CJI’s Corrections team employs implementation science, performance measurement, the latest research, and promising approaches to solve the complex challenges facing prisons and jails across the country. We work in partnership with federal, state, and local leaders and staff to strengthen facility safety, improve employee wellbeing, and facilitate peer learning opportunities to create sustainable change in jail and prison environments.
Areas of Work
Technical Assistance
CJI provides expertise and facilitation to increase the effectiveness of state and local corrections systems, with a special focus on restrictive housing. Our team works collaboratively with agency leaders and staff to examine needs, policies, and practices; design solutions that fit their circumstances and prepare staff for changes and effectively implement and measure those solutions.
Training for Jails & Prisons
CJI’s trainers develop and offer National Institute of Corrections (NIC) curricula to build staff capacity and improve agency practices. Our team assists NIC in the provision of prison and jail restrictive housing training that is updated periodically to keep up with developments and needs in the field. We provide training to help corrections professionals facilitate behavior change within their populations through cognitive behavioral interventions and group facilitation. CJI’s team also provides training to improve correctional staff wellness.
Convenings
CJI recognizes the importance of peer-to-peer learning and sharing innovative solutions. We bring leaders and corrections professionals together to share current research, improve data capacity, discuss challenges, and learn from the work of others.
Project Highlights
Funded by Bureau of Justice Assistance, a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs
CJI works alongside state correctional agencies to safely reduce the use of restrictive housing and ensure the safety and wellbeing of people who live and work in correctional facilities. Through this effort, CJI seeks to improve outcomes in the participating states, assess results, and explore promising practices that can be replicated nationwide.
The training and technical assistance is tailored to the specific needs and priorities of each prison system and focuses on staff engagement and leadership in proposing solutions, building capacity for effective implementation, and increased data collection, use, and reporting. In addition, CJI promotes peer-to-peer learning across departments.
“One of the best parts about this restrictive housing project with CJI is I get to support the staff in their efforts to make this prison a better place to live for inmates, and a better place to work for staff members. They are also helping our agency meet some policy goals set by the legislature.”
— Cynthia Wolken Deputy Director of the Montana Department of Corrections
A National Institute of Corrections Initiative
Corrections professionals overseeing and working in restrictive housing settings face unique challenges that require specialized skills and knowledge to navigate effectively. NIC, in partnership with CJI, is addressing this need by training prisons and jails across the country.
Staff from 41 state corrections departments and 46 jail systems in have been trained in the Managing Restrictive Housing Populations curriculum since 2017.
NIC Managing Prison Restrictive Housing Populations Training
2017-Present
Funded by Bureau of Justice Assistance, a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs
In collaboration with Tennessee Corrections Institute, CJI has developed and delivered a curriculum training correctional staff to provide peer support to their colleagues. This helps support people as they are going through times of personal or professional distress and can show employees that leadership is committed to staff wellness. CJI is offering this curriculum to other jurisdictions across the country.
Funded by National Institute of Corrections and Bureau of Justice Statistics
ICRN/NCRP is an annual event that brings together state and federal corrections researchers to encourage networking and information sharing across departments, inform the national research agenda, increase the application of existing research, and improve data quality. With funding from the National Institute of Corrections and the Bureau of Justice Statistics, CJI facilitates in-person and virtual events during ICRN/NCRP to foster the building of a collaborative network of corrections researchers who are using data to drive decisions in their local jurisdictions.
