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Community Services Division

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The Community Services Division coordinates technical assistance, specialized training, and other programs related to probation, parole, and other forms of community-based corrections.

The Division also sponsors the development of publications and materials on topics of interest to community corrections practitioners, and it coordinates an interdisciplinary effort to assist jurisdictions in developing a more rational, cost-effective, and coordinated system of criminal justice sanctions and punishments.


Technical assistance related to Community Corrections is provided on issues such as caseload management, victims programs, employee safety, classification and assessment, and intermediate sanctions. The Division also provides specialized training and other programs that focus on: Executive Leadership and Development; Women Offenders; Evidence-Based Offender Interventions; Inmate Transition to Communities; Workforce Development; and Responding to Probation/Parole Violations.

Recommended Reading

Date Title Type
2011
Document 024978
Offender Employment Retention: Worth the Work [Satellite/Internet Broadcast]
National Institute of Corrections Academy (Aurora, CO).
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than 700,000 individuals are released from prisons yearly—with an additional 9 million adults cycling through local jails. Research indicates that employment is an important component of successful reentry, but most offender programs do not address the complex behavioral health issues that impact the offender’s ability to obtain and retain gainful employment while remaining crime free. Offender programming should target individuals at high r... Read More
VIDEO
2 video DVDs (180 minutes)
2011
Document 024759
Administrative Guide: Offender Workforce Development Specialist Partnership Training Program
National Institute of Corrections (Washington, DC).
A description of the Offender Workforce Development Specialist (OWDS) Partnership Training Program is provided. “This administrative guide provides an overview of the training program, including its benefits and requirements…and information needed to make an informed decision for participating in the training program, including the criteria for selecting a qualified, multidisciplinary team of trainees” (p. 1). The following sections comprise this guide: overview of the training program; introduc... Read More
PDF
36 pages
2011
Document 025016
Assessing Local Pretrial Justice Functions: A Handbook for Providing Technical Assistance
National Institute of Corrections (Washington, DC).
This guide “presents a protocol designed to produce high-quality technical assistance for the front end of the criminal justice system—the pretrial justice stage” (p. iii). Sections contained in this publication are: basic obligations of a technical assistance (TA) provider; preparation for the site visit; conducting the site visit; people who should be interviewed and areas of inquiry; after the site visit; characteristics of effective technical assistance; and logistics of acting as a consult... Read More
PDF
39 pages
2010
Document 024394
Putting the Pieces Together: Practical Strategies for Implementing Evidence-Based Practices
By Clawson, Elyse; Guevara, Meghan. National Institute of Corrections. Community Corrections Division (Washington, DC). Crime and Justice Institute (CJI) (Boston, MA); National Institute of Corrections (Washington, DC).
Those new to the implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) will find this publication to be a great guide to the process. This manual is designed to be used “both as a checklist of key management concepts and as a reminder of important organizational issues that need to be addressed to achieve positive public safety outcomes in an evidence-based environment” (p. vii). There are six chapters contained in this publication: creating evidence-based community corrections systems; getting star... Read More
PDF
96 pages

Available Training Opportunities