New in the Library
Aiming to Reduce Time-In-Cell: Reports from Correctional Systems on the Numbers of Prisoners in Restricted Housing and on the Potential of Policy Changes to Bring About Reforms
Posted: 1 day ago
(2016) This report "provides the only current, comprehensive data on the use of restricted housing, in which individuals are held in their cells for 22 hours or more each day, and for 15 continuous days or more at a time. The Report also documents efforts across the country to reduce the number of people in restricted housing and to reform the conditions in which isolated prisoners are held in order to improve safety for prisoners, staff, and communities at large" (p. 1).
New in the Library
Restrictive Housing: Roadmap to Reform [Internet Broadcast]
Posted: 1 week ago
(2016) “Do we really think it makes sense to lock so many people alone in tiny cells for 23 hours a day for months, sometime for years at a time? That is not going to make us safer. It’s not going to make us stronger. If those individuals are ultimately released, how are they ever going to adapt? It’s not smart.” – President Barack Obama, NAACP National Convention speech, July 14, 2015.
The use of Restrictive Housing poses some of the most challenging questions facing corrections professionals: How should correctional agencies manage their most violent and disruptive inmates? How can they best protect their most vulnerable and victimized ones? And what is the safest and most humane way to do so?
The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) define “restrictive housing” as a form of housing that involves three basic elements: removal from the general inmate population, whether voluntary or involuntary; placement in a locked room or cell, whether alone or with another inmate; and inability to leave the room or cell for the vast majority of the day, typically 22 hours or more. Restrictive housing takes many forms, and an inmate’s experience can vary considerably depending on certain external factors, such as length of stay, conditions of confinement, and degree of social isolation, as well as factors specific to each inmate, such as age and psychological resiliency.
This training broadcast will: examine restrictive housing practices in your agency and compare and contrast those with the DOJ Guiding Principles; explore the Guiding Principles and implications for restrictive housing practice and conditions of confinement; use interactive activities and action planning to determine strategies for your agency to safely reduce the use of restrictive housing in your agency; and share promising practices and recommendations for the implementation of the Guiding Principles.
This broadcast will answer the following questions: How should prisons and other correctional facilities manage their most violent and dangerous inmates? How can they best protect their most vulnerable and victimized inmates? What is the safest and most humane way to do so? Why did the Department of Justice create a set of Guiding Principles on the effective use of Restrictive Housing? How can we use the DOJ Guiding Principles to self-evaluate our current agency practice?
New in the Library
HOPE II: A Followup Evaluation of Hawai'i’s HOPE Probation
Posted: 5 weeks ago
(2016) "Hawai'i’s Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (HOPE) Hawai'i’s Opportunity Probation with Enforcement probation relies on a regimen of regular, random drug testing tied to swift and certain, but modest, sanctions to motivate probationer compliance. In two 2007 studies in Hawai'i, a comparison-group quasi-experiment and a randomized controlled trial, HOPE was demonstrated to improve compliance with terms of probation at 12-month followup, with large reductions in drug use, recidivism, and overall incarceration for offenders assigned to the program … This study extends the original HOPE evaluations to an almost ten-year followup, addressing whether the improvements in criminal-justice outcomes observed during the active HOPE intervention persist after the term of probation. The study also documents changes in HOPE practices and ongoing implementation fidelity to the model … HOPE probationers performed better than those supervised under routine supervision. They were less likely to be revoked and returned to prison" (p. 2-3).
New in the Library
Live Webinar Event for the Release of NIC Publication "Veterans Treatment Courts: A Second Chance for Vets Who Have Lost Their Way [Webinar]
Posted: 6 weeks ago
(2016) Sentencing alternatives for veterans? There are dozens of specialized courts across the country that employ therapeutic programs to help keep veterans out of jail. "Veterans Treatment Courts: A Second Chance for Vets Who Have Lost Their Way" is a new publication that tells the story of these veterans and the judges, veterans advocates, and treatment professionals who are fighting to ensure a second chance for vets who find themselves caught up in the criminal justice system.
