[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 107 (Monday, June 4, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30008-30010]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-11076]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of Justice Programs

[OJP (BJS)-1316]


Continuation of Federal Justice Statistics Program

AGENCY: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, 
Justice.

ACTION: Solicitation for award of cooperative agreement.

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SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to announce a public 
solicitation for the continuation of the Bureau of Justice Statistics' 
(BJS) Federal Justice Statistics Program (FJSP). The FJSP serves as the 
national resource for data describing the processing of criminal cases 
in the Federal criminal justice system. Under this program, data 
generated by Federal criminal justice agencies are collected, 
maintained, analyzed, and archived. Data are also linked across 
agencies to permit more complex analyses of Federal criminal justice 
issues. Regular annual reports and special topical reports are prepared 
that describe the Federal criminal justice system, Federal defendants 
and offenses, and other special issues of interest. In addition, 
special tabulations are prepared, pursuant to BJS direction, in 
response to requests from government officials. The project to be 
funded under the proposed cooperative agreement will continue the 
program's current activities.

DATES: Proposals must be postmarked on, or before, July 20, 2001. 
Awards will be made by September 30, 2001. Project activities will 
commence on October 1, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Proposals should be mailed to: Applications Coordinator, 
Bureau of Justice Statistics, 810 7th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20531.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Scalia, Program Manager, Federal 
Justice Statistics Program, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Phone: (202) 
616-3276. E-mail: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#84ceebeceaaad7e7e5e8ede5c4f1f7e0ebeeaae3ebf2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="afe5c0c7c181fccccec3c6ceefdadccbc0c581c8c0d9">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Bureau of Justice Statistics Federal Justice Statistics Program 
(FJSP) was initiated in 1982 to serve as a central resource for 
information describing the processing of Federal criminal defendants 
and characteristics of those defendants. The program collects data from 
different components of the Federal criminal justice system and tracks 
the progress of suspects from investigation through prosecution, 
adjudication, sentencing, and corrections. The program represents the 
primary BJS effort describing the Federal criminal justice system and 
responds directly to the legislative authorization that BJS ``collect, 
analyze, and disseminate comprehensive Federal justice transaction 
statistics (including statistics on issues of Federal justice interest 
such as public fraud and high technology crime)'' as set forth in 42 
U.S.C. 3732(c)(15).
    In keeping with the original program plan which was designed to 
minimize data collection costs, no original data collection is 
supported under this program. Data are obtained from operational 
Federal agencies including the U.S. Marshals Service, the Drug 
Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the 
Executive Office for the United States Attorneys, the Administrative 
Office of the United States Courts, the Bureau of Prisons, and the 
United States Sentencing Commission. In order to trace the flow of 
cases from one stage to another and to supplement any individual 
agency's data, computer matching techniques have been developed that 
permit the linking of data obtained from different sources. The linking 
of these data permit more complex and detailed analysis of particular 
issues.
    Throughout the history of the FJSP, a regular series of reports has 
been produced. These reports include the annual Compendium of Federal 
Justice Statistics (available on the Internet at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/cfjs99.htm) which describes, in detail, 
offenders processed at each stage of the Federal criminal justice 
system for a particular year, the annual Federal Criminal Case 
Processing report (available on the Internet at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/fccp99.htm) which present key statistics 
for the reporting year and trend for the past several years, and a 
series of Special Reports addressing specific aspects of the Federal 
criminal justice system, specific offenses, or other special issues of 
interest. Recent Special Reports include: Federal Criminal Appeals, 
1999, with trends 1985-99 (available on the Internet at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/fca99.htm), Offenders Returning to Federal 
Prison, 1986-97 (available on the Internet at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/orfp97.htm), and Federal Firearm Offenders, 1992-98 
(available on the Internet at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/ffo98.htm). In addition, the program serves as the primary source of 
information for other BJS statistical series that describe individuals 
in the Federal criminal justice system; program staff have also 
responded to ad hoc BJS requests for specific data tabulations and 
analyses from public officials and private citizens.

