Pennsylvania Issues ITQ for Reentry Services

HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 4, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) and Board of Probation and Parole (PBPP) today announced that they are issuing an Invitation To Qualify (ITQ) to vendors who are interested in providing one or more types of reentry services. The ITQ is being issued through the Department of General Services.

"The reentry process will affect 90 percent of our prison population," DOC Secretary John Wetzel said.  "In addition to the DOC and PBPP providing evidence-based programs while individuals are in prison, we continue the transition from prison to community by providing a variety of reentry services."

The Invitation to Qualify (ITQ) program gives interested vendors the opportunity to prequalify for statewide contracts for specific services categories that can be used by state agencies to procure those services more efficiently.

"This ITQ is different from ones issued in the past because instead of having vendors tell us what they charge for a service, we are telling them what the DOC and PBPP will pay for them," Wetzel said.

Wetzel said that the programs outlined in this ITQ allow reentrants to continue treatment while building and/or maintaining familial relations, obtaining and retaining jobs and connecting with mentors to help guide reentry.

"Our parole staff provides evidence based supervision planning, case oversight, as well as the majority of guidance and motivational efforts designed for parolees," Board of Probation and Parole Chairman Leo L. Dunn said. "However, these specialized services furnish a bridge to critical components of the reentry structure, without which our parolees are placed at higher risk of recidivating."

The ITQ consists of 11 "service categories" for services which all are related to assisting reentrants with a successful return home after state prison incarceration.  They are:

• Service Category 1:  Sex Offender Treatment -- Supplier(s) will provide up to 12 months of outpatient sex offender treatment to include individual, group counseling and the completion of one sexual history polygraph test.
• Service Category 2:  Day Reporting Services -- Supplier(s) will provide up to 12 months of Day Reporting Center services for those clients who are unemployed or under-employed, or clients that need refresher assistance in one or more areas of services provided.
• Service Category 3:  Housing Assistance Program – Supplier(s) will provide up to 24 months of housing coordination for the purpose of assisting the client and, where necessary, their dependents, in attaining independent living by securing safe and affordable housing that meets the standards established by the DOC and PBPP.
• Service Category 4:  Mentoring – Supplier(s) will facilitate up to 12 months of Mentoring services for clients to focus on addressing the client's need for pro-social relationships and engagement in the community.  Mentoring services may begin at the state correctional institution (SCI) and continue through community placement of the client, as needed.
• Service Category 5:  Transitional Client Workforce Development Services - Supplier(s) will provide up to 12 months of employment and vocational support opportunities to clients.  These services should be individualized and structured to assist each client according to their individual needs. Services may begin at the SCI prior to release and continue through community placement of the client, as needed.
• Service Category 6:  Family Reunification – Supplier(s) will provide up to 12 months of family reunification services in a non-clinical setting that help to address the impact of a client's incarceration on the family.  Programming should address areas including, but not limited to, effective communication strategies, identification of reasonable expectations, establishing pro-social goals, and breaking the cycle of incarceration. Family Reunification services may begin at the SCI and continue through community placement of the client, as needed.
• Service Category 7:  Outpatient Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Services -- Supplier(s) will provide up to 12 months of services to clients with a recent history of problematic alcohol or drug use where outpatient treatment is the appropriate level of care.  This programming must focus upon assessment, group therapy and individual counseling that is based upon cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and/or motivational enhancement therapy (MET).
• Service Category 8:  Cognitive Behavioral Interventions –Supplier(s) will provide up to 12 months of group cognitive-behavioral therapy to high- and moderate-risk clients that addresses anti-social attitudes, values, beliefs, thinking and/or other criminal cognitions.
• Service Category 9: Outpatient Mental Health Services – Supplier(s) will provide up to 12 months of mental health case management and outpatient mental health treatment services to seriously mentally ill clients transitioning to or living in the community.  These services provide treatment to clients with a current mental health diagnosis and assure the continuum of care is occurring at an appropriate level. 
• Service Category 10: Batterers' Intervention – Supplier(s) will provide up to 12 months of Batterers' Intervention Services (BIS) based upon an approved curriculum deemed appropriate by the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence.  The services will address men who batter and challenge the batterer's beliefs and behaviors.
• Service Category 11: State Intermediate Punishment (SIP) – Supplier(s) will provide SIP services to clients.  These services should be individualized and structured to assist each client according to their individual needs.  SIP Level 3 participants are to successfully complete a minimum of six months of AOD outpatient treatment, to include both group and individual sessions. 

Vendors who are interested in providing services or have questions about the Reentry Services ITQ, can visit the DGS Invitation To Qualify page for more details.  

MEDIA CONTACT:
DOC -- Susan McNaughton, 717-728-4025; Amy Worden, 717-728-4026
PBPP – Laura Treaster and Maria Finn, 717-787-5699
DGS – Troy Thompson, 717-787-3197

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Corrections; Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole

Related Links

http://www.state.pa.us