Family Connections Project

This webinar was created for the Family Connections Project. On April 16, 2020, the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) presented a 1.5-hour training webinar on strategies for staff to communicate with families and children in correctional facilities.

This webinar covered four major topics:

• Communication 101: Basic Types and Everyday Challenges
• Points of Contact and Communication with Families in Correctional Facilities
• Best Practices on Communication and Active Listening
• Tips for Staff on Interacting with Families and Children in Correctional Facilities

This webinar is part of a series created for the Family Connections Project, the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) invites you to attend a 1.5-hour training on how to communicate with families and children in correctional facilities. Installment two of the series will provide relevant information and strategies for staff. This webinar will cover three major topics:

• Communication 101: Basic Types and Everyday Challenges
• Workplace Culture and Practices: Interacting with Families and Children in Correctional Facilities
• Applicable Practices for Staff: Interacting with Families and Children in Correctional Facilities

The National Institute of Corrections in collaboration with the Bureau of Justice Assistance presented “Building Partnerships & Innovative Practices” as part of an ongoing webinar series from the Family Connections Project. The presenters of the webinar discuss their unique partnerships centered on keeping children connected to their incarcerated parents. The webinar stems from the Model Practices for Parents in Prisons and Jails document.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn about promising practices pertaining to keeping children connected with their incarcerated parents.
• Gain an understanding of approaches to partnerships correctional administrators and community leaders have taken to successfully implement these practices.
• Learn of the different types of partnerships that can be formed and the importance of these partnerships.

Originally broadcast: August 23rd, 2021 8am PST / 9am MST /10am CST /11am EST

Speakers

• Hilary Cuthrell, (PhD) National Programs Advisor, National Institute of Corrections
• Trina Sexton, Warden York Correctional Institution, Connecticut Department of Correction
• Nancy Correa, (DrPH), Practice Administrator: Public Health Pediatrics, Texas Children’s Hospital
• Pajarita Charles (PhD), Assistant Professor, Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work, University of Wisconsin-Madison

This webinar took place August 28, 2018. The Family Connections in Correctional Facilities Project is intended to advance practices that foster contact and communication between parents experiencing incarceration and their children and family members by: developing a set of low-cost, high-impact correctional practices to reduce barriers to family connections and contact; working with select facilities to implement these practices; documenting how these practices can be implemented and are related to parent, family, and system outcomes. Participation in the Family Connections in Correctional Facilities Project provides an opportunity for correctional facilities to receive training and technical assistance for implementing practices geared to helping parents who are incarcerated maintain communication and contact with their children.

The presenters were as follows: Rachel Brushett, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance, US Department of Justice Hilary Cuthrell, National Institute of Corrections, US Department of Justice Bryce Peterson, Senior Research Associate, Justice Policy Center, Urban Institute Jocelyn Fontaine, Senior Research Fellow, Justice Policy Center, Urban Institute Lindsey Cramer, Research Associate, Justice Policy Center, Urban Institute Alina Martinez, Lead Coordinator, One Family Program, Community Works West