Objectives

    The purpose of this award is to support the continuation of the 
Federal Justice Statistics Program. The recipient of funds will serve 
as the Federal Justice Statistics Resource Center whereby the recipient 
will continue to collect, maintain, and archive data from Federal 
justice agencies, produce annual reports (the Compendium of Federal 
Justice Statistics and Federal Criminal Case

[[Page 30009]]

Processing), and topical special reports. Any Special Reports prepared 
by the recipient will be prepared under the direction of BJS staff. In 
addition, BJS staff may also initiate Special Reports. The recipient 
will be expected to assist BJS staff with Special Reports by providing 
the necessary data for analysis and, when requested, assisting in the 
preparation of data tabulations and reviewing the methodology used to 
analyze the data.

Type of Assistance

    Assistance will be made available under a cooperative agreement. 
Awards will be made for a period of 12 months with an option for two 
additional continuation years conditional upon the availability of 
funds and the quality of the initial performance and products. Costs 
are estimated at not to exceed $650,000 for the initial 12-month 
period. Funding for subsequent years may include reasonable increases 
for cost-of-living and changes in scope of work, where applicable.

Statutory Authority

    The cooperative agreement to be awarded pursuant to this 
solicitation will be funded by the Bureau of Justice Statistics 
consistent with its mandate as set forth in 42 U.S.C. 3732.

Eligibility Requirements

    Both for-profit and nonprofit organizations may apply for funds. 
Consistent with Office of Justice Programs fiscal requirements, no fees 
may be charged against this project by profit-making organizations.

Scope of Work

    The objective of the proposed program is to continue basic 
activities initiated under the ongoing BJS Federal Justice Statistics 
Program. Specifically, the recipient of funds will serve as the Federal 
Justice Statistics Resource Center. The Resource Center will:
    <bullet> Maintain and expand the Federal Justice Statistics Program 
Database. This will involve the collection, processing, and maintenance 
of data provided by Federal agencies participating in the program. The 
agencies currently participating in the program are: the U.S. Marshals 
Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation, the Executive Office for the United States Attorneys, 
the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the Bureau of 
Prisons, and the United States Sentencing Commission. (In addition to 
providing data describing the Federal courts' criminal docket, the 
Administrative Office also provides data describing the activities of 
the Federal pretrial services agencies and the Federal Probation and 
Supervision Service. The Federal Judicial Center has provided data 
describing the Federal courts' appellate docket.) The recipient should 
attempt to expand the program to include other Federal law enforcement 
agencies. The recipient will also be responsible for processing data to 
meet uniform classification categories and for linking data to permit 
analysis of data obtained from different sources.
    <bullet> Prepare tapes and related documentation for archiving in 
the national archive maintained by BJS. The public use data tapes of 
the source data shall conform to BJS standards for submission to the 
National Archive of Criminal Justice Data at the University of 
Michigan. In addition, the recipient will prepare a set of standard 
analysis data files from each agency's source data for each fiscal 
year. These standard analysis data files will describe a particular 
cohort of defendants and will include all variables included in the 
source data and all variables created for the Compendium of Federal 
Justice Statistics. These standard analysis files will be included on a 
CD-ROM to be produced and distributed by BJS. The recipient will 
document each of the standard analysis data files and all programs used 
to create BJS reports. Such documentation, to the extent possible, will 
be maintained in an electronic database from which users can query 
variables of interest. This electronic data dictionary will also be 
included on the CD-ROM prepared by BJS. In addition, the recipient will 
document the methodology used to produce the Compendium of Federal 
Justice Statistics, including the production of the standard analysis 
data files.
    <bullet> Prepare the Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics and 
the Federal Criminal Case Processing report and submit both text and 
tables in camera-ready format for each Federal fiscal year.
    <bullet> Prepare BJS Special Reports, data tabulations, analyses, 
data sets, and other data manipulations in response to BJS requests. 
Any Special Reports proposed by the recipient will be designed in 
coordination with BJS. BJS will approve all Special Report topics 
proposed by the recipient.
    <bullet> Provide BJS with electronic access to the Federal Justice 
Statistics Resource Center (including all source data, standard 
analysis data files, and software used to produce BJS reports) and 
computing resources, as necessary. In addition, the recipient must 
provide BJS staff with daily access to the standard analysis data files 
(for the most recent reporting period available) in a form in which 
variables name and values correspond to those included in the FJSP 
electronic data dictionary.
    <bullet> Provide Internet access to the Federal Justice Statistics 
Resource Center. The recipient will provide direct access via the 
Internet to all FJSP data files from 1994 and onward and the electronic 
data dictionary. In addition, the recipient will provide Internet users 
with a World Wide Web-accessible query system for the Federal Justice 
Statistics Resource Center. Users must be provided with the capability 
of performing queries of the FJSP data bases to extract basic 
information describing individuals processed in the Federal criminal 
justice system. Statistics describing suspects and offenders will also 
be displayed by Federal judicial district consistent with any 
restrictions imposed by Federal agencies providing data. The Federal 
Justice Statistics Resource Center is currently located on the Internet 
at http://fjsrc.urban.org. All products developed for the Internet must 
be compliant with the accessibility standards and regulations 
promulgated pursuant to 29 U.S.C. Sec. 794d.

