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Community Services

Community corrections is an important aspect of the United States corrections system. It encompasses a range of programs and services designed to support individuals as they transition from incarceration back into their communities. Community corrections programs include probation, parole, halfway houses, community service, and electronic monitoring.

At NIC, we are committed to helping community corrections agencies and organizations promote successful reentry and build stronger, safer communities. Our resources and technical assistance are designed to help agencies and organizations achieve their goals and make a positive impact in the lives of individuals under community supervision, their families, and their communities.

How can Technical Assistance help my community corrections organization?

NIC offers technical assistance to community corrections agencies and programs through a variety of resources and services. Some examples include:

  1. On-site training and assistance: NIC can provide on-site training and technical assistance to community corrections agencies and programs. This can include customized training sessions for staff, program evaluation assistance, and leadership development programs.
  2. Web-based training and resources: NIC provides a range of web-based training and resources on topics such as offender reentry, evidence-based practices, and program evaluation. These resources are designed to be easily accessible to community corrections agencies and programs.
  3. Collaborative initiatives: NIC collaborates with community corrections agencies and organizations on a variety of initiatives aimed at improving outcomes for individuals under community supervision. These initiatives can involve partnerships with other organizations, research and evaluation projects, and development of new programs and practices.

Overall, NIC's technical assistance is designed to help community corrections agencies and programs implement evidence-based practices and improve outcomes for individuals under community supervision. By providing customized, targeted assistance, NIC helps agencies and programs build the capacity to support successful reentry and promote public safety.

What is an example of community corrections Technical Assistance?

In 2019, NIC provided technical assistance to the Philadelphia Department of Prisons' (PDP) Community Corrections Center (CCC). The technical assistance focused on improving the center's operations and management, with an emphasis on evidence-based practices, staff training, and inmate programming. The technical assistance included on-site consultation, training sessions, and a report outlining recommendations for improving operations and programming. The recommendations included developing a staff training program on evidence-based practices, implementing a case management system, and enhancing inmate programming to include evidence-based programs and services.

Apply for NIC Technical Assistance

Online LMS Training and eCourses

Justice Involved Women Courses
This course provides an overview of the important aspects of understanding Justice-Involved Women in correctional settings.

illustration of person working on a computer at a desk
Addressing Staff Sexual Misconduct in Community Supervision
This course presents basic information that community supervision staff must know to keep themselves and those they supervise safe from inappropriate interactions. The course includes the definition of staff sexual misconduct, identification of prohibited behaviors, agency reporting requirements, and strategies for avoiding this behavior.

Workforce Development for Justice-Involved Individuals
This six course series provides content knowledge that is required before attending NIC's Offender Workforce Development Specialist (OWDS) training program and serves as a standalone program that provides important foundational and theoretical perspectives of career development.

Effective Case Planning and Supervision of Justice-Involved Women
This course is an interactive, two course series depicting issues and challenges experienced by women in the community, often very different from men. The second course is designed for correctional staff and related stakeholders who work with justice-involved women.

Workforce Development and Women Offenders
This course will focus on women offenders, their characteristics, differences from male offenders, and how you can assess and plan for their career development upon release into the community.

Establishing the Learning Organization
This course will help you conduct an assessment of your unit or department, help you prepare for the future, and help you put together a plan to maximize the learning of your organization.
Webinars & Trainings
Highlighted Publications
Related Topics

ACA Mapping Initiative
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) enables low-income individuals in the criminal justice system to obtain insurance coverage. NIC's ACA Mapping Initiative maps the decision points across the corrections system to identify opportunities for enhanced enrollment and integration of health care coverage.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy reduces recidivism in both juveniles and adults. The therapy assumes that most people can become conscious of their own thoughts and behaviors and then make positive changes to them. This page gives CBT resources for correctional facilities.

Community Corrections Academic Resources
The goal of this project is to encourage criminal justice educators to recognize the importance of developing curriculum specific to community supervision, distinct from institutional corrections, and to provide support to college educators and community corrections practitioners who teach community corrections courses.

Correctional Healthcare
The need for effective and efficient correctional healthcare services has risen with increasing incarceration rates, including mental health, substance abuse, suicide prevention, and elderly care. The this page has resources on correctional healthcare best practices.

Correctional Industries Initiative
Incarceration may improve employment prospects if it has a rehabilitative effect or includes education and training. Correctional Industries provides real-life work experience, and this initiative helps identify organizational priorities, establish objectives, and provide specialized services and programming to support a return to the labor force.

Correctional Responses to Domestic Violence Victims
Domestic violence involves physical, sexual, psychological, and emotional abuse with the intent to control a partner. The NIC highlights programs to address offender accountability and victim safety in domestic violence cases.

Corrections Stress

Corrections Stress refers to the emotional challenges faced by correctional personnel and the potentially cumulative negative side effects of what staff experience through daily interactions with justice-involved individuals and immersion in uniquely challenging workplace conditions.

