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The Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), U.S. Department of Labor announces the availability of approximately $1.5 million total costs for one or more cooperative agreements to fund a project to integrate the issues of child labor alleviation and acceptable conditions of work into women's economic empowerment initiatives. The project intends to support service providers and policy makers when working with women entrepreneurs to ensure women-led enterprises can improve livelihoods responsibly without resorting to child labor or harmful labor practices. The project's outcomes include: Outcome 1: Increased understanding of child labor and acceptable conditions of work in the context of women's economic empowerment initiatives. Outcome 2: Increased availability of tools to integrate child labor awareness and acceptable conditions of work into women's economic empowerment initiatives. Outcome 3: Demonstrated effectiveness of tools in mitigating child labor and unacceptable conditions of work in women's economic empowerment initiatives. Outcome 4: Increased awareness and adoption of tools to integrate child labor awareness and acceptable conditions of work into women's economic empowerment initiatives by a broad range of stakeholders.The duration of the project will be a maximum of 4 years (48 months) from the effective date of the award.

The Support for Adam Walsh Act (AWA) Implementation Grant Program assists jurisdictions with developing and/or enhancing programs designed to implement requirements of SORNA. In summary, SORNA requires: (1) all States, the District of Columbia, the principal U.S. territories, and participating federally recognized Indian tribes to maintain a sex offender registry; and (2) sex offenders to register and maintain a current registration in each jurisdiction where the offender resides, is an employee, or is a student. SORNA also sets forth requirements for sex offender registries, to include: specified required information, duration of registration, and in-person verification of sex offender identity as well as participation in the National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW), and the utilization of the SORNA Exchange Portal. For more specific information about compliance with SORNA and access to the National Guidelines and Supplemental Guidelines on Sex Offender Registration and Notification, please visit www.smart.gov/sorna_tools.htm#sornaguidelines. For information and resources on SORNA, visit www.smart.gov. Goals, Objectives, and Deliverables The SMART Office is interested in proposals that facilitate, enhance and maintain jurisdictional implementation of SORNA. For jurisdictions that have not yet substantially implemented SORNA, applicants must explain how the proposed project will bring the jurisdiction closer to implementation. Discussion of a jurisdiction's planned activities should include information regarding the jurisdiction's SORNA implementation working group. The working group plan should include a list of the working group members and their responsibility regarding SORNA implementation. It is expected that successful grantees will report on their jurisdiction's working group meetings in their quarterly progress reports. This requirement does not apply to jurisdictions that have already been found to be substantially implementing SORNA. For those ju

The Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), U.S. Department of Labor announces the availability of approximately $6,000,000 total costs for up to three cooperative agreements of up to $2,000,000 total costs each to fund technical assistance projects to improve the capacity of civil society to better understand and address child labor and/or forced labor abuses and promote acceptable conditions of work in a sector and/or supply chain. The project should achieve the following outcomes: (1) Improved capacity of civil society to identify and document accurate, independent, and objective information on the nature and scope of child labor and/or forced labor, and violations of acceptable conditions of work in a sector and/or supply chain; (2) Improved capacity of civil society to raise awareness for the protection of workers from child labor and/or forced labor abuses, and violations of acceptable conditions of work; and (3) Improved capacity of civil society to implement initiatives to address child labor and/or forced labor and violations of acceptable conditions of work, including facilitated access to grievance mechanisms and/or remedy for victims of labor exploitation. The duration of the project will be a maximum of 4 years (48 months) from the effective date of the award.

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) seeks innovative research proposals to empirically assess pressing issues in institutional corrections. Interested applicants should submit proposals that address any of the three categories below. NIJ anticipates that up to $8 million may become available for awards under this solicitation. 1. Advancing science: Responding to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Report, “The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences.” 2. Understanding the use of restrictive housing. a. An examination of the use of restrictive housing in state and/or federal prisons. b. Assessing the use of restrictive housing in jails. c. Understanding the impact of restrictive housing on the mental health of inmates and staff in prison and how working in restrictive housing varies from working in the general population. d. A review of step down programs available in restrictive housing environments in U.S. prisons and jails. 3. An examination of correctional officer safety and wellness: The impact of fatal and non-fatal work-related injuries on the corrections institution.

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) seeks innovative research proposals to empirically assess pressing issues in institutional corrections. Interested applicants should submit proposals that address any of the three categories below. NIJ anticipates that up to $8 million may become available for awards under this solicitation. 1. Advancing science: Responding to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Report, “The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences.” 2. Understanding the use of restrictive housing. a. An examination of the use of restrictive housing in state and/or federal prisons. b. Assessing the use of restrictive housing in jails. c. Understanding the impact of restrictive housing on the mental health of inmates and staff in prison and how working in restrictive housing varies from working in the general population. d. A review of step down programs available in restrictive housing environments in U.S. prisons and jails. 3. An examination of correctional officer safety and wellness: The impact of fatal and non-fatal work-related injuries on the corrections institution.

