An advanced contract award notice (ACAN) is a public notice indicating to the supplier community that a department or agency intends to award a contract for goods, services or construction to a pre-identified supplier, thereby allowing other suppliers to signal their interest in bidding, by submitting a statement of capabilities. If no supplier submits a statement of capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, on or before the closing date and time stated in the ACAN, the contracting officer may then proceed with the award to the pre-identified supplier.
1. Definition of the requirement:
The Correctional Service Canada has a requirement to provide Family Liaison Worker (FLW) services to CSC offenders at Nova Institution for Women.
The work will involve the following:
1.1 Objectives:
To foster and strengthen family relationships for incarcerated offenders at Nova Institution for Women. This will improve public safety by building appropriate supportive links to the community and improve family and community reintegration. The Contractor must provide a Family Liaison Worker to deliver direct client services to offenders at the Nova Institution for Women.
1.2 Tasks:
The Contractor’s resource/Family Liaison Worker or Canadian Families and Corrections Network (CFCN) designate must:
• Recruit, network, liaise, and consult with community organizations and volunteers.
• Network, liaise, and consult with CSC representatives at the institutional and regional levels.
• Conduct the family reintegration interview with offenders at Nova Institution for Women interested in participating in the project and administer the Family Strengths and Needs Assessment tool.
• Conduct the family reintegration interview with corresponding families interested in participating in the project and administer the Family Strengths and Needs Assessment tool.
• Provide continued support to offenders and their families throughout the process of reintegration planning and post release including escorting inmates on Escorted Temporary Absences (ETAs), court appearances, and assisting with critical identity documents such as but not limited to birth certificates, where required.
• Ensure coordination of continuity of care as it relates to their family connections and responsibilities for offenders at Nova Institution for Women and their families.
• Assist Nova Institution for Women Mother-Child Coordinator in facilitating the application process and follow through with support for expecting and parenting inmates in the program, as required by CSC representatives according to the offender’s and families identified needs.
• Maintain a toll-free information line, provide referral information and mail outs to families through Support Groups.
• Work to increase community awareness of issues facing families affected by criminal behavior, incarceration and reintegration by participating in events such as the annual employment/reintegration fair.
• Work collaboratively with family liaison workers in other regions, as well as with their executive director or designate.
• Participate in any orientation session as required by CSC to work effectively in the institutional environment.
• Perform any other tasks related to successful project implementation, development, and reporting at CSC’s request.
• Provide ongoing support and education and information events for staff and offenders including assistance with the annual Resource, Reintegration, Health and Employment Fair.
• Facilitate video conferencing for the purposes of family-offender contact and offenders court appearances where required.
• Complete relationship building work for private family visits and family contact visits as required with both offenders and their families.
• Deliver structured activities to offenders, as required by CSC, to cover areas such as Parole; Reintegration; Supportive Relationships (including, but not limited to, Talking to Children About Incarceration Building Resiliency in Youth, Resilient Families, Co-parenting and Custody).
• Assist the Case Management Team with the acquisition of critical offender documents such as but not limited to birth certificates related to reintegration needs.
1.3 Expected results:
• Increase in family contacts via private family visits, escorts, phone calls and videoconferencing calls.
• Increased staff and community awareness of the impact of incarceration on offenders’ families and increased sensitivity to the needs of families affected by incarceration.
• Improved pre-release orientation on what to expect upon family reintegration and relationship restructuring.
• Improved information and communication with families of offenders on available services through correspondence, phone calls, a toll-free information line and visits.
• Consistently conduct orientation and assessment interviews with all newly admitted federal offenders at Nova Institution for Women to provide information on services and determine the need for continued support to increase use of service of Family Liaison Worker.
• Increased offender accompaniment to family court and family visits by family liaison worker to improve family bonds.
• Increase in number of case conferences to share Family Reintegration plans as part of the correctional planning process.
• Improved reintegration results by ensuring access to personal documents needed for financial assistance, employment and medical coverage.
1.4 Performance standards:
• The Contractor must track and report monthly on any outcomes including, but not limited to, number of offender contacts, visits, calls, staff and community education events, court accompaniments and escorts.
• The Contractor must meet with each new admission within 10 working days of admission to provide orientation and assessment interviews.
• The Contractor must share information on the family Reintegration Plan for offenders with the case management team during the intake process, throughout the sentence and document them in Offender Management System (OMS).
• The Contractor must provide gender and culturally sensitive services.
1.5 Deliverables:
1.5.1:
• The Contractor must create and distribute Family Liaison Worker (FLW) flyers and any other material needed to ensure awareness of the project among offenders at Nova Institution for Women and ensure all new admissions receive information related to the project.
• The Contractor must prepare a written summary monthly of the outcome of the administered family strengths and needs assessment tool with the purpose of establishing a family reintegration action plan and identifying appropriate support.
• The Contractor must work in conjunction with offenders at Nova Institution for Women and their families to develop a written family-based reintegration plan that will augment the offender’s correctional plan. The Contractor must perform this task in collaboration with the case management team.
• The Contractor must offer First Contact Kits to families of new inmates with information on institutional procedures such as visiting, money, and mail as well as FLW project information.
• The Contractor must ensure all families receive “A New Time”, the contractor’s family reintegration information toolkit.
• The Contractor must perform duties related to the measurement, reporting, and evaluation related to the project.
