TTA Today Blog

Welcome to BJA NTTAC's TTA Today blog! TTA Today posts tell the story of training and technical assistance (TTA) engagements through individual perspectives, including those of DOJ and BJA leaders, staff, technical assistance providers, subject matter experts, community members, and other relevant stakeholders. These posts serve as an informal venue to share relevant updates or best practices from the criminal justice community, as well as to feature first-hand accounts of how TTA impacts state, local, and tribal communities across the nation.

Background

Enforcing community supervision for released inmates is a persistent challenge for the criminal justice system. This challenge comes at a high cost as many probationers and parolees are revoked and returned to prison on technical violations, such as continued drug use and no-shows for appointments. In an attempt to reduce violation rates and the associated costs, many jurisdictions are testing a new approach. This new approach, referred to as the Swift and Certain (SAC) model, is modeled after a program that was originally tested on high-risk probationers in Hawaii.

Background

Currently, many states are undertaking reentry initiatives to examine how improved information-sharing among key partners in the reentry process can ensure more successful outcomes. Corrections, law enforcement agencies, and service providers can all benefit from sharing information on justice-involved individuals as they enter and leave correctional supervision. However, historically, key reentry partners have been challenged with sharing this information in an accurate, timely, complete, and secure way.

by: David J. Roberts, Senior Program Manager, IACP Technology Center Modern technology has become a crucial element in the daily lives of people all around the world and, in many respects, it is improving our quality of life. In healthcare, technology is helping doctors diagnose diseases earlier in their patients. For law enforcement, technology is playing a critical role in the daily work of officers in the field, equipping them with enforcement and investigative tools that can make them safer, better informed, and more efficient and effective.

Background

There are nearly seven million people involved with the criminal justice system in the United States: individuals who have either been in jail or prison, or who are on probation or parole. Prior to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), members of this population – many of whom suffer from substantial substance use disorders, mental health issues, and chronic health conditions – had little to no health insurance coverage. In many states, the ACA expands Medicaid eligibility to extremely low-income people (household income up to 138 percent of the federal poverty line). Consequently, many people who are involved with the criminal justice system will now be eligible for Medicaid coverage.

Background

In recent years, state and local budgets have become increasingly strained, forcing policymakers to make tough funding decisions about programs. Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is an analytical tool policymakers can use to inform budget planning and compare investment options. A significant advantage of CBA is that both costs and benefits are expressed in monetary terms, so they can be directly compared. Many state and local policymakers are working to create and sustain capacity to conduct cost-benefit studies and make effective use of CBA results in program assessment and budgeting.

By: Suzette McLeod, BJA NTTAC Deputy Program Director The fundamental message behind the adage “two minds are better than one” is that the collective efforts of a group can achieve more than one person working independently. When people with similar interests or common goals get together to exchange information and ideas, the group is more knowledgeable and better equipped to achieve their goals. To support collective knowledge-sharing and collaboration among its training and technical assistance (TTA) providers, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) National Training and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC) is establishing Communities of Interest to provide a way to connect providers that share common focus areas.

Background

For more than three decades, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), through the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), has worked to support state, local, and tribal (SLT) law enforcement’s efforts to prevent, investigate, and prosecute economic and high-tech crime. NW3C strengthens this mission by staying current with technological innovations and working to keep law enforcement up-to-date. NW3C is a nonprofit, membership-affiliated organization comprised of SLT law enforcement and prosecutorial and regulatory agencies. Its work is funded primarily by grants through congressional appropriations from BJA and other federal agencies. NW3C supports law enforcement through several avenues; training, research, investigative support, and the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3®).

By: Kim Ball, BJA Senior Policy Advisor “One of the coolest ideas I have seen in my eight years in the Bureau of Justice Assistance,” is the first response that comes to mind when asked about my involvement with the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (APA) Innovations in Criminal Justice Summit. I have seen a lot of great progress and great work over my time, but the unique thing about this event is that I have witnessed its evolution – from an idea that was tossed out during a discussion with colleagues to execution of the second Summit in 2013. When APA Vice-President Steven Jansen conceived the idea for this event, we all knew that it was exactly what we needed to do to encourage those innovative, cost-effective interventions that had demonstrated promise in improving public safety and providing alternatives to incarceration.

Background

Drakontas LLC was founded in 2004 by a group of entrepreneurs and Drexel University researchers in pursuit of the following goal: to build a company that could deliver collaborative software and communications solutions to the government customer. Drakontas brings together a multidisciplinary team of technologists, psychologists, software engineers, and public policy experts to ensure a comprehensive approach to the development and evaluation of its technology solutions

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