Frequently Asked Questions

Important Information for Participants Intending to Apply for an In-Person or Classroom NIC Event

What to expect for in-person classroom trainings:

1. Create an NIC LMS account now

   NIC manages its class registrations through our NIC Learn center. If you are interested in applying for any of our in-person or virtual training options, you'll need to create a free account first so that we can add you to our classes and register you properly. We recommend using your work email for the account.

   Create a free LMS account now

2. Class Registration

   There are two options for class registration and they depend on the class itself.

   1. The class is invitation only: In this case, NIC staff will register you for an event and you will log into the Learn Center to find that the class has been added to your account.
   2. The class is open to the public: In this case, the class will be advertised and listed on the NIC Learn Center with registration open to anyone. You can apply for the class and NIC staff will review your profile before adding you to the class roster.

3. NIC will securely send you forms to fill out and return

   NIC will securely send you Travel Claim and Direct Deposit forms through a secure, Department of Justice link. You will have 5 days to complete the forms and send them back to NIC in order to attend the training and be reimbursed for your travel expenses.

4. Complete all pre-work before in-person attendance

   Depending on the training, there may be preparatory work that you will need to complete before you in-person training event. This is to make sure that you and everyone else are on the same level when the training starts.

5. Training Occurs

   You and other participants will travel to the training location and complete the in-person classroom sessions before returning home. Please see the common questions answered below to make sure you understand how travel, lodging, and trip costs will work.

6. Follow Up & Reimbursement

   After the in-person training, NIC will send you a survey to provide feedback on your experience so that we can improve for future students and programs. You will also need to file your Invitational Travel and Per Diem Claim Form.

Travel FAQ:

Effective May 31, 2015, all future NIC programs and training events will be guided by the following procedures:

We understand that these changes to NIC’s business practices may result in questions or concerns. Specifically, we want to know if this change will cause any insurmountable issues or challenges to your agency. Should you have a comment or concern, please feel free to contact NIC, via email (NICLearningCenter@bop.gov) or telephone (800-995-6429). We welcome your feedback regarding this important administrative change.

Thank you for your attention to this issue. We appreciate your continued collaboration with the National Institute of Corrections and look forward to seeing you at an NIC classroom event.

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  Participant’s commercial airline tickets will be paid directly by NIC; participants will not be required to pay for airline tickets out of pocket.
  Instructions on how to obtain airline tickets will be provided to participants in their information packet emailed out prior to the training event.
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  Participants will be responsible for paying the initial costs for their hotel rooms and will be reimbursed. 
  The charge per night per room will be based on the federal per diem for that area plus specified taxes. Participants will be advised of the exact amount in their information packet prior to travel. Participants will be fully reimbursed for his/her lodging (room and taxes) at the hotel that has been selected by NIC. Participants will need to submit their hotel receipt to NIC for reimbursement.
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  Participants will be responsible for paying for their own meals and will be reimbursed. 
  The meal per diem will be based on the federal meal per diem for that area. On travel days, both to and from the designated hotel site, the per diem will be adjusted to 75% of the daily meal per diem rate. Participants will be advised of the exact reimbursable amount in the information packet prior to travel. Participants will not be required to keep meal receipts. S/he will be reimbursed for the allotted daily meal per diem, governed by General Services Administration (GSA) travel regulations.
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  Participants will be reimbursed for travel between their home and the airport closest to their home as well as for parking expenses. 
  All participant parking receipts must be submitted with their reimbursement claim. Participants will be reimbursed at the current Federal government personal vehicle mileage rate. If they choose to drive their personal vehicle to the training site, they will only be reimbursed up to the cost of the round trip flight at the federal government rate. We are unable to reimburse costs when an agency vehicle is driven.
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  Participants will be reimbursed for luggage.
  Participants will be reimbursed for two (2) bags each way per trip. Participants must obtain and then submit their baggage receipt(s) with their reimbursement claim.
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  The new procedures will necessitate that a NIC Secondary Banking Request form be completed by anyone traveling to participate in a NIC activity. 
  The form establishes how funds are electronically paid and expedites the reimbursement process. After the Secondary Banking Request form has been submitted, it will authorize the travel and input the participant into the travel system. Upon return from the NIC activity, the participant will need to submit all pertinent receipts to generate the reimbursement. The reimbursement, once all receipts have been received, is scheduled to be paid in ten (10) business days.