The publication was produced in partnership by the National Institute of Corrections (NIC), a division of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the Veterans Health Council of Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA). The report is based on a series of interviews and personal observations of the judges, veterans, and veterans advocates who have been intimately involved in the founding and operation of veterans treatment courts. In this book, they relay how veterans treatment courts are "the right thing to do" for justice-involved veterans who commit certain crimes associated with the lingering legacy of their wartime experiences.
Court staff and graduates of veterans treatment court programs describe, in often exquisite detail, what their roles are and how they have come to embrace the concept that these courts, which use a carrot-and-stick approach to rehabilitate rather than overtly punish veteran defendants, represent what one veteran in Buffalo, New York, a key player in the creation of the first of these courts in the nation, has called "the most profound change in the attitude of our criminal justice system towards veterans in the history of this country."
Objectives of this webinar are: Introduce NIC's new publication "Veterans Treatment Courts: A Second Chance for Vets Who Have Lost Their Way" by Bernard Edelman, Deputy Director for Policy and Government Affairs, VVA, and consultant Dr. Tom Berger, Executive Director of VVA's Veterans Health Council; Describe the inception of veteran's treatment courts and their focus; Highlight successes and challenges of veteran's treatment courts; and Hear a veteran's personal story of the impact of veteran's treatment court on their life.
New in the Library
Losing Time: Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease Behind Bars [Webinar]
Posted: 6 weeks ago
(2016) Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, is difficult to detect in a population often afflicted with other mental illnesses and maladaptive social behaviors. During this interactive webinar we will explore how symptoms and behaviors can be misconstrued and identify environmental risk factors that can contribute to costly accidents and injury for inmates with dementia.
We will also take an in-depth look at the Gold Coat program based at the California Men's Colony State Prison in San Luis Obispo. This model consists of healthy inmates specially trained to care for those with dementia and other cognitive impairments, who are designated by the gold smocks they wear.
The experiences of former Gold Coats will reveal a working rehabilitative program, a true model of reform that can provide skills for meaningful employment while caring for those who cannot help themselves. Every facility is different with unique needs. During the webinar, we will provide a foundation for developing a self-contained model to meet the needs of cognitively impaired inmates while healthy inmates gain valuable, marketable skills.
Utilizing images, narratives and interactive exercises, panelists will explore the challenges of aging in prison with a focus on dementia care.
Focus areas include: What Happens to the Brain When Dementia / Alzheimer's Strikes; 10 Warning Signs; Effective Communication Strategies; Activities of Daily Living (ADLs); Alternative Environmental Programming; and Building a Successful Dementia Program.
At the conclusion of the webinar, participants will be able to: Paraphrase their own working knowledge of dementia, in particular Alzheimer's Disease; Describe how symptoms and behaviors can be misconstrued as maladaptive behavior; Identify environmental risk factors that can contribute to costly accidents and injury for inmates with dementia; and Give examples of tools to develop a method to reduce risk factors, promote effective programming and provide cost effective care.
New in the Library
HOPE Probation: Hawaii's Opportunity Probation with Enforcement [Webinar]
Posted: 6 weeks ago
(2016) The Community Corrections Collaborative Network (CCCN) hosted a live webinar event with our federal partners and national and local experts to highlight Hawaii’s Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (HOPE), a collaborative strategy among the court, probation, prosecutors, defense, law enforcement and community treatment providers to effect positive behavioral changes in probationers. HOPE was first conceived of by Judge Steven S. Alm of the O’ahu First Circuit and began as a pilot program in 2004. The HOPE strategy targets higher risk/higher needs offenders, utilizing swift, certain, consistent, and proportionate consequences for non-compliance with probation conditions while maintaining a working alliance with the offender by both the probation officer and the judge.
Within the framework of the National Institute of Corrections’ eight evidence-based principles for recidivism reduction, HOPE assists offenders in the change process in a caring and supportive environment to help probationers succeed on probation and in life. While seemingly a simple theoretical model, HOPE is hard to do, and requires shared leadership within the criminal justice system. Research has shown that the HOPE strategy, when done with fidelity, can be highly successful and is inspiring like efforts in thirty-one states across the country. The CCCN believes that individual jurisdictions can adopt the swift and certain philosophy while modifying it to fit the needs and resources available in local communities. Our network is committed to identifying promising and innovative practices and promoting the use of evidence-based practices.