The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) is soliciting proposals from organizations, groups, or individuals to enter into a cooperative agreement for a 15-month period to begin no later than August 15, 2013. Work under this cooperative agreement will be an extension of the NIC's Evidence-Based Decision Making (EBDM) in Local Criminal Justice Systems initiative. It will require the coordination of jurisdictions receiving technical assistance under EBDM and review of work produced under other cooperative agreements that resulted in deliverables under EBDM.Work under this cooperative agreement will involve all activities necessary to plan for the successful implementation of EBDM in a statewide structure. Specifically, the awardee will plan a comprehensive structure for implementation, including development of a technical assistance (TA) plan and the tools required to build capacity to implement EBDM within local jurisdictions and state-level criminal justice planning committees. The awardee will also revise "A Framework for Evidence-Based Decision Making in Local Criminal Justice Systems" to include needed content changes and additions to support statewide implementation; develop activities and tools needed to select a state that, through an identified process, is determined to have the greatest potential for successful planning and implementation of EBDM at the statewide level; provide TA to current EBDM sites and their states' criminal justice coordinating counsels and executive administration in preparation for statewide planning for EBDM implementation. This project will be a collaborative venture with the NIC Community Services Division.

The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) is soliciting proposals from organizations, groups, or individuals to enter into a cooperative agreement for a 12-month period to begin no later than September 15, 2014. Work under this cooperative agreement will involve review and revision of the current Inmate Behavior Management (IBM) curriculum based on the Instructional Theory Into Practice (ITIP) model, including relevant language and concepts from NIC's Direct Supervision training curriculum, incorporation of two established NIC e-courses ("Objective Jail Classification: Assessing Inmate Risk and Needs" and "Assigning Inmates to Housing")as part of the pre-work for participants, identification of benchmarks for implementation of IBM in local jurisdictions, and development of a 4- to 5-day pilot training based on the revised curriculum. The awardee will develop an updated program description, detailed narrative lesson plans, a participant manual that follows the lesson plans, and presentation slides for each lesson plan. A qualified awardee will demonstrate expertise and experience in the six elements of IBM developing curricula based on adult learning principles, specifically ITIP, the principles of Direct Supervision, and the purpose, functions, and operations of local jails. The awardee will work closely with NIC staff on all aspects of the project and collaborate with NIC-approved subject matter experts and a curriculum specialist as part of the curriculum revision/development team. This project will be a collaborative venture with the NIC Jails Division.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is seeking applications for the testing and fielding of a data collection program that surveys public defenders. This study will continue BJS’s efforts to collect data on indigent defense in the United States. It will extend the efforts of the Census of Public Defender Offices (CPDO) and National Survey of Indigent Defense Systems (NSIDS) to enhance our understanding of the work done by attorneys who represent indigent clients. While the CPDO and NSIDS were conducted at the agency level, the proposed collection will survey public defenders who provide services to adults and juveniles charged with criminal offenses. The design for this work was previously awarded in the Survey of Public Defenders: A Design Study (SPDDS). The SPDDS was renamed the Design of the Survey of Publicly Appointed Defense Attorneys (DSPADA); however, this first solicitation will be limited to public defenders. Applicants are strongly encouraged to review a summary of the final report from this earlier development work, available in an appendix to the solicitation. Please note that the project recommendations include the use of incentives. BJS is not proceeding with a test of incentives with this solicitation.

Submit an application if you are a successful top-rank junior researcher from abroad, only completed your doctorate with distinction in the last six years, and have published work in prestigious international journals or publishing houses. The Sofja Kovalevskaja Award allows you to spend five years building up a working group and working on a high-profile, innovative research project of your own choice at a research institution of your own choice in Germany.

The Smart Supervision Program seeks to improve the capacity and effectiveness of community supervision agencies to increase probation and parole success rates and reduce the number of crimes committed by those under probation and parole supervision, which would in turn reduce admissions to prisons and jails and save taxpayer dollars. Funds will be awarded in two categories. In Category 1, state and local agencies will be selected to improve supervision using evidence-based supervision strategies or to innovate new strategies to improve outcomes for supervisees. For example, agencies may test supervision strategies with offenders at high risk of committing or being victimized by violence and may shift supervision strategies from time focused to goal focused and from mass supervision to focus on individualized supervision. In Category 2, a TTA provider will work with three sites to develop a model for law enforcement and prosecutors to work with probation departments with regard to high risk, violent offenders. The TTA provider will select three sites in concert with BJA and pass through funds to support their work.