For additional information, trainings and materials on this NIC Project go to: Health and Wellness

Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils
Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils allow elected and appointed executive-level policymakers to meet collaboratively to address issues facing the justice system. This page describes CJCCs, provides specific guidance for their development and operation, and offers tips on how to sustain them.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility
Employers must create a work environment that values diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) to attract the best employees. The DEIA supports individual and organizational growth by providing resources to examine bias, lead diverse teams, support inclusive teams, and create DEIA programs.

Employer-Driven Employment Model for Justice-Involved Individuals
The Employer-Driven Employment Toolkit provides effective practices, strategies, tips, and resources for implementing the four key processes. The toolkit emphasizes building relationships between corrections agencies and businesses to ensure successful attachment to the labor market.

Evidence-Based Decision Making
EBDM is a strategic and deliberate method of applying empirical knowledge and research-supported principles to justice system decisions made at the case, agency, and system level. Public safety outcomes will be improved when stakeholders engage in partnerships, use research, and create better outcomes.

Evidence-based Practices (EBP)
Evidence-based practice (EBP) uses current research and data to guide policy and practice decisions. It involves critical review of research literature, quality assurance, and evaluation. EBP focuses on measurable outcomes and practical realities, making it appropriate for outcome-focused human service disciplines.

Gender-Responsive Policy & Practice Assessment (GRPPA)
The GRPPA is a process designed to guide assessment of gender-responsiveness in policies and programs for women in correctional facilities. It includes two sections, and the assessment process requires collaboration among corrections professionals.

Justice-Involved Veterans
This page addresses the unique needs of justice-involved veterans, who suffer from physical and "invisible" wounds of war. NIC first developed "Veterans Treatment Courts: A Second Chance for Vets Who Have Lost Their Way," and established the Justice Involved Veterans Network to improve outcomes for veterans.

Justice-Involved Women
Correctional administrators need to understand the different paths and levels of risk of women offenders to improve outcomes for them. Technical assistance is available to local jurisdictions to examine and improve their responses to this population.

Leadership Development In Corrections
NIC believes in developing effective correctional leaders through competency-based training aligned with agency needs. It offers Correctional Leadership Competencies for the 21st Century, which links skills, knowledge, and attributes of effective leaders to specific behaviors.

LGBTI Persons in Custody and Under Supervision
This webpage provides information on the safe and respectful management of LGBTQI persons in custody, using best practices and considering legal perspectives. Agencies can apply for limited technical assistance to improve their response to managing LGBTQI persons.

Motivational Interviewing
Motivational Interviewing (M.I.) is a counseling method that helps people explore and resolve ambivalence by accessing internal motivation for change. It draws from client-centered counseling, emphasizing empathy, optimism, and respect for client choice. M.I. also uses self-perception theory to encourage change by having clients talk about the benefits of change.

Reentry/Transition
Reentry is the transition of offenders from prisons or jails back into the community. Over three-quarters of state offenders are re-arrested within five years of release, highlighting the importance of successful reintegration for improving public safety and policy.

Parole
Parole is the administrative release of inmates from prison and a provision for post-release supervision. It involves a promise to obey the law and follow certain rules in exchange for release. This page provides links to best practices and innovations in the parole field.

Probation and Parole
Probation is a suspended prison sentence for offenders to follow rules, while parole is an administrative release from prison with post-release supervision. The research on this page covers various probation and parole-related topics.

Post-Conviction Victim Service Providers
This page focuses on victim services in corrections, reentry, parole, and probation that occur after an offender has been convicted. Many states provide post-conviction victims' rights such as notification, protection, assistance with restitution, and referrals to crime victim services.

Pretrial
Pretrial Services programs provide information for bail decisions and supervision to promote public safety. By identifying risk factors, judicial officers can balance the presumption of innocence while protecting the community.

Redemption & Certificates of Rehabilitation
This page includes information and best practices on Redemption & Certificates of Rehabilitation including: Alternative Strategies for Reintegration, Criminal History Records & Employment, In the News, Legislation, Research, Restoration of Voting, Housing, & Pell Grants.

Resources on Victim Offender Dialogue

Victim Offender Dialogue (VOD), also known as Restorative Justice Dialogue or Victim Offender Mediation, is a process that brings together victims of a crime and the individuals who have harmed them. It provides an opportunity for both parties to engage in open and facilitated communication with the goal of addressing

Suicide in Corrections
The resources on this page will help give an overview of the problems surrounding correctional suicides and the ways one can implement strategies to turn around the alarming upward trajectory of suicide rates.

Transition and Workforce Development
This page provides links to research, case studies, and best practices, demonstrating the value of giving both currently and formerly incarcerated individuals opportunities for rehabilitation through employment. By providing these resources, NIC aims to support communities in creating more inclusive and diverse workplaces while improving public safety.

Wellness for Corrections and Supervision Professionals
This page highlights the need for maintaining safety and security while providing opportunities for staff to not become overwhelmed by both institutional and community settings. "Wellness" emphasizes the importance of taking personal well-being seriously and provides a list of topics and resources to help professionals in the corrections field find balance and stay motivated to perform at their best.
Frequently Asked Questions