Stride Program – Reintegration of federally sentenced women into the community

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 pre-release preparation, volunteer support, and discharge planning services to federally sentenced offenders at the Grand Valley Institution for Women (GVIW) in Kitchener, Ontario.

The work will involve the following:

1. Objectives:

To provide a dynamic process for reintegration support which will evolve in response to the changing needs of the offenders; the contractor must establish the process prior to release following the woman into their community.

To provide federally sentenced offenders of GVIW with skills, experiences, contacts, and information essential to successful community reintegration remaining respectful of diversity, age, gender, cultural, religious, and linguistic differences related to offenders of GVIW.

To increase community awareness of offenders in prison and their reintegration issues thereby helping to reduce the myths leading to the on-going stigmatisation of the women in prison.

1. Tasks:

The contractor must provide the institutional base for the utilization of Community Circles of Support for offenders released from GVIW.

1.3 Expected results:

The contractor must deliver the following on an annual basis for the duration of the contract:

• A weekly evening program in the main population, including social engagement activities, for the purpose of fostering relationships between inmates and community members
• A weekly evening program in the minimum-security unit offering both social engagement activities on site, as well as escorted temporary absences to local community venues that can be of support to reintegration
• Oversee the building of Stride Circles, formalizing the intention of volunteers to support inmates in the community, upon discharge from GVIW.
• Recruit, train, and support volunteers to assist with activities, community escorts, discharge planning, and Community Circles
• Conduct volunteer training sessions to ensure they achieve and maintain the level of knowledge, skills and competencies requird for their work with offenders.
• Participate in CSC-GVIW volunteer training and Non-Security Escort training
• Support events at GVIW by providing staff or volunteers, or donating materials, or any combination of the three.

1.4 Deliverables:

1.4.1 The Contractor must provide monthly updates on activities such as, number of offenders attending activities, number of escorts facilitated, and the number of interviews conducted for Circles of Support; volunteer training report. On an annual basis, the Contractor must provide any additional information that informs GVIW on the number of Community Support Circles both in the Institution and in the Community, number of new volunteers trained during the year as well as an evaluation of the activities delivered weekly throughout the year.

1.4.2 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).

1.5 Constraints:

1.5.1 Location of work:

a. The Contractor must perform the work at Grand Valley Institution for Women on a weekly basis. In addition, volunteers must meet with women involved in the Circles of Support Program as necessary in order to assist in the discharge planning. The Contractor may also perform the work from their place of business for those women eligible for temporary release in order to foster community engagement.

b. Travel

i.  Travel to the following locations will be required for performance of the work under this contract:

Grand Valley Institution for Women

1575 Homer Watson Blvd.

Kitchener, ON

N2P 2C5

Grand Valley Institution for Women, Minimum Security Unit

520 Manitou Drive,

Kitchener, ON

N2C 1S2

1.5.2 Language of Work:

The contractor must perform all work in English

1.5.3 Security Requirements:

This contract includes the following security requirements:

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), as noted in the contract;

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:

A minimum of five (5) years experience within the past ten (10) years prior to the ACAN closing date delivering reintegration services to women offenders in a correctional setting by identifying community based services available to assist in establishing release plans and successful reintegration back into society.

A minimum of three (3) years experience within the past seven (7) years prior to the ACAN closing date delivering a volunteer based Program. The managing of the program must include recruiting, selection, training and retention of volunteers.

A minimum of three (3) years experience within the past seven (7) years prior to the ACAN closing date working with communities, victims and offenders through activities that are based on a restorative philosophy that seeks to repair the harm done to the relationships between offenders and victims as well as offenders and communities. A restorative philosophy, responds to crime by focusing on repairing the losses suffered by victims, holding offenders accountable for the harm they have caused and building peace within communities. They further seek to understand and address the circumstances that contributed to the crime in order to prevent recidivism once the offender is released.

Academic qualifications:

The Program Co-ordinator must have a Bachelor’s Degree in the area of psychology, social work or social sciences.

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 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 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 community reintegration services to meet the reintegration needs of CSC women offenders.

Community Justice Initiatives (CJI) is the only service of its kind for providing inclusive support for Women Offenders of all diversities in the Kitchener-Waterloo Region. For over 20 years, the Stride Program has supported the successful reintegration of Federally Sentenced Women into the community through principles of community engagement and restorative justice. CJI’s re-integration philosophies are in alignment and reinforce the Restorative Justice Principles of the Correctional Service Canada including healing in victims, accountability of offenders, and the involvement of citizens in creating healthier, safer communities. CJI’s focus on engagement and restorative justice enables their volunteers to engage with the women to increase pro-social attitudes, engagement, and community connections.

The Circles of Support program has been a model for other institutions who have worked to recreate the intervention for their population. Through Stride Night, CJI engages and equips volunteers alongside of incarcerated women to encourage the development of these positive connections. These relationships, connections and experiences equip women leaving prison with options for creating a new life, reducing destructive patterns of behaviour and criminal activity.

Through Stride programming inside of the prison, the engagement of volunteers and unique connections to diverse and complementary community organizations, bridges of support are created between the community and the women. Stride also facilitates a more informed community on issues of crime, incarceration, and reintegration. CJI trains volunteers specifically for the Institution, provides connections and engagement activities that focus on breaking down barriers, increasing community networks for the women and promoting pro-social attitudes.

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

The following exclusion(s) and/or limited tendering reasons are invoked under the section of the trade agreement(s) specified:

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 5 months, from November 9, 2022 to March 31, 2023 with an option to extend the contract for 4 additional 1-year periods.

11. Cost estimate of the proposed contract

The estimated value of the contract, including option(s), is $315,350.00 (GST/HST extra).

12. Name and address of the pre-identified supplier

Name: Community Justice Initiatives

Address: Contractor’s place of business

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 8, 2022 at 14:00 EST.

15. Inquiries and submission of statements of capabilities

Inquiries and statement of capabilities are to be directed to:

Jason Scott – Regional Procurement Officer

445 Union St., Kingston, ON, K7L 4Y8

Telephone: 613-328-9380

E-mail: Jason.Scott@csc-scc.gc.ca