Family Liaison Worker

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 for a Family Liaison Worker.

The work will involve the following:

1. 1. Objectives:

The objective of this contract is to foster and strengthen family relationships for incarcerated offenders at Nova Institution. This will improve public safety by building appropriate supportive links to the community and improve family and community reintegration. The Contractor will provide a Family Liaison Officer to deliver direct client service to offenders at Nova Institution.

1. 1. Tasks:

The Family Liaison Officer must:

• Recruit, network, liaise, and consult with community organizations and volunteers

• Network, liaise, and consult with CSC representatives at the institutional and regional levels

• Interview (family reintegration interview) offenders at Nova Institution interested in participating in the project and administer the family strengths and need assessment tool

• Interview (family reintegration interview) 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 where requested.

• Ensure coordination of continuity of care for offenders at Nova Institution and their families.

• Assist Nova Institution’s Mother-Child Coordinator facilitate the application process and follow through with support for expecting and parenting inmates in the program, as requested.

• Maintain the toll free information line and provide referral and information to families through Support Groups and free information mail outs.

• Work to increase community awareness of issues facing families affected by criminal behavior, incarceration and reintegration.

• Work collaboratively with family liaison workers in other regions, as well as with the executive director or designate.

• Participate in any orientation session as requested 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 requested.

• Complete pre and post relationship building work for private family visits and family contact visits as requested.

• Deliver structured activities to offenders, as requested 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 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, toll free information line and visits

• Consistently conduct orientation and assessment interview with all newly admitted federal offenders at Nova Institution to provide information on services and determine need for continued support to increase use of service of family liaison officer

• 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, medical coverage

1.4 Performance standards:

• The contractor will track and report monthly on above-mentioned outcomes including, but not limited to, number of offender contacts, visits, calls, staff and community education events, court accompaniments, escorts.

• The contractor will meet with each new admission within 5 working days of admission to provide orientation and assessment interview

• The contractor must share information on family Reintegration Plan for offenders with the case management team during the intake process and throughout the sentence and documented in OMS

• The contractor will provide gender and culturally sensitive services

1.5 Deliverables:

• Create and distribute Family Liaison Worker (FLW) flyers and any other material needed to ensure awareness of the project among offenders at Nova Institution – ensure all new admissions receive information related to the project

• 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.

• Work in conjunction with offenders at Nova Institution and their families to develop a written family based reintegration plan that will augment their correctional plan. This will be done in collaboration with the case management team.

• 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 

• Ensure all families receive “A New Time”, the contractor’s family reintegration information toolkit

• Duties related to the measurement, reporting, and evaluation related to the project

• Project reporting to Nova Institution

• Maintain a log of facilitated offender phone calls. This log will be the property of CSC.

• To provide 1800 hours of service delivery according to a flexible schedule, distributed throughout the contract year so as 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, 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 the contractor’s representative must travel to Nova Institution 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. 21250-22-3848821

1. The Contractor/Offeror must, at all times during the performance of the Contract/Standing Offer, hold a valid Designated Organization Screening (DOS), issued by the Contract Security Program (CSP), Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC).

2. The Contractor/Offeror 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/Offeror MUST NOT remove any PROTECTED information or assets from the identified site(s), and the Contractor/Offeror 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/Offeror 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:

• Must have a minimum of 4 years experience, obtained in the last 7 years prior to the ACAN closing date, in providing specialized family liaison work with incarcerated female offenders. This specialized family liaison 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 female offenders and their families

• Must have a minimum of two years of experience, within the last five years prior to the ACAN closing date, working in the field of gender sensitization.

• 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 a University Degree in Social Work or Criminology/Sociology or Women’s’ studies.

• The degree must have been obtained from a recognized Canadian university 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 Information Centre for International Credentials web site.

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 Aboriginal Business

This procurement is not subject to any set-asides for Aboriginal 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

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

(a) 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^th, 2021 to November 12^th, 2022 with an option to extend the contract for two (2) additional one (1) year periods.

11. Cost estimate of the proposed contract

The estimated value of the contract, including option(s), is $ 193,176.00 (GST/HST extra).

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 September 10, 2021 at 2:00 PM ADT.

15. Inquiries and submission of statements of capabilities

Inquiries and statement of capabilities are to be directed to:

Sylvie Gallant

A/Regional Contract Officer

1045 Main Street, 1st floor

Moncton, NB E1C 1H1

Telephone: 506-378-8724

Facsimile: 506-851-6327

E-mail: Sylvie.Gallant@csc-scc.gc.ca