Technical Assistance Protocol
- All TA Requests must be supported by the agency director and the tribal council. Please make sure that your TA requests are known to the agency director and the tribal council.
- TA Requests may be made via the TA Request Form on this site, by phone or e-mail.
- Upon submission of a TA request, NIJC will review and log the submission and then pair it with a TA team member. This process may take up to 10 days depending upon the scope of the request. TA may not commence until the TA request is approved by BJA.
- There are limitations about the amount of time and resources that can be allocated to TA Requests. TA Events are typically no more than 2 days on site, 1-2 days for travel, and 1-2 days for reporting.
- The TA provider will work with the requestor to produce a report that summarizes the issue, the efforts to address the issue and to determine if additional resources are necessary to address the issue.
- TA events are limited in focus and will emphasize providing the requestor with the resources and skills to address future issues. – i.e, we can tell you what should go into a community justice assessment, but not do all the data analysis that is part of it.
Click here for a blank T/TA Request Form to be completed by hand and returned via fax or click here to go to the Online T/TA Request Form.
What is Technical Assistance?
Technical assistance is short-term consulting help. It doesn’t replace a long-term working relationship with a consultant or architect who will be responsible for helping you plan, design and complete your project. The focus of technical assistance is to help you with problems that you encounter in doing the project that is funded by your grant. It is available to:
- Help you get organized,
- Answer specific questions about project tasks,
- Help you solve problems that arise,
- Provide a second opinion about project issues and concerns, and
- Identify resources that can help you in your role as project manager.
If you are not clear about if technical assistance could be used to help you with a specific problem, asking how we could help is a good beginning.
How is Technical Assistance Provided?
We can provide technical assistance in a variety of ways, depending on the kind of help that is needed. It could be provided by:
- Tele-conference or webex,
- Written review and reports, or
- On site.
Any on-site TA will include a written report that documents work that is done on site.
Who Provides Technical Assistance?
Because CTAS Area 4 focuses on facilities of various types, the primary technical assistance providers are people who have hands-on experience in planning and designing facilities of this type. Many of these technical assistance providers also have operational experience in a variety of adult and juvenile facilities and programs. We can also tap into a large group of people who have experience and expertise in related areas, including grant related issues.
Do I Have to Use Technical Assistance for my Project?
No, using technical assistance isn’t mandatory – it’s there if you need it and want to use us for that purpose. You could think of technical assistance as a combination of a “support desk” that you can access when you need help around a specific issue and a “jump start” to getting your project going.
Common Types of Technical Assistance
In all facility planning projects, regardless of type, there are predictable issues that arise. They also relate to the stage of the project that you’re in. Here are some common issues that could lead to a request for technical assistance. They are equally relevant for planning and renovation projects.
What Should We Do to Get Started?
This TA is likely to be a two-day site visit that provides a one day community meeting and one day of working with the project manager / project management team.
The community meeting would provide an overview of the planning process, time to learn from members about their justice-related concerns, and an opportunity to clarify what the community needs the new facility to do for the community. It is likely to include the stakeholder group that was included in the grant and could include development of a mission and vision statement.
The project management work day would focus on action planning. This typically includes:
- Identifying the tasks which need to be done.
- Locating the resources that are needed to complete the local justice system assessment.
- Developing an action plan with the project manager.
This type of technical assistance could also be useful for communities that have had significant changes in the stakeholder group since the grant was submitted.
What Are the Problems With Our Current Facility?
This TA is likely to be a one or two-day site visit. It could involve more than one consultant, depending on the needs of the community and the work to be covered. This type of TA is likely to require a consultant with architectural or engineering credentials. It may be particularly useful for renovation projects. This TA will primarily consist of working with the project manager, but could include consultation with or briefings with other people.
Although the grant narrative includes some areas that address these issues, the local system assessment that is generated during the first year of planning grants requires a more in-depth look at this issue. The work of the TA would certainly provide a good start to address that need. The on-site activities would typically include:
- Review of the physical plant to identify safety and standards compliance issues.
- Identification of information sources about the facility and development of a strategy to obtain this information.
- Initial assessment of the viability of renovation and/or expansion to address the community’s needs.
- Developing an action plan with the project manager.
This TA is related to two others: What Are the Problems with Our Current Justice Programs? and What Are the Problems with Our Current Detention Operations?