Lumina Foundation, in partnership with Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, has announced a request for proposals (RFP) for grants that are designed to support postsecondary institutions that are implementing significant work to advance equity on campus and in the broader community. This one-time investment of $1 million will be used to support colleges and universities that are working to improve their campus climates by providing opportunities for constructive racial dialogue. Four to five grants of up to $100,000 are reserved for colleges and universities that can document their existing comprehensive efforts to advance equity on their campuses and in their communities. Additional grants of up to $25,000 will support colleges and universities that propose significant work to enhance efforts focused on issues related to equity and racial justice on campuses. Online applications must be submitted by February 26, 2018. Visit Lumina Foundation's website to download the RFP forms.

The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi (PAS New Delhi) seeks proposals for a project entitled "Gender Equity: Women's Equality, Empowerment and Leadership through Safe Higher Educational and Work Spaces." Through this grant project, the grantee will establish partnerships with five Indian universities/ colleges to organize five gender sensitization training workshops for 125 faculty of Higher Educational Institutions (HEI's) and conduct gender and safety audits at these institutions. Each workshop would be led by an eminent American feminist scholar or activist in addition to Indian experts. The workshops should predominantly be in Tier II Indian cities including one in North India and one each in the American Consulate districts (Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad). As part of the workshop, the grantee will organize and implement a creative exhibition/installation/performance showcasing narratives on safe and gender-just work places and campuses. (Please refer to the full announcement available under 'related documents' tab.)

The Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), U.S. Department of Labor announces the availability of approximately $4 million total costs for up to two cooperative agreements of up to $2 million total costs each to fund technical assistance project(s) in two different countries to improve implementation of social compliance systems that promote acceptable conditions of work and the elimination of child labor and forced labor in coffee supply chains. Each cooperative agreement will fund a project in one of the following countries in the Latin America/Caribbean region, where DOL's List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (TVPRA List) documents child labor and/or forced labor concerns: Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, or Nicaragua. Project outcomes include: 1) Adoption of a robust and sustainable social compliance system by private sector stakeholders in coffee supply chains; 2) Strengthened capacity of private sector stakeholders to implement a robust and sustainable social compliance system in coffee supply chains; and 3) New social compliance tools on child labor, forced labor, and acceptable conditions of work piloted in the coffee supply chain. The duration of the project will be a maximum of 4 years (48 months) from the effective date of the award. Applicants may apply for one or two of the cooperative agreements listed above. No more than two applications per applicant will be accepted. If applying for two cooperative agreements, applicants should not combine countries in a single application, but must submit separate applications for each country. Each application should request no more than $2 million total costs in funding.

The Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), U.S. Department of Labor announces the availability of approximately $6,000,000 total costs for up to three cooperative agreements of up to $2,000,000 total costs each to fund technical assistance projects to improve the capacity of labor stakeholders to better understand and address indicators of forced labor and labor trafficking. Each cooperative agreement will fund a project in a country to be proposed by the applicant. Applicants must propose a country covered in the DOL's Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor in accordance with the Trade and Development Act of 2000 or on the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor as mandated by Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005. Proposals for working in the fisheries sector in the Asia-Pacific region will not be considered. In each country, the project should achieve the following outcomes: * Improved understanding of indicators of forced labor and labor trafficking * Improved monitoring of working conditions by labor stakeholders to identify and address indicators and incidents of forced labor and labor trafficking * Strengthened capacity of the labor inspectorate to address forced labor and labor trafficking. The duration of the project will be a maximum of 4 years (48 months) from the effective date of the award. Applicants may apply separately for cooperative agreements serving one or more of the countries listed above, up to a maximum of three applications, but may not combine proposals for more than one country in a single application. Each application should request no more than $2 million total costs in funding. For this FOA, DOL will make no more than one award per country.

The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) is soliciting proposals from organizations, groups, or individuals to enter into a cooperative agreement for an 18-month period to begin no later than September 15, 2013. Work under this cooperative agreement will involve developing curriculum, based on the Instructional Theory Into Practice (ITIP) model, to train participants in the purpose, functions, and operational complexities surrounding the housing and treatment issues of inmates exhibiting signs and symptoms of mental illness. The awardee will produce a program description (overview), detailed narrative lesson plans, a participant manual that follows the lesson plans, and presentation slides for each lesson plan. A qualified awardee will have expertise in developing effective mental health treatment inside of jails and extensive experience in working with local jails on issues related to inmate mental health treatment.

The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) is seeking applications from organizations, groups, or individuals to enter into a cooperative agreement with NIC for an 18-month period to begin no later than September 15, 2013. Work under this cooperative agreement will involve convening a working group with the purpose of identifying key areas of gender-informed knowledge specific to women that will both inform a future research agenda and define a project that would further incorporate these keys areas into NIC initiatives and provide further guidance for policymakers and practitioners in their management of this population. The audience for this project is quite broad, representing all aspects of corrections (jails, prisons, and community corrections), the research and academic community, other Federal agencies, state and local entities and other related stakeholders that have an interest in this population. The deliverables from this solicitation will be based on research and theory and are meant to provide a medium to inform NIC initiatives as well as more generally the corrections field, with the goal of improved system and individual outcomes. This project will be a collaborative venture with the NIC Community Services Division.

