Quick Question. . .  Is It Worth It?  You Bet.

Working on the frontline in corrections, you have a lot to endure. But is it all worth it? Is the stress you bear worth the long hours, the rotating shifts, and the uncertainty of regular hours and pay?

If the answer for you is yes, and you know that being a correctional officer and working in corrections is more than just a job-it's a career that helps keep communities safe-then you'll want to be sure you catch the NIC Virtual Conference session titled Corrections Health Coaching: A Wellness Approach to Performance and Longevity presented by Leonard Romo.

Romo is a training sergeant with the Juvenile Detention and Rehabilitation Center in Peach Springs, Arizona. His session will cover the benefits of health coaching and how it can improve staff performance, productivity, morale, and longevity in corrections.

In an interview with the National Institute of Corrections, Romo previews his presentation with a discussion about how the toll of the correctional environment can affect an officer emotionally. Staff working on the frontlines often become despondent, isolating themselves from family and friends. Sometimes the pain or shame is too much for them even to talk with colleagues. So what's an officer to do? Romo will offer suggestions in his presentation.

If you know someone who could benefit from attending this virtual conference session, please forward this e-mail and encourage them to register for Leading with Innovation, NIC's 2016 Virtual Conference at http://www.nicic.gov/go/VC2016.

What's in it for me?

So, whether you join the virtual conference on November 9th as an individual or as part of a larger group from your organization/agency, you will each receive the same valuable experience from online learning as you would have if you each had attended a training program in person. You can also receive training credit if you attend the entire conference! It's the epitome of doing more-and training more-with less.  Can't attend that day?  Register anyway!  All sessions will be recorded and available for later viewing.

The conference opens at 9:00am ET on November 9 and runs until 5:00pm ET. Please adjust your time zone location accordingly so you can participate live!

The NIC Virtual Conference has no registration fee, and there is no cost to attend. To reserve your seat, review the conference schedule and information on sessions and presenters, please visit us at http://www.nicic.gov/go/VC2016.

We look forward to your participation!

 

Restrictive Housing: Roadmap to Reform

Register Online for this Live-Streaming Internet Training Broadcast at http://nicic.gov/training/ib201611

November 16 and 17, 2016

8:00am PT / 9:00am MT / 10:00am CT / 11:00am ET

"Do we really think it makes sense to lock so many people alone in tiny cells for

23 hours a day for months, sometime for years at a time? That is not going to make

us safer. It's not going to make us stronger. If those individuals are ultimately

released, how are they ever going to adapt? It's not smart."

- President Barack Obama, NAACP National Convention speech, July 14, 2015.

The use of Restrictive Housing poses some of the most challenging questions facing corrections professionals: How should correctional agencies manage their most violent and disruptive inmates? How can they best protect their most vulnerable and victimized ones? And what is the safest and most humane way to do so?

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) define "restrictive housing" as a form of housing that involves three basic elements:

• removal from the general inmate population, whether voluntary or involuntary;
• placement in a locked room or cell, whether alone or with another inmate; and
• inability to leave the room or cell for the vast majority of the day, typically 22 hours or more.

Restrictive housing takes many forms, and an inmate's experience can vary considerably depending on certain external factors, such as length of stay, conditions of confinement, and degree of social isolation, as well as factors specific to each inmate, such as age and psychological resiliency.

To assist agencies in addressing this issue, NIC will be conducting a two-day, live-streaming internet training broadcast titled "Restrictive Housing: Roadmap to Reform" scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, November 16 and 17, 2016.

During this interactive training broadcast, facilitated by experienced Administrators and Mental Health Professionals, you will have the opportunity for self-evaluation of current agency practice, participation in skill building activities, discussions, problem solving exercises, and information sharing with your peers facing similar challenges from across the United States via live simultaneous chat.

Using a variety of methods including on-air discussions and activities, participant teams and/or individuals in this interactive training broadcast will:

• examine restrictive housing practices in your agency and compare and contrast those with the DOJ Guiding Principles;
• explore the Guiding Principles and implications for restrictive housing practice and conditions of confinement;
• use interactive activities and action planning to determine strategies for your agency to safely reduce the use of restrictive housing in your agency, and
• share promising practices and recommendations for the implementation of the Guiding Principles.

Who Should Participate?