Any local, state, federal, or tribal corrections agency is eligible to receive TA services from NIC.

Due to budget and staffing limitations, NIC cannot fulfill all the requests for TA it receives. However, NIC will review each TA request and will provide a response to the requesting agency. In cases where the request cannot be met, NIC strives to provide information about alternate resources that may be useful to the requestor.

NIC’s TA services are paid for through funds provided to the agency by Congress to support the work of the agency. Typically, the requesting agency will be expected to provide meeting space, or other relevant information, and necessary access to facilities or agency staff.

NIC’s TA application form and other paperwork to initiate a TA engagement will stipulate all the conditions regarding receiving TA services from NIC. For example, the expectations for the TA regarding when it will start, how long it will last, the level of agency support expected from the requestor, what services NIC will provide, and how the TA engagement will conclude may be included along with other information. Typically, the requesting agency is expected to complete a detailed assessment (and, in some cases, a follow up assessment) to discern the effect of the TA services.

TA services can begin almost immediately depending on the services sought, the availability of NIC resources, the availability of the agency, and the urgency of the requestor’s need. In most cases, TA services begin within a few months of the request.

Occasionally, NIC begins a TA engagement with an agency only to discover that, due to changing circumstances, the services requested are not as originally planned. NIC maintains a flexible stance and a willingness to adjust each TA engagement to ensure that services provided meet the actual needs of the requesting agency and that NIC’s limited resources are used efficiently and effectively.

Yes. Because NIC is committed to delivering TA that is tailored to your agency, we understand that there are times when you may need help with more than one issue. However, remember that each request is reviewed on its own merit and that your agency should be able to demonstrate its capacity to engage in multiple projects at the same time.

NIC provides all its services free of charge. However, it is expected that the requesting agency provide access to staff, data, and anything else that will help us help you.

Yes. However, NIC is committed to ensuring that any TA you receive will help build capacity in your agency. As with any other request, NIC will carefully review your information to determine the level of need and what our response will be.

The CEO of your agency. For example, the Director of Corrections, the Sheriff, or County Administrator must sign the Request Assistance request letter.

NIC is not a funding agency. We do not provide you with a grant to purchase equipment or procure training. NIC does not provide funds directly to an agency. When we provide assistance, we fund the cost of consultants' travel and time.

Both NIC and the agency representative who requested the technical assistance will receive a copy of the technical assistance report. The agency is free to distribute the report. 

Upon delivery of the final Technical Assistance report to the agency that requested the assistance, the report becomes the property of that agency. The National Institute of Corrections will not distribute the report to non-NIC entities, or consider it an agency record under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), without the express, written approval of the agency.

Learn More: For more information about the Freedom of Information Act, visit https://www.bop.gov/foia/#tabs-0

No, NIC cannot provide such services. These studies are very lengthy and complicated, and we do not have the resources to do them.

What NIC can do is assist your agency in building the capacity to conduct these analyses, on its own, through training and materials available through the NIC Information Center. We can also help you understand how to get funding to support these initiatives.

No, NIC cannot provide funding for keynote speakers at a conference. However, NIC can provide training at a conference, providing it meets our initiatives.

Technical assistance or TA is a term used in education, government, and industry to mean “consultation.” NIC TA is short-term, no-cost help for agencies on a variety of issues.

No, NIC does not certify jails, even with a court order. NIC is not an investigatory or regulatory agency. NIC’s interest is in determining how best you can provide detention services in your community in a manner that is safe for inmates, staff and the public.

Does the National Institute of Corrections certify jails?

No, the National Institute of Corrections does not certify jails because it isn't a regulatory agency nor is it investigatory agency. NIC does help jails improve their training, processes, and procedures to better serve their incarcerated individuals, staff, and community.

NIC provides corrections agencies with a wide range of TA services including responding to critical incidents, assisting in problem-solving, as well as strategic or long-range planning, policy development, system mapping and other issues and topics.

Typically, an NIC TA engagement is a tailored response to a specific, limited need of a single requesting corrections agency. While some types of non-standard training may be delivered through TA, NIC’s training programs comprise standardized curricula that address a range of core correctional issues and are responsive to a range of corrections training needs.