(ICR) can be obtained by contacting the

office listed below in the ADDRESSES

section of this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be

submitted to the office listed in the

addressee’s section below on or before

August 8, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments

to the Employment and Training

Administration, Office of Workforce

Security, 200 Constitution Avenue NW,

Room S4231, Washington, DC 20010,

Attention: Bob Whiting. Telephone

number: 202–219–5340, ext. 182 (this is

not a toll-free number). Fax: 202–219–

8506. E-mail: rwhiting@doleta.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

Section 303(a)(1) of the Social

Security Act requires a State’s

Unemployment Insurance (UI) law to

include provisions for:

‘‘Such methods of administration * * * as

are found by the Secretary of Labor to be

reasonably calculated to insure full payment

of unemployment compensation when due

* * *’’

Section 303(a)(5) of the Social

Security Act further requires a State’s UI

law to include provisions for:

‘‘Expenditure of all money withdrawn from

an unemployment fund of such State, in the

payment of unemployment compensation

* * *’’

Section 3304(a)(4) of the Internal

Revenue Code of 1954 provides that:

‘‘all money withdrawn from the

unemployment fund of the State shall be

used solely in the payment of unemployment

compensation * * *’’

The Secretary of Labor has interpreted

the above sections of Federal law in

Section 7511, Part V, ES Manual to

further require a State’s UI law to

include provisions for such methods of

administration as are, within reason,

calculated (1) to detect benefits paid

through error by the State Employment

Security Agency (SESA) or through

willful misrepresentation or error by the

claimant or others, (2) to deter claimants

from obtaining benefits through willful

misrepresentation, and (3) to recover

benefits overpaid. The ETA 227 is used

to determine whether SESAs meet these

requirements of the Secretary of Labor’s

interpretation of the Federal laws.

The ETA–227 contains data on the

number and amounts of fraud and

nonfraud overpayments established, the

methods by which overpayments were

detected, the amounts and methods by

which overpayments were collected, the

amounts of overpayments waived and

written off, the accounts receivable for

overpayments outstanding, and data on

criminal/civil actions. These data are

gathered by 53 SESAs and reported to

the Department of Labor following the

end of each calendar quarter. The

overall effectiveness of SESAs’ UI

integrity efforts can be determined by

examining and analyzing the data.

These data are also used by SESAs as a

management tool for effective UI

program administration.

II. Review Focus

The Department of Labor is

particularly interested in comments

which:

• evaluate whether the proposed

collection of information is necessary

for the proper performance of the

functions of the agency, including

whether the information will have

practical utility;

• evaluate the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden of the

proposed collection of information,

including the validity of the

methodology and assumptions used;

• enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and

• minimize the burden of the

collection of information on those who

are to respond, including through the

use of appropriate automated,

electronic, mechanical, or other

technological collection techniques or

other forms of information technology,

e.g., permitting electronic submissions

of responses. III. Current Actions: The

UI program pays approximately $20

billion in benefits annually. Although

the overpayment rate is relatively low

(less than one percent), high amounts of

money are involved, and it is in the

national interest to maintain the

program’s integrity. Therefore, we are

proposing to extend the authorization to

continue collecting data to measure the

effectiveness of benefit payment

controls in the SESAs. Several

modifications have been made to the

report format to improve the

effectiveness of the collection vehicle,

including additions and deletions of

data cells:

Additions

• Overpayments established

involving multi-claimant fraud schemes.

• Totals for controllable and

uncontrollable under Section B,

‘‘Overpayments Established—Methods

of Detection’’.

• Overpayments detected through the

‘‘new hire’’ system.

• Overpayments detected by ‘‘special

projects’’ (new methodologies).

• Overpayments Recovered—Total.

• Overpayments recovered by offset

of state income tax refunds.

• Overpayments recovered by other

states.

• Penalty and interest collected for

Federal programs.

• Overpayments collected for other

states.

Deletions

• All columns in the section titled

‘‘Reconciliation of Overpayment

Activities’’ that pertain to the number of

cases. (Only dollar amounts will be

reported in the future.)

• The following under-utilized lines

in the section titled ‘‘Detection

Activities’: verification of low earnings;

verification of return to work; quality

control.

• The following lines also in the

‘‘Detection’’ section because states

cannot exercise control over their

incidence, and gathering data is of less

value than that of other activities which

have been added: employer protest of

charges; tips and leads; other

noncontrollable activities.