Objectives for the Webinar: Showcase the innovative HOPE Program and how it can be replicated stateside; Discuss HOPE's innovative programmatic design, implementation and evaluation characteristics including HOPE's collaboration and systems approach (Court/Probation/Law Enforcement/Community Treatment Providers working together for a common goal), buy-in from staff/engagement/inclusion/supporting each other, matching probationers to the right services instead of one-size fits all, succession planning and sustainability build to success, and research, randomized control trials, and high level scientific design proving the effectiveness of the program; and engage the criminal justice system in a live discussion about the HOPE Program, resources for the field, how to access funding through federal resources, ideas for replication of similar approaches, and how to motivate our leaders to want to do more.
New in the Library
National Institute of Corrections' Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Training Courses
Posted: 7 weeks ago
(2016) NIC offers the PREA courses at the NIC Learn Center here: https://nic.learn.com
The Learn Center is a full LMS, Learning Management System that will allow individuals to: create an account; start, stop a course and return to where they left off; and create and print a certificate upon successful completion of a course.
The purpose of offering these courses on a DVD is to accommodate an institution that does not have access to the Internet and therefore needs another method of providing the PREA courses to their staff. When possible, please use the Learn Center for a better experience.
These eight courses will assist agencies and staff in meeting the requirements of Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). Courses contained on this data DVD are: "Audit Process and Instrument Overview" which will assist agencies in meeting the requirements of PREA Section 115.93; "Behavioral Health Care for Sexual Assault Victims in a Confinement Setting" which will assist agencies in meeting the requirements of PREA standard 115.35; "Communicating Effectively and Professionally with LGBTI Offenders" which will provide strategies for communicating respectfully with all adult offenders, with a specific focus on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) offenders; "Coordinators' Roles and Responsibilities" which will provide agency PREA Coordinators with an overview of the basic role and responsibilities of their position; "Investigating Sexual Abuse in a Confinement Setting" which will assist agencies in meeting the requirements of PREA Section 115.34; "Medical Health Care for Sexual Assault Victims in a Confinement Setting" which will assist agencies in meeting the requirements of PREA Section 115.35; "PREA: Preventing and Addressing Sexual Abuse in Tribal Detention Facilities" which provides guidelines and practices that will help in preventing and addressing sexual abuse in your tribal detention facility; and "Your Role Responding to Sexual Assault" which is designed to enhance correctional professionals’ skills in responding to incidents and allegations of sexual abuse.
New in the Library
Reconnecting Justice: Pathways to Effective Reentry though Education and Training
Posted: 8 weeks ago
(2016) "Incarcerated individuals are disproportionately people of color as well as adults with low educational attainment. More than 650,000 ex-offenders are released from prison each year and recent research shows that two-thirds of those prisoners will be rearrested within three years of release. However, research also shows that access to correctional education can significantly reduce recidivism … it’s essential to invest in robust education and training opportunities for incarcerated people and to connect them to continued education and employment opportunities once they rejoin society. Providing these opportunities is cost-effective for states and has significant community and economic benefits. For individuals and families, coupling education and employment with reduced collateral and systemic barriers leads to economic self-sufficiency and improved life outcomes. CLASP’s forum examines promising policy options as well as lessons from state and federal initiatives." In addition to the forum video, agenda, and speaker biographies, this webpage provides access to the report "From Incarceration to Reentry: A Look at Trends, Gaps, and Opportunities in Correctional Education and Training" by Wayne Taliaferro, Duy Pham, and Anna Cielinski.
New in the Library
NIC Information Center Dispatch Archive
Posted: 8 weeks ago
(2016) This online newsletter is presented by the National Institute of Corrections Information Center. The Dispatch provides important information to the corrections field. Sections of this publication include: Spotlight—one-on-one Q&A from NIC staff; NIC Divisions—links to the Academy, Community Services, Jails, and Prisons Divisions; New in the Library—key reports and articles for correctional professionals; Feature of the Month—an extended look at an issue that impacts correctional agencies; Resources—links to further information about the Feature; About NIC--an overview of NIC by Director Jim Cosby; and Upcoming NIC Training Events.