Integrated Violence Prevention

This is a Request for Information(RFI). This is not a Request forProposal or a Request for Application (RFA) and is not to be construed as acommitment by the U.S. Government to issue any solicitation or Notice of FundingOpportunity, or ultimately to award a contract or assistance agreement on thebasis of this RFI, or to pay for any information voluntarily submitted as aresult of this request. USAID postsits competitive business opportunities on www.fbo.gov or www.grants.gov. It is thepotential offeror’s/applicant’s responsibility to monitor these sites forannouncements of new opportunities. Please note that responding to this RFI will not give any advantage toany organization or individual in any subsequent competition. Responses may beused by USAID without restriction or limitation, therefore proprietaryinformation should not be sent. This RFI is issued pursuant to FAR Part 15.201(c),(d) and (f) and FAR Part 10.002 (b)(2)(iii). The purpose of this RFI is tooffer the opportunity for interested organizations and individuals to provideinformation, opinions and recommendations on approaches for the implementationof the Integrated Violence Prevention Activityto improve the provision of services to high risk populations, strengthen thereferral systems already in place and strengthen organizations and institutionscharged with this type of care and related services, including both state andnon-state actors, as described in the attached Initial Problem Statement. Kindly respond tothis RFI through email directed to Vann D. Rolfson, Contracting Officer,USAID/Honduras at oaahonduras@usaid.gov. Please include the RFI number inthe subject line of the email. Questionsregarding this RFI will not be answered. USAID will review and consider any responses as part of determining whetherand how to proceed with a new activity in this area. Thank you for yourcontinuing partnership in this important development sector. Sincerely, Vann D. Rolfson Contracting Officer RFI: Integrated Violence Prevention USAID/Honduras seeks to gain further insighton challenges facing the identification and provision of both secondaryand tertiary prevention services to at-risk youth and their families, andpotential solutions in Honduras. The input may contribute to upcoming activitydesign(s). INITIAL PROBLEM STATEMENT Despite a relativedecline in the rate of homicides, Honduras continues to have one of the highestmurder rates in the world at 43.6 homicides per 100,000 people in 2017. Violentacts are primarily concentrated in low-income, urban areas and primarilyperpetrated by young males against other young males. This correlation providesthe basis for USAID/Honduras’ Development Objective 1 (“DO 1”): “CitizenSecurity increased for vulnerable populations in urban, high-crime areas.”Toaddress these challenges, USAID’s approach is comprehensive and holistic, withinterventions on the primary, secondary and tertiary spectrum of violenceprevention. USAID activitieswork to identify at risk youth, and provide specific support services tailoredto the need of the individual and their family, and importantly, within theircommunities. Activities include Outreach Centers, family-based counseling andsupport services, workforce development and job training opportunities,addressing violence in schools, small scale community infrastructure, andworking with community committees and community policing. The earlier you canidentify at risk youth and get them the support services they need, the easierit is to stop the progression of risk and, simultaneously, crime and violencethat is endemic to youth in Honduras. There are realchallenges in identifying high risk youth, and further challenges faced inaccessing these youth when and where they most need services. Because servicesmay be needed during non-working hours, require confidentiality, and othercircumstances, these violence prevention services must have a degree ofcommunity embedding or anchoring that is crucial to providing services to youthand their families. Youth and theirfamilies must be referred to the appropriate, linked services, that are integratedto provide a complete model for violence prevention. Strategic linkages must be made with localgovernments, civil society organizations, private sector, and donor‐fundedactivities to increase locally-led services for eligible youth and their families. Service provision must be genderspecific, since men and women experience violence differently. Through a new activity(ies),USAID/Honduras will seek to improve the provision of services to high riskpopulations, strengthen the referral systems already in place and strengthenorganizations and institutions charged with this type of care and relatedservices, including both state and non-state actors. BACKGROUND Crime, violence, and homicide are at or near record highs in thenorthern triangle countries of Central America - Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. In the last decade multiple observers haveranked Honduras and El Salvador among the most violent countries in the world.[1] To reverse this trend, USAID adapted bothsociological and public health models of violence prevention in support ofgovernment and civil society efforts. USAID/Honduras further adapted and advocated a public health model ofviolence reduction and prevention, first posited by the U.S. Surgeon General in1979, and taken up by the Department of Health and Human Services and theCenters for Disease Control[2]. This model views violence in epidemiologicalterms, equivalent to communicable diseases, and seeks to interrupt violentbehaviors through targeted interventions that reduce incidence and preventfurther transmission. The public healthviolence prevention approach is predicated on having clearly defined targetpopulations, disaggregated by risk levels, and clearly identified risk andprotective factors. USAID/Honduras hasadapted a fourth component – community policing – to the three “traditional”public health interventions against violence. This is an essential component to sustain the positive results ofprevention and effectively confront crime and violence with the cooperation ofthe community. Questions for Industry Feedback: 1. What type of proven interventions would be the most effective atproviding violence prevention services for higher risk (secondary and tertiary)youth in communities facing gang-related violence? 2. What are some key strategies for identifying higher risk youth incommunities? 3. What are the pros and cons of family-based interventions with higherrisk youth? 4. What are the obstacles to and possible solutions for at-risk youthreceiving integrated violence prevention services, specifically, those who arenot yet in conflict with the law? 5. What are the opportunitiesfor local, non-governmental organizations, the Government of Honduras, andothers to provide integrated violence prevention services to higher risk youthin Honduras? 6. How would you rank(prioritize) the aspects that serve to impede the provision of integratedprevention services to youth and their families? 7. What are key interventions required for violence prevention servicesto higher risk youth and their families? 8. How can migration beintegrated or the linkage of migration be addressed in prevention services? 9. How are higher risk violenceprevention services experienced differently by males and females? Are theredistinctions that should be made which are not currently? 10. How can USAID increasesustainability and increase local ownership of the existing violence preventionservices for higher risk youth? __________ [1] Honduras reached a high of 87 homicides/100,000people in 2011. January – September 2016rate was 45/1000. (Observatorio Nacional de la Violencia, Universidad NacionalAutónoma de Honduras/IUDPAS http://www.iudpas.org/boletines/boletines-nacionales). [2] Dahlberg, et.al. The History of Violence as a Public Health Issue. (2009). American Medical Association. http://virtualmentor.ama-assn.org/2009/02/mhst1-0902