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Community Services Division

A majority of people who are incarcerated will be placed on some level of community supervision. During probation and parole supervision, community supervision officers are required to monitor and manage successful reentry efforts. Before the conclusion of a trial, people charged with a crime are processed through a pretrial services agency to determine their risk to the community. And finally, after people have served time, almost all states have a paroling authority that makes decisions about who is ready to be released from prisons into the community. These agencies are served by the Community Services Division (CSD) of NIC and are an integral part of the criminal justice system and reentry efforts.

CSD supports the mission of NIC to advance public safety by shaping and enhancing correctional policies and practice through leadership, learning, and innovation. CSD focuses on critical emerging and foundational issues facing the field of community supervision and employs a variety of strategies to provide expert training, assistance, and/or information to facilitate the use of best practices. Many CSD projects include an implementation component to help ensure sustainability for changing practices, policies, and procedures.

The following are CSD focus areas:

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    Reduce the population of people in the criminal justice system

    Promoting behavior-change models of supervision over time-based models

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    Promote safety and security

    Ensuring the safety of community supervision staff and those who are supervised

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    Promote successful reentry

    Building connections between community supervision agencies and their communities

 

In addition, CSD plans programs around these 5 areas:

 

Communities of Practice

Gathering professionals who share a common concern to address and solve problems

 

Leadership Development

Inviting managerial and supervisory staff to grow in their skills leading to advancement and the guiding of institutional change

 

Training Delivery Strategies

Preparing today’s corrections workforce through multiple learning mechanisms and modalities

 

Emerging Technology

Developing approaches to managing the changing work environment for community service professionals

 

Public Communication

Strengthening the abilities of today’s leaders to convey information and control high-stakes situations through effective communication

CSD hosts a series of networks of community supervision professionals and works with many community supervision membership organizations. This collaborative work helps to expand and build on NIC initiatives to address a broader range of stakeholders.

Each funding year CSD introduces new initiatives based on the needs, challenges, and gaps in the community supervision field. Some new topic areas have included staff safety, preventing staff sexual misconduct, and reimaging the use of halfway houses to name a few.

Pretrial
An arraignment court from inside inmate booth barred windows courtesy of Scott County Sheriff's Office, Minnesota
Probation
A probation officer interviews a person on probation
Parole
A probation review board looks at you as they sit across the table taking notes

Explore Our Training

Parole Board Members Training

In-Person (ILT) Training Schedule Program

Rural, Frontier, Tribal Case management

In-Person (ILT) Training Schedule Program

Parole Board Chairs and Members Training

In-Person (ILT) Training Schedule Program

Urban Chiefs Network Meeting

In-Person (ILT) Training Schedule Program

CJCC Chair and Director Training Academy

In-Person (ILT) Training Schedule Program

Parole Board Members Training

In-Person (ILT) Training Schedule Program

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