Jails are a complex ecosystem with a variety of challenges. Staffing, health care, budgeting, adequate funding and resources, recruitment, hiring, and retention, aging facilities, jail planning, managing special populations, appropriate staff training, and a host of other items are all relevant issues for Indian Country jails. Resources on this page are offered in support of Indian Country jails, their missions, and the significance they hold among the nation’s jails.
The Screening and Assessment Tools Chart provides a comprehensive guide and links to evidence-based screening and assessment tools you can use with your patients from adolescence to adulthood. It is organized by substance type, patient age, and administration method to help you find the right tool for your practice.
America’s substance misuse crisis is a public safety and public health emergency that threatens the well-being of individuals who misuse drugs as well as their families, communities, and, ultimately, the nation. It impacts first responders, the criminal justice system, child welfare and foster care, behavioral health systems, and victim service providers. Supporting the field in addressing this epidemic is one of the U.S. Department of Justice’s top priorities and, at the center of this response, is the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program (COSSUP).
The Stepping Up initiative supports local jurisdictions in establishing and reaching measurable goals that demonstrate reduced prevalence of serious mental illness across the justice system.
CDC provides guidance for correctional and detention facilities and other groups that support persons who are incarcerated or detained.
Improving safety and health for correctional workers and people who are incarcerated are widespread yet separate initiatives. Correctional workers and people who are incarcerated experience similar challenges involved with poor workplaces and living conditions, including mental health crises, