National Resource Center on Justice Involved Women Announcement

Transcription

1 National Resource Center on Justice Involved Women Announcement Dear Colleagues: NRCJIW Invites Agencies to Apply for Technical Assistance to Implement Gender- Responsive Approaches to Pretrial Screening and Services The National Resource Center on Justice Involved Women (NRCJIW) invites local criminal justice agencies to submit letters of interest to be considered for training and technical assistance in implementing gender-responsive approaches to pretrial screening and services. Assistance will be provided by content experts tailored to the unique challenges/needs of the requesting jurisdiction. Up to three jurisdictions will be selected to receive on-site training and technical assistance supplemented by off-site webinars and meetings over a 12-month project period beginning August 1, 2013 and ending July 31, The deadline for submitting a Letter of Interest is June 28, About the NRCJIW The National Resource Center on Justice Involved Women was established to address the unique and complex needs of adult women involved in the criminal justice system and assist practitioners in understanding and applying the lessons learned from research, promising practices, and the insights of justice-involved women themselves. The NRCJIW Page 1 of 6

2 is funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance, in partnership with the National Institute of Corrections. It is administered by the Center for Effective Public Policy and its partners: CORE Associates, Orbis Partners, the National Center for Trauma-Informed Care, the Moss Group, University of Cincinnati School of Criminal Justice, and the Women s Prison Association. NRCJIW maintains a website; conducts outreach activities in service of its mission; and develops policy briefs, and other materials to fill significant resource gaps in the field. It serves as a clearinghouse for model policies and practical tools; a referral source for information, research, and subject matter experts; and a forum for discussion among policymakers and practitioners about justice-involved women. The Resource Center also provides targeted training and technical assistance to state and local criminal justice professionals, policymakers and practitioners. Background - Pretrial Services and Women Defendants For mid-year 2011, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that 735,601 individuals were held in U.S. jails; over 12 percent of them were adult women. From other data, we know that women are typically lower risk for re-offense then men; suffer higher rates of mental health, substance abuse and co-occurring disorders; have greater parenting and childcare responsibilities; and suffer from high rates of trauma (due to sex abuse, sexual assault, interpersonal violence, etc.). Evidence-based research involving women offenders have identified specific pathways into the criminal justice system that highlight risk and need factors that, if undetected, put women at higher risk of pretrial misconduct. In April 2007, Hamilton County, Ohio criminal justice stakeholders collaborated with researchers to implement the Inventory of Need Pretrial Screening Tool. This tool, while administered to both women and men booked into the Hamilton County Jail, was designed to be a part of the early screening and treatment intervention process that would explore the risks and needs associated with pretrial failure (i.e., failures to appear in court, new arrests in the pretrial period); examine whether the needs differed for women and men; and investigate strategies for reducing the high incidence of pretrial detention and incarceration of women. Lessons from this site revealed that gender-responsive screening and assessment tools can minimize pretrial misconduct through effective screening and Page 2 of 6

3 progressive intervention strategies; assist in identifying and targeting specific program needs; and inform judges of meaningful pretrial release options. Emerging, but limited, research likewise suggests that using assessments that combine gender neutral and gender responsive factors yield better results for women defendants by identifying the gender-specific profiles of risk factors that should be addressed to reduce the likelihood of pretrial failure, and providing information that pretrial agencies can use to connect women defendants to appropriate services at the pretrial stage. Given the number of women cycling in and out of the criminal justice system as well as their lower recidivism risk levels and higher needs, it is essential to identify women early in case processing and target them for community services and case management that can reap significant benefits to the criminal justice system overall. Pretrial Pilot Initiative Through this Initiative, the NRCJIW seeks to work with local criminal justice stakeholders, including jail and pretrial services administrators, interested in examining their pretrial practices with respect to women and piloting change strategies to address identified gaps. This effort will build on existing research and practices on effective strategies tailored to justice-involved women. Through this technical assistance initiative, provided at no-cost to selected sites, we will provide limited, specialized assistance to up to three local jurisdictions interested in implementing gender-responsive pretrial strategies for women, including gender-informed pretrial screening, supervision and service referral strategies. During this effort, we will: Demonstrate how evidence-based, gender-responsive practices can be helpful in achieving better pretrial outcomes for defendants; Provide training to support the implementation of an evidence-based genderresponsive risk/need assessment and pretrial screening tool that helps to identify and more accurately target risk/need factors for women that can be addressed during the pretrial period, direct women to services they need, and contribute to improved release decision making on the part of the judges and magistrates; Prepare local criminal justice stakeholders to improve their management of women at the pretrial stage of the criminal justice system by identifying strategies Page 3 of 6