What Are the Problems with Our Current Justice Programs?
This TA is likely to be a two day on-site visit. It could involve more than one consultant, based on the size of the community and the number of programs. It may be useful for communities that do not have a facility at the present time. Its focus will be on helping the project manager identify the community’s justice and related programs (typically those that service the clients that are seen in the justice system), identify the information that needs to be gathered to include in the local system assessment, identifying the constraints under which these programs are currently operating, and identifying who is served by these programs.
Like the “What Are the Problems with Our Current Facility?” TA, some of this information is used in the grant application, but a greater level of detail is needed in the local system assessment. The on-site activities would typically include:
- Meeting with the Community’s program providers individually to begin developing an inventory of the programs and services that are available,
- Meeting with representatives of the community to conduct a justice system mapping.
- Working with the project manager and the project team to develop a statement of mission, vision and values for the justice system (an important component of the local system assessment).
- Developing an action plan with the project manager.
What Are the Problems with Our Current Detention Operations?
This TA is likely to be a one or two-day site visit by one consultant and there are strong relationships between the current facility and operational issues. Its focus will be on helping the project manager identify operational issues, including staffing levels, in the existing facility. In many cases, the existing facility may serve as a constraint on the delivery of programs and services required by good correctional practice. This information could be very useful in developing the local system assessment.
The on-site activities would typically include:
- An operational review of the facility against ACA’s Core Jail Standards (currently adopted by the BIA) to document areas of concern.
- Development of a staffing pattern for the existing facility.
- Identification of the information needed (and its source) for development of the Net Annual Work Hours factor.
- Working with the project manager and operational staff to document problems and areas of concern they note within the facility.
- Developing an action plan with the project manager.
What Information Do We Need, Where Can We Find It and How Can We Use It?
The local system assessment requires that the project manager – independently or with a justice planner – gather and package information that describes their current situation and what is needed for the future. This TA focuses on helping the project manager identify the information that is needed for this effort as well as sources and strategies to find it. This TA may not require a site visit, but could benefit from a “webex” approach; at times, some on-site assistance may be needed to help locate information or to assist in analyzing its implications once data is collected.
This TA may occur in a series of webex events that focus on:
- Identifying tribal, national, state and local sources of information needed in the community profile and justice system measures.
- Identifying how much information is available and how much data needs to be collected.
- Developing a format and structure, such as an excel file, to use for analysis of potential clients to be served in the proposed facility and program. This can be used interactively to begin the process of matching offenders with the types of programs and services.
- Identifying a strategy to quantify and project bed and program capacity need.
- Identifying the issues around the cost-effectiveness of options for facilities and programs.
This TA cannot replace the use of a justice planner to do the analysis; it may be most useful to help the project manager determine how much of this work can be done in-house and how much would benefit from working with a justice planner.
Do We Need Outside Help (a Planner or Architect) and How To Select The “Right” One?
This TA is limited to helping the project manager work through the issue of whether they need outside assistance to complete the local system assessment and a subsequent master plan. We cannot evaluate and/or recommend specific firms or individuals. This TA is not likely to require any on-site assistance.
This TA will focus on:
- Working with the project manager to identify the tasks that an outside consultant could do in the local justice system assessment and master planning phases.
- Identifying the pros and cons of using and planner, architect or both.
- Identifying the scope of services and qualifications to include in a request for proposal (RFP).
- Providing sample RFPs.
- Developing a strategy to evaluate the responses.
How Can We Develop Partnerships and/or Regional Facilities?
This TA may involve either on-site or distance components. There are multiple strategies to developing shared facilities. These can range from developing a single facility that has shared ownership among multiple owners, with shared funding of operations and programs to a more straightforward option in which a single entity owns and operates a facility and its programs, which are then purchased by partners. This TA may be particularly useful for jurisdictions which have expressed an interest in re-entry programming.
This TA will focus on:
- Identifying potential partners and developing a strategy to approach them.
- Working with the project manager to develop MOA or MOU supporting documentation.
- Identifying the pros and cons of the potential organizational relationships.
How Should We Evaluate and Select a Site?
While some aspects of site evaluation and selection are addressed in other ways , this TA helps communities develop criteria and conduct a preliminary evaluation of specific sites. This is likely to be an on-site TA and will involve at least one consultant with architectural and engineering credentials.
