News

MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR January 17, 2017 Dear Colleagues, As my term serving as Director of the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) comes to an end, I wanted to send this message to the thousands of correctional and criminal justice practitioners across America. During my tenure, our focus at NIC has been to provide leadership, training, and technical assistance to the field of corrections, covering a wide array of topics. For example: NIC has contributed to driving down unnecessary incarceration...

Posted in the Memphis Flyer, this article describes a new program for overnight visitation at the West Tennessee Women’s Therapeutic Residential Center. The program is designed to maintain positive ties between female inmates and their families during incarceration. The facility provides a common room, kitchenette, living area, and bedrooms for the inmate and child. Access the full article -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------...

In October of last year, Seneca County started their first T4C group. The staff at the facility see the same people over and over again. Seneca county officials implemented the program to address this issue. They believe it will improve public safety and reentry outcomes. During intake, new inmates are given a test to determine their risk of reoffending. Those who rate medium to high-risk are eligible for the voluntary program. T4C is a 25 lesson intensive program that addresses criminal thinking...

This National Gang Center Newsletter focuses on gang-involved girls, female delinquency and human trafficking. The main article about understanding and responding to gang-involved girls summarizes key findings from a National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) study. The NCCD study involved interviews with gang-involved girls and key stakeholders and provided several recommendations for service providers and others who want to help gang-involved girls. Recommendations from the study findings...

This article from the Washington State DOC Newsroom conveys the impact a small group of inmates are having on incarcerated women in Thailand. The Sisters of Charity, a group of approximately 15 inmates from the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) in Gig Harbor, make items for social welfare organizations and recently sent handmade quilts and decorated onesies to mothers inside Thailand prisons. "When they (Thailand inmates) find out the gifts are made by women at WCCW, their eyes...

Published in Conversation US, an independent source of news, this recent article discusses the history and impact of trauma on female prisoners and the importance of trauma-informed care. Highlights from the article: Australia’s female prison population has skyrocketed over the last decade, and up to 90% of female prisoners have experienced abuse before they get to jail. Experiences can range from childhood abuse to sexual assault and intimate partner violence during adulthood. As a result...

This recent article, Mothers in Prison , by Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times highlights the increasing incarceration of women in prison and their stories. As one woman shared, “Prison got me sober, but it didn’t get me anywhere.” Kristof notes from his interview with her, “Each time she went to prison, she would get clean, and then once out she would return to drugs.” Kristof goes on to discuss discuss one potential alternative to imprisonment, a model program...