In response to concerns voiced by victim service providers, the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) recognizes a need to assist the field in becoming more educated consumers of-and contributors to-research and evaluation that can lead to more effective and cost-efficient services for victims of crime. There is also a need to assist the research community in disseminating findings in ways that are accessible, understandable, and useful for the victim services field. OVC will award a cooperative agreement for a comprehensive assessment of victim service providers to ascertain their level of awareness and knowledge about the benefits of social science research and program evaluation for their work with victims of crime, paired with an assessment of researchers' interest in, and capacity for, translating their work for a practitioner audience.

The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) is soliciting proposals from organizations, groups, or individuals to enter into a cooperative agreement for an 18-month period to begin no later than September 15, 2013. Work under this cooperative agreement will involve the development and piloting of a blended-learning curriculum, which could include the use of virtual instructor-led training (VILT), to address the safety of women inmates within correctional institutions. The audience for this curriculum represents correctional staff, volunteers, contractors, community stakeholders who work within women's correctional institutions, and community residential facilities. This project will be a collaborative venture with the NIC Community Services Division.

The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) is soliciting proposals from organizations, groups, or individuals to enter into a cooperative agreement for an 18-month period to begin no later than September 15, 2013. Work under this cooperative agreement will involve the development of a competency-based, blended training curriculum that will provide corrections professionals with the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to teach qualified staff how to train facilitators to use Thinking for a Change(T4C) 3.1. Specifically, this is a call to develop a Training for Trainers (T4T) curriculum. Applicants are encouraged to propose innovative designs to achieve the tasks set forth in this solicitation. The curriculum must contain components of both distance and face-to-face learning, with an emphasis on choosing the most effective and efficient delivery option available to achieve learning objectives. The curriculum will be housed and operated through NIC's online learning management system (LMS), the NIC Learning Center. All components of the curriculum must be compatible with the Learning Center, and a successful applicant will have a team member with the knowledge and skill to work with NIC staff on this aspect of the course.

BJA's mission is to provide leadership and services through grant administration and criminal justice policy development to support local, state, and tribal justice strategies to achieve safer communities. Driving BJA's work in the field is the following principles: to reduce crime, recidivism, and unnecessary confinement, and promote a safe and fair criminal justice system. To implement our strategies consistent with these principles, BJA supports effective criminal justice policy, programs, information sharing, and collaborations within state, local, and tribal agencies and communities, and promotes the use of data, research, and information to increase the effectiveness of criminal justice programs. BJA has four primary components: Policy, Programs, Planning, and the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Office. The Fellows will work in the Policy Office, which provides national leadership in criminal justice policy, training, and technical assistance to further the administration of justice. It also acts as a liaison to national organizations that partner with BJA to set policy and help disseminate information on best and promising practices. To address emerging issues and build capacity to improve the administration of criminal justice, BJA launched the BJA Visiting Fellows Program in FY2012. The intent is to leverage state, local, or tribal subject-matter expertise to assess areas of need and to develop strategies, tools, and policies in collaboration with BJA staff for the benefit of the criminal justice field. By hosting up to five Fellows with FY 2014 funds, BJA will collaborate with practitioners and researchers to build capacity to address gaps in priority and emerging issues in the criminal justice field.

There are a multiple states, counties, cities, and tribes that are interested in implementing "Swift, Certain, and Fair" (SCF) models of supervision with offenders in the community. This interest has grown out of the potential promise that these SCF models have shown in effectively reducing recidivism and preventing crime. In particular, Hawaii's Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (HOPE) program has been shown to have promise, and as a result there is significant interest and activity in implementing models of supervision and other versions of the HOPE model which rely on swift, certain, and fair sanctions to improve the outcomes of individuals under community supervision.SCF approaches are intended to: (a) improve supervision strategies that reduce recidivism; (b) promote and increase collaboration among agencies and officials who work in community corrections and related fields to enhance swift and certain sanctions; (c) enhance the offenders' perception that the supervision decisions are fair, consistently applied, and consequences are transparent; and (d) improve the outcomes of individuals participating in these initiatives. Through this FY 2015 grant announcement, BJA will select multiple applicants to implement or enhance a HOPE model using SCF. Applicants selected under this announcement will work with BJA and its SCF training and technical assistance (TTA) partner to implement the model with fidelity.BJA is supporting this effort to enhance public safety, foster collaboration, and improve the outcomes of individuals under the supervision of community corrections. This program is funded under the Project HOPE appropriation (P.L. 113-235).