Justice Department Awards Over $6.3 Million To Study Effects Of Incarceration

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Justice Department's National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) today announced 10 awards totaling more than $6.3 million to fund research on parental incarceration, restrictive housing (such as solitary confinement), reentry, and correctional officer suicide.

"A truly fair and effective justice system depends on the strength of the evidence behind its operations," said NIJ Director Nancy Rodriguez.  "These awards will underwrite rigorous studies in areas of paramount concern to corrections policymakers and practitioners and deliver new insights into how to approach the challenges faced by incarcerated individuals, their families, and the men and women who work inside our corrections facilities."

Denise O'Donnell, Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, a sister agency to NIJ, officially announced the restrictive housing awards at the Safe Alternatives to Segregation (SAS) Advisory Council meeting today in New York.  The Advisory Council will provide input and guidance as the five SAS Initiative sites—the corrections departments in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Nebraska, New York City, North Carolina, and Oregon—take steps to implement Vera's recommendations for reform.

The following grantees will receive funding from the National Institute of Justice to study restrictive housing:

• The Vera Institute of Justice will receive more than $1.4 million to assess the use of step-down programs and the impact of working in restrictive housing on the well-being of correctional officers.
• University of Cincinnati will be awarded $452,452 to examine the impact of restrictive housing on inmates, staff, and correctional facilities. 
• Florida State University will receive $730,615 to examine the impact of restrictive housing on inmates' behavior, mental health and likelihood of recidivism, as well as the views of correctional administrators and personnel on use of restrictive housing and its alternatives.
• Arizona State University will receive $631,559 to examine the effects of isolation in restrictive housing placements and its impact on the mental health of inmates and staff.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance will also announce the following awards:

• The Vera Institute of Justice will receive $2.2 million to support the Safe Alternatives to Segregation Initiative, which assists correctional systems in safely and effectively reducing their reliance on restrictive housing.
• New York University will receive $492,196 to identify a reproducible process of promoting, implementing, identifying, refining, implementing and testing innovations and research to improve correctional facility management and to lessen the negative impact and use of segregation.
• The University of Cincinnati will receive $461,900 to develop an assessment and treatment protocol that can be used in restrictive housing units for evaluating the effectiveness of intervention in reducing institutional misconducts.

NIJ will also oversee the funding to support study in the following areas:

• Bowling Green State University will receive $500,000 to research parental incarceration's negative impact on various forms of child well-being, ranging from conduct problems to academic deficits, as well as an intergenerational cycle of criminal justice involvement.
• Pennsylvania State University will receive $685,857 to better understand the incarceration and reentry experiences of incarcerated females and their children.
• Northeastern University will receive $500,000 to study the impact of correctional officer suicide on the correctional environment.

For more information about these awards, visit www.NIJ.gov.

About the Office of Justice Programs
OJP, headed by Assistant Attorney General Karol V. Mason, provides federal leadership in developing the nation's capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice and assist victims. OJP has six components: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; the Office for Victims of Crime and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking.  More information about OJP can be found at www.ojp.gov. 

SOURCE Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs

Related Links

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov