BJA FY 2022 Tribal Corrections Capacity Building Training and Technical Assistance Program

In this project, the National Criminal Justice Training Center (NCJTC) will address the needs and challenges of BJA Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation Purpose Area 3 grantees and non-grantee tribal corrections and reentry jurisdictions and professionals (“grantees/non-grantees”) through carefully constructed, high quality TTA, peer learning opportunities, and valuable web-based resources. Together with partner, the Tribal Justice Institute of the University of North Dakota (TJI), and in collaboration with BJA, NCJTC will conduct respectful listening sessions to assess the training and technical assistance (TTA) needs of the grantees/non-grantees to be served. Based on these need assessments, and their applicable grant goals, the grantees/non-grantees will receive individualized TTA work plans for review, agreement, and revision, as needed. The partners will develop and deliver specialized TTA in the form of assigned coaches, peer learning opportunities, specialized webinars or Communities of Practice (CoPs), onsite and/or virtual technical assistance that will assist in aligning tribal community supervision agencies with grantees/non-grantees, and evidence-based practices with tribal cultural practices, integrating trauma informed and restorative practices. Technical assistance will be customized to individual jurisdictions or built to encompass a broader tribal community audience as applicable. To provide thought leadership to the field, NCJTC will coordinate with tribal jurisdictions, TTA providers, and federal and/or state partners to understand key overlapping initiatives and issues in the field. Federal partners and other stakeholders and influencers will be invited to discuss key issues in regular meetings. NCJTC will maintain a listserv of grantees, non-grantees, and key contacts for grant and related activities. To engage state, local, and federal governments in cooperative corrections agreement efforts with tribes, TJI will facilitate an Intergovernmental Leadership Meeting and report on outcomes. To disseminate knowledge to the field, NCJTC/TJI will develop and maintain an online Clearinghouse containing articles on relevant probation and/or reentry topics. TJI will also develop a judicial toolkit on probation and re-entry best practices posted to the Clearinghouse, TJI and BJA networks. The partners will disseminate best practices, lessons learned, and successful strategies with stakeholders at relevant conferences and workshops. They will address the need to increase a diverse pool of tribal trainers in the corrections/reentry field through train-the-trainer workshops that will allow attendees to earn transferable college credits. This project will ensure that grantees/non-grantees will receive the learning and support they need to help their assigned criminal justice clients address their criminogenic needs in order to benefit and strengthen tribal justice systems and communities.