• The Contractor must share project reporting with the Nova Institution for Women.
• The Contractor must maintain a log of facilitated offender phone calls. This log will be the property of CSC.
• The Contractor must provide 1800 hours of service delivery according to a flexible schedule, distributed throughout the contract year to minimize service gaps.
1.5.2 Paper consumption:
a. Should printed material be required, double sided printing in black and white format is the default unless otherwise specified by the Project Authority.
b. The Contractor must ensure printed material is on paper with a minimum recycled content of 30% and/or certified as originating from a sustainably managed forest.
c. The Contractor must recycle unneeded printed documents (in accordance with Security Requirements).
1.6 Constraints:
1.6.1 Location of work:
a. The Contractor must perform the work at Nova Institution for Women, 180 James St., Truro, Nova Scotia, B2N 6R8.
b. Travel
The Contractor’s resource must travel to various communities in Atlantic Canada to conduct family contact ETAs and Court Appearances and the Contractor’s representative must travel to Nova Institution for Women to manage the contract.
1.6.2 Language of Work:
The Contractor must perform all work in English.
1.6.3 Security Requirements:
This contract includes the following security requirements:
SECURITY REQUIREMENT FOR CANADIAN SUPPLIER:
PWGSC FILE No. 21250-25-4857170
1. The Contractor must, at all times during the performance of the Contract, hold a valid Designated Organization Screening (DOS), issued by the Contract Security Program (CSP), Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC).
2. The Contractor personnel requiring access to PROTECTED information, assets or sensitive site(s) must EACH hold a valid RELIABILITY STATUS, granted or approved by the CSP, PWGSC.
3. The Contractor MUST NOT remove any PROTECTED information or assets from the identified site(s), and the Contractor must ensure that its personnel are made aware of and comply with this restriction.
4. Subcontracts which contain security requirements are NOT to be awarded without the prior written permission of the CSP, PWGSC.
5. The Contractor must comply with the provisions of the:
a) Security Requirements Check List and security guide (if applicable), attached at Annex C;
b) Contract Security Manual (Latest Edition).
2. Criteria for assessment of the statement of capabilities (minimum essential requirements):
Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that it meets the following requirements:
Experience:
• The supplier must have a minimum of 2 years experience, obtained in the last 5 years prior to the ACAN closing date, in providing specialized family liaison services to incarcerated persons. This work must include family needs assessments, family reintegration planning, expertise in family court procedures, and the provision of staff and community training on the impact of incarceration on offenders and their families.
• The supplier must have a toll-free information line related to family reintegration services for offenders and their families.
Academic qualifications:
• The supplier’s personnel providing the services must possess proof of completion of post secondary education in Social Work or Criminology studies or Sociology studies.
• The degree must have been obtained from a recognized Canadian university, college or high school or the equivalent as established by a recognized Canadian academic credentials assessment service, if obtained outside Canada.
• The list of recognized organizations can be found under the Canadian Centre for International Credentials website.
3. Applicability of the trade agreement(s) to the procurement
This procurement is not subject to any trade agreement.
4. Set-aside under the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business
This procurement is not subject to any set-asides for Indigenous Suppliers.
5. Comprehensive Land Claims Agreement(s)
This procurement is not subject to a Comprehensive Land Claims Agreement.
6. Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier
There is a limited number of suppliers available to provide family liaison services to meet the reintegration needs of CSC women offenders and their families.
The Canadian Families and Corrections Network (CFCN) is the only Canadian organization that can perform the scope of work, given the history, experience and familiarity with the level of information required to complete the tasks identified in the scope of work.
The CFCN is uniquely positioned to provide these services given their specific mandate to provide family liaison services for incarcerated offenders and their families.
The pre-identified supplier meets all of the minimum essential requirements described in this ACAN.
7. Government Contracts Regulations Exception(s)
The following exception to the Government Contracts Regulations is invoked for this procurement under subsection
(d) only one person is capable of performing the contract.
8. Exclusions and/or Limited Tendering Reasons
This procurement is not subject to any trade agreement.
9. Ownership of Intellectual Property
There are no intellectual property terms in the contract.
10. Period of the proposed contract or delivery date
The proposed contract is for a period of one (1) year, from November 13, 2024 to November 12, 2025 with an option to extend the contract for three (3) additional one (1) year periods.
11. Cost estimate of the proposed contract
The estimated value of the contract, including option(s), is $274,392.00 (GST/HST exempt).
12. Name and address of the pre-identified supplier
Name: Canadian Families and Corrections Network
Address: P.O. Box 35040
Kingston, ON K7L 5S5
13. Suppliers' right to submit a statement of capabilities
Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the goods, services or construction services described in the ACAN, may submit a statement of capabilities in writing to the contact person identified in this notice on or before the closing date and time of this notice. The statement of capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the advertised requirements.
14. Closing date and time for a submission of a statement of capabilities
The closing date and time for accepting statements of capabilities is November 5th, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. AST.
15. Inquiries and submission of statements of capabilities
Inquiries and statement of capabilities are to be directed to:
Penny Panayiotopoullos
Regional Contract Officer
1045 Main Street, 1st floor
Moncton, NB E1C 1H1
Telephone: 506-875-3649
Email: penny.panayiotopoullos@csc-scc.gc.ca