4 to comprehensively assess and meet the needs of pretrial women defendants and engaging resources and processes to meet immediate and long-term needs of women in the community; and, Gather and use the information learned from selected sites to produce resources that will assist other agencies interested in implementing gender-informed policies and practices at the pretrial stage. How to Express Interest Letters of interest may be submitted electronically via to Ms. Stevyn Fogg at with Pretrial Pilot in the subject line or via mail using the following information: Ms. Stevyn Fogg Senior Associate Center for Effective Public Policy 8403 Colesville Road, Suite 720 Silver Spring, MD Letters should not exceed 4 pages, double-spaced, and must include the following information: 1. Primary Contacts. Identify the individual/agency that would spearhead the effort on behalf of the jurisdiction (i.e., jail administrator, court official, local commissioner, pretrial services director) and identify an individual that would act as a point of contact for the effort. Please provide full contact information (i.e., name, title, agency, department, address, city, state, zip, telephone, fax and address). 2. Commitment and Expectations. Articulate a commitment to participate as a learning site: Identify key leadership by name and position and describe the leadership s role in this effort (i.e., how they will support or participate in the technical assistance Page 4 of 6

5 process). Include letters of support from key stakeholders (i.e., chief judge, prosecutor, defense counsel, sheriff, county commissioner, pretrial services, jail administrator). Indicate willingness to serve as a learning site and participate in necessary components and activities to include: Off-site communications with NRCJIW staff; on-site meetings, trainings and data collection and evaluation activities; off-site technical assistance and follow-up to on-site activities; provision of feedback during the development of the pretrial toolkit; and participation in webinars regarding the pilot initiative. 3. Capacity to Participate. Describe the primary goal or outcome that you hope to achieve and the benefits you hope to derive from serving as a pilot site. A concise statement explaining why the jurisdiction wishes to serve in this capacity at this particular time (e.g., because of a recent examination of practice, changes in legislation, administrative leadership changes/turnover, formation or changes to policy team) is sufficient. Describe the interests of any existing criminal justice policy body (e.g., coordinating council, task forces on women, jail overcrowding or reentry, publicprivate ventures, other multi-disciplinary teams, etc.) in your jurisdiction to address the problems of effective pretrial practices for women. Describe any current or recently completed projects and initiatives the agency or team has been involved in (either as a result of legislation, new leadership, or of its own volition) to improve the agency s or team s service provision to women. 4. Additional Information. Include any additional information (e.g., relevant policies, information about your female offender population, prior staff training received on evidence-based practices) that you think will assist the NRCJIW review team in making an informed decision about your interest. These documents will not count against the page limits for the Letter of Interest. Selection Information Since resources are available to work with only three sites, every effort will be made to identify those sites where the conditions for maximum impact are present. We are Page 5 of 6

6 particularly interested in working with sites that are already moving towards implementing gender-responsive policies and practices and stand ready to take advantage of the technical support NRCJIW will provide. The selection criteria (i.e., commitment, capacity, goals and expectations) are described above in the components to the Letter of Interest and every effort will be made to apply them consistently. Please consider the criteria carefully as you determine whether to prepare and submit a Letter of Interest for this initiative. Letters must be received by June 28, Questions about this initiative should be directed to: Ms. Stevyn Fogg, Senior Associate, Center for Effective Public Policy, National Resource Center on Justice Involved Women, ext. 130 or sfogg@cepp.com. -National Resource Center on Justice Involved Women Copyright 2013 National Resource Center on Justice Involved Women, All rights reserved. National Resource Center on Justice Involved Women is funded in whole or in part through a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this newsletter (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided). Our mailing address is: Center for Effective Public Policy 8403 Colesville Road, Suite 720 Silver Spring, MD Page 6 of 6