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January-2017 Edition
Welcome to the NIC Information Center Dispatch!
In this issue:
  • NIC Spotlight: Director Jim Cosby's Farewell Message
  • NIC Divisions: Academy, Community, Jails, Prisons
  • What's New in the NIC Library
  • Spotlight: NIC at ACA
  • Hot Topics
  • Upcoming NIC Training Events
  • About NIC
 
Jim Cosby
NIC Spotlight:

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 while maintaining public safety in our country. Efforts to enhance correctional and criminal justice practice are effective and are making a difference in the lives of correctional and criminal justice staff as well as justice involved individuals every day.
  • Our staff wellness efforts have drawn necessary attention to the everyday stressors in this profession and provided guidance for improving overall health of correctional staff.
  • We have provided the opportunity to touch tens of thousands of justice involved individuals' lives through our efforts on workforce development and employment retention, cognitive restructuring, evidence based decision making, and transition from jail or prison to the community just to mention a few.
Other efforts at NIC have focused on particular problems within the correctional arena such as restrictive housing (solitary confinement). NIC provides training to state and local practitioners that enhance staff safety and lessen the likelihood individuals will be released directly from restrictive confinement into our communities. These programs enhance and protect public safety.

NIC has also provided special efforts for specific populations within our criminal justice system, providing better chances of success for those justice involved individuals. Our veterans program has shined a spotlight on how we can better manage and support veterans who have served their country, but later found themselves involved in our justice system. Our LGBTI and gender responsive programs have guided correctional agencies on how to respectfully work with and protect these populations. Further, our guidance and training on pretrial and criminal diversion practices have proven successful in controlling and often reducing jail populations, which is also a very sound fiscal practice.

Overall, our most successful programs involve true collaboration at the local and state levels. When criminal justice stakeholders effectively work with one another, the results are positive and successful in meeting mutual goals. We are stronger and more effective at enhancing public safety working together than when we stand alone.

It has been the honor of my professional career to serve as the Director of the National Institute of Corrections, and I thank each member of the criminal justice community for affording me that privilege. I encourage all of you in the field to continue the good work of improving our criminal justice system; what you do is an important service to your country and it matters.

Sincerely,

Jim Cosby
Director National Institute of Corrections
 
NIC Divisions
NIC is comprised of four divisions, and the Information Center. The divisions are based on functions within the organization and the area of corrections that they serve. They are: The divisions are divided between offices in Washington, D.C. and Aurora, Colorado.
 
New In The Library
Restrictive Housing CLO WWVC
Restrictive Housing: Roadmap to Reform [Internet Broadcast]

The use of Restrictive Housing poses some of the most challenging questions facing corrections professionals. This training broadcast will help your agency examine restrictive housing practices.

Veterans Treatment Courts: A Second Chance for Vets Who Have Lost Their Way [Webinar]

This webinar highlights the release of the NIC publication "Veterans Treatment Courts: A Second Chance for Vets Who Have Lost Their Way".

Losing Time: Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease Behind Bars [Webinar]

This interactive webinar explores how symptoms and behaviors of dementia can be misconstrued and identifies environmental risk factors that can contribute to costly accidents and injury for inmates with dementia.

 
 
Spotlight: NIC at ACA

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The American Correctional Association Winter Conference in San Antonio starts this weekend, January 20-24. Visit the NIC exhibit booth #111 for newly released NIC resources and attend NIC sponsored workshops.

Joseph (Tony) Stines, CPS, NIC, will moderate A-2F Changing Behavior With Functional Analysis and Individualized Behavior Management Plans (IBMPs). Every interaction we have with offenders has the potential to modify behavior. Our response, or lack thereof, has the potential to either increase, maintain or decrease the frequency of that behavior in the future. This session introduces a process for the initiation and development of Individual Behavior Management Plans (IBMPs).

Lorie Brisbin, CPS, NIC, will moderate Victim Services in Corrections — A Balancing Act. Communication between victims and offenders can be challenging for agencies and their staff for a variety of reasons. It is important for agencies to have policies and strategies that provide safety for victims and hold the inmate accountable while protecting the rights of both parties. This panel will explore these and other issues faced by agencies.

Evelyn Bush, CPS, NIC, will moderate C-1G Victims Behind Bars: Implementing Policy and Procedures to Identify and Address Sex Trafficking of Women Offenders. The goal of this workshop will be to provide an awareness of The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000, identifying policy and procedures that sustain the victimization of women under the supervision of jails and prisons, and strategies to create a pathway for: Prevention, Protection and Prosecution.

 
Resources on Hot Topics

CBT image The following is a list of resources that have been hand-picked by our library team. If you would like research assistance on these or other topics, please contact our help desk. They have access to specialized databases and thousands of resources you won't find online.

  • Post-Conviction Victim Service Providers
    This webpage focuses on victim services such as corrections, reentry, parole, and probation that occur after an offender has been convicted, and it will provide resources and information for those working in this important, but rarely recognized area of corrections.
  • Working with Victims of Crime
    This Guide provides a comprehensive overview of available information on victims’ rights and services. It is informed by the foundational work of many advocates, academics and community corrections professionals. The Guide will outline specific tools and resources to inform your work.
  • Correctional Anti-Human Trafficking Initiative (CAHTI)
    In response to a new threat to correctional operations and the welfare of inmates, NIC has begun its initial efforts in the area on correctional anti-human trafficking. In order to be considered "trafficking" on both federal and state levels, the A-M-P Model may be applied: ACT, MEANS, PURPOSE. It is our goal to develop resources for creating both staff and inmate awareness of the issues and continue to operate in a manner that reflects our commitment to safety and security.
  • Inmate Behavior Management
    Managing inmate behavior is the core function of prisons and jails. To address this issue, NIC has developed training programs, technical assistance, and information to help facilities better manage inmates.

 
 
Upcoming Events
Register by: 01/20/2017
Executive Excellence Program
Feb. 26, 2017 - Mar. 10, 2017--This 10-month executive development program offers innovative learner-centered and competency-based training for future leaders of corrections agencies.
 
Register by: 01/23/2017
Gender Matters: Effective Operations and Management of Women's Prisons
Mar. 06, 2017 - Mar. 10, 2017--The needs of women in a correctional setting pose unique challenges to implementing operational practices that may have been designed without their gender differences in mind. This curriculum focuses on contemporary research, which supports a management/operational style that recognizes gender differences.
 
Register by: 01/30/2017
Direct Supervision T4T
Mar. 20, 2017 - Mar. 24, 2017--This training consists of two recently developed programs by the National Institute of Corrections’ Jails Division: • Making Direct Supervision Work: The Role of the Housing-Unit Officer • Making Direct Supervision Work: The Role of the First-Line Supervisor. The programs are designed for agencies planning to move from a traditional jail into a new direct supervision jail. However, they also can be used to train new and veteran staff in direct supervision jails currently operating under the direct supervision philosophy.
 
 
About NIC
Director The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons. The Institute is headed by Jim Cosby, Director.
NIC provides training, technical assistance, information services, and policy/program development assistance to federal, state, and local corrections agencies. We also provide leadership to influence correctional policies, practices, and operations nationwide in areas of emerging interest and concern to correctional executives and practitioners as well as public policymakers.
 
Administrative Offices
320 First St. N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20534
800.995.6423
202.307.3106
Training Academy
11900 E Cornell Ave, Unit C
Aurora, CO 80014
800.995.6429
800.995.6420 (Fax #)
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