This TA will focus on:
- Developing a structured, initial site evaluation process with supporting materials.
- Working with the project manager to adapt this material to the specific community and facility type.
- Conducting an on-site visit to make an initial review of the sites, identifying information that needs to be gathered about each site and factors the community should consider in making their choice.
How Can We Determine Future Operating Costs?
Most communities find it difficult to figure out how much it is going to cost them to operate new facilities and programs. This is particularly critical when funding from BIA law enforcement is constrained and communities must either seek additional funding streams or pay for the additional operating costs themselves. This TA is likely to involve both distance and on-site activities. The consultant who provides this service will have direct operational experience.
This TA will focus on:
- Work with the project manager to define the process used to determine future staff.
- Identifying sources of information to be used in calculating net annual work hours.
- Working with the project manager and facility/program operators to develop a staffing pattern.
- Working with the project manager to develop a rationale/justification for the staffing pattern.
- Developing a cost model to identify future costs.
- Supporting the project manager / presenting the findings of this TA to community decision makers.
How Can We Fund the New Facility / Program?
One on-going issue faced by all communities is the difficulty getting operational funding streams “in sync” with the capital project. The focus of this TA is work through this issue to develop a timeline and strategy to deal with the timing of operational funding. This TA is not likely to require a site visit, but will require an on-going exchange of information.
This TA will focus on:
- Identifying potential funding streams for specific facility programs, staff, services and construction.
- Working with the project manager to identify requirements for each funding stream.
- Identifying submittal dates and requirements for the identified streams.
- Developing an action plan with the project manager to track these streams and report and success/failure.
- Developing options to address gaps and potential funding delays.
How Can we Make Our Local System Assessment / Master Plan Stronger?
Jurisdictions may need some help to define the work that needs to be included in the local system assessment or master plan and to identify ways in which these materials could be strengthened, if necessary. The focus of this TA is to provide global direction for the project manager by defining that work that initially needs to be included in these documents (whether done in-house or by a consultant) and to review work that has been produced to help the project manager identify strategies to strengthen these documents. This TA is not likely to require a site visit, but will require an on-going exchange of information.
This TA will focus on:
- Identifying and clarifying elements which need to be included in these documents.
- Reviewing the local system assessment / master plan to identify strengths and weaknesses in these materials.
- Identifying strategies to strengthen these documents, if needed.
How Can We Be Prepared to Operate our New Facility / Program?
In addition to dealing with issues associated with funding the new facility or program’s operations, project managers are confronted by a large number of tasks that all seem to need to be done at the same time to open the new facility. This TA is will help the project manager organize transition tasks. The consultants who will provide this service will have been involved in a transition project. This TA may or may not require a site visit.
This TA will focus on:
- Helping the project manager identify the primary and secondary tasks needed for transition.
- Developing action plans for the transition process.
- Identifying the sequence of events and the resources needed to carry out these plans.
- It may involve on-site training for a transition team and could include a briefing for community leaders regarding the importance of a strong transition.
How Do We Know That a Design Meets Our Program and Needs?
Many project managers have limited exposure to architectural drawings and correctional facility designs in particular. The focus of this TA is two-fold: to provide basic skills related to reading and using blueprints and to review early architectural drawings to identify consistency/inconsistency with the master plan and the operational impact of the proposed design. This TA may require a site visit.
This TA will focus on:
- Providing an overview of architectural drawings and how to read them.
- Identifying strategies to make this process manageable for the project manager.
- Identifying elements of the design that either support or are inconsistent with the master plan.
- Analyzing the plan to identify issues that are not consistent with the community’s plan for staffing the new facility.
- Identifying strategies which could be used to increase the design’s efficiency.
This TA will be more useful if the technical assistance provider has access to information about the existing facility from BIA law enforcement and facilities management.
This activity results in a chart of how people move through the justice system (including potential diversion programs), identifying decision points in the system, identifying the programs which relate to these decision points, identifying who operates these programs, identifying where these programs “sit” on a continuum of services and programs, and charting gaps in the system.
Alpha Corporation provides technical assistance with the NEPA process, and the Office of Facilities Management and Construction Handbooks provide some guidance in this area.
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