Occasionally, NIC begins a TA engagement with an agency only to discover that, due to changing circumstances, the services requested are not as originally planned. NIC maintains a flexible stance and a willingness to adjust each TA engagement to ensure that services provided meet the actual needs of the requesting agency and that NIC’s limited resources are used efficiently and effectively.

TA services can begin almost immediately depending on the services sought, the availability of NIC resources, the availability of the agency, and the urgency of the requestor’s need. In most cases, TA services begin within a few months of the request.

NIC’s TA application form and other paperwork to initiate a TA engagement will stipulate all the conditions regarding receiving TA services from NIC. For example, the expectations for the TA regarding when it will start, how long it will last, the level of agency support expected from the requestor, what services NIC will provide, and how the TA engagement will conclude may be included along with other information. Typically, the requesting agency is expected to complete a detailed assessment (and, in some cases, a follow up assessment) to discern the effect of the TA services.

NIC’s TA services are paid for through funds provided to the agency by Congress to support the work of the agency. Typically, the requesting agency will be expected to provide meeting space, or other relevant information, and necessary access to facilities or agency staff.

Due to budget and staffing limitations, NIC cannot fulfill all the requests for TA it receives. However, NIC will review each TA request and will provide a response to the requesting agency. In cases where the request cannot be met, NIC strives to provide information about alternate resources that may be useful to the requestor.

Any local, state, federal, or tribal corrections agency is eligible to receive TA services from NIC.

Typically, an NIC TA engagement is a tailored response to a specific, limited need of a single requesting corrections agency. While some types of non-standard training may be delivered through TA, NIC’s training programs comprise standardized curricula that address a range of core correctional issues and are responsive to a range of corrections training needs.

NIC provides corrections agencies with a wide range of TA services including responding to critical incidents, assisting in problem-solving, as well as strategic or long-range planning, policy development, system mapping and other issues and topics.

Technical assistance or TA is a term used in education, government, and industry to mean “consultation.” NIC TA is short-term, no-cost help for agencies on a variety of issues.