NIC recommends participation in this interactive training broadcast for 3 - 5 member facility and/or agency teams including administrators, mid managers, and line staff, specifically including a mental health team member.

• Correctional Agency Chief Executive Officers - prisons and jails
• Corrections staff working in restrictive housing environments in all settings (prisons, jails, etc.)
• National Professional Correctional Associations (ACA, ASCA, AJA, NSA, etc.)
• Correctional Administrators
• State Correctional Associations
• Correctional Mental Health Administrators and staff
• Agency General Counsel and Legal staff
• Colleges and Universities with Criminal Justice and Communications Programs

Facilitation Team

Joseph "Tony" Stines

Correctional Program Specialist / Project Manager

National Institute of Corrections

 

Kathleen Allison

Director, Division of Adult Institutions

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

 

Kathryn A. Burns, MD, MPH

Chief Psychiatrist

Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction

 

Marie Garcia, Ph.D.

Social Science Analyst

National Institute of Justice

 

Rob Jeffreys

Regional Director

Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections

 

David Marcial

Warden (Retired)

Connecticut Department of Corrections

 

Shirley Moore-Smeal

Executive Deputy Secretary

Pennsylvania Department of Corrections

 

Ryan Quirk, Ph.D.

Psychologist 4

Washington State Department of Corrections

 

Larry E. Reid

Deputy Director of Prisons (Retired)

Colorado Department of Corrections

The training broadcast will explore and answer these questions:

• How should prisons and other correctional facilities manage their most violent and dangerous inmates?
• How can they best protect their most vulnerable and victimized inmates?
• What is the safest and most humane way to do so?
• Why did the Department of Justice create a set of Guiding Principles on the effective use of Restrictive Housing?
• How can we use the DOJ Guiding Principles to self-evaluate our current agency practice?

Training Broadcast Schedule for November 16 - 17, 2016

Time Zone	Pacific	Mountain	Central	Eastern
Broadcast Part One: (2.5 hours both days) 11/16 - 17/2016	8:00am - 10:30am	9:00am - 11:30am	10:00am - 12:30pm	11:00am - 1:30pm
One Hour Break Start / End Time	10:30am - 11:30am	11:30am - 12:30pm	12:30pm - 1:30pm	1:30pm - 2:30pm
Broadcast Part Two: (2.5 hours both days) 11/16 - 17/2016	11:30am - 2:00pm	12:30pm - 3:00pm	1:30pm - 4:00pm	2:30pm - 5:00pm

This interactive training broadcast will feature both on-air activities that occur simultaneously during the broadcast, and "off-air" activities that occur prior to the next day's broadcast and/or after a broadcast day, depending upon a participant's time zone location.

For example, for a participant located in the Pacific time zone who completes the live broadcast at 2:00 pm PT, off air activities in preparation for Day Two of the broadcast on November 17 would be completed on November 16. For a participant in the Eastern time zone who completes the broadcast at 5:00pm ET on November 16, off air activities in preparation for Day Two of the broadcast should be completed on November 17 prior to the start of the training broadcast at 11:00am ET.

To assist in the preparation and delivery of this training broadcast, a custom Facilitator Guide for those sites convening participant groups will be available to complement on-air Facilitator instruction. This will be available at the broadcast web page at a later date.

NIC's live Internet broadcasts offer corrections professionals an interactive video forum on current and pressing topics in corrections. These broadcasts are inter­active and allow participants to engage with and learn from experts around the world.

Delivered via Internet streaming, the broadcasts are available for viewing by any individual, agency, or facility nationwide. Participants can view the broadcast individually on a computer screen, smart device/tablet and/or use a projector to enlarge the signal for a sizeable audience. Registration is required, but there is no charge.

How Do I Prepare for the Broadcast?

Follow this link to prepare to view NIC live internet broadcasts http://nicic.gov/viewbroadcast

Please register for the broadcast to receive information on live internet stream tests, pre-broadcast survey information and more readiness information which begin in early November, 2016 http://nicic.gov/training/ib201611

For More Information

Program Specific Information

Tony Stines

Correctional Program Specialist

Prisons Division

jstines@bop.gov

 

Broadcast Logistics Information

Leslie S. LeMaster

Executive Producer, NIC Broadcasts

Academy Division

llemaster@bop.gov