Award Process

    Proposals should describe, in appropriate detail, the procedures to 
be undertaken in furtherance of each of the activities described under 
the Scope of Work. Information provided should focus on activities to 
be conducted during the initial 12-month period but should also include 
a more general discussion of three-year objectives for the program. 
Information on staffing levels and qualifications should be included 
for each task and descriptions of experience relevant to the project 
should be included. Resumes of the proposed project director and key 
staff should be included in the proposal.
    Applications will be competitively reviewed by BJS. Final authority 
to enter into a cooperative agreement is reserved for the Director, 
BJS, or his designee, who may, in his discretion, determine that none 
of the applications shall be funded.
    Applications will be evaluated on the overall extent to which they 
respond to criminal justice priorities, conform to the goals of the 
Federal Justice Statistics Program, and appear to be fiscally feasible 
and efficient. Applicants will be evaluated on the basis of:
    <bullet> Knowledge of, and experience in, working with different 
components of the criminal justice system with particular emphasis on 
knowledge of

[[Page 30010]]

operational, management, and statistical data collected and maintained 
by various Federal criminal justice components;
    <bullet> Statistical expertise in the area of data analysis, data 
linkage, and research;
    <bullet> Experience in the application of statistical data to the 
analysis of criminal justice issues;
    <bullet> Demonstrated ability to prepare high quality statistical 
reports;
    <bullet> Availability of qualified professional and support staff 
and of suitable equipment for data processing and data manipulation;
    <bullet> Demonstrated fiscal, management, and organizational 
capability suitable for providing sound program direction for this 
multi-faced effort;
    <bullet> Demonstrated ability to design and maintain interactive 
sites on the World Wide Web; and
    <bullet> Reasonableness of estimated costs for the total project 
and for individual cost categories.

Application Process

    An original and five (5) copies of the proposal and all application 
materials must be submitted to BJS. All applicants are required to 
submit:
    <bullet> Standard Form 424, Application for Federal Assistance;
    <bullet> Budget Detail Worksheet (which replaced the SF 424A, 
Budget Information);
    <bullet> OJP Form 4000/3 (Rev. 1-93), Assurances;
    <bullet> OJP Form 4061/6 Certification Regarding Lobbying; 
Debarment, Suspension, and Other Responsibility Matters; and Drug-Free 
Workplace Requirements;
    <bullet> A privacy certificate describing procedures for complying 
with Federal regulations relating to the confidentiality of information 
identifiable to a private person; and
    <bullet> The BJS Screening Sheet for Protection of Human Subjects.
    If appropriate, applicants must also complete and submit Standard 
Form LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities. Applicants who have not 
previously received Federal funds from the Office of Justice Programs 
must also submit OJP Form 7210/1 (Rev. 1-93), Accounting System and 
Financial Capability Questionnaire. Detailed instructions for 
applicants of Federal Assistance and copies of all forms are available 
on the Internet at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/apply.htm.

    Dated: April 27, 2001.
Lawrence A. Greenfeld,
Acting Director, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
[FR Doc. 01-11076 Filed 6-1-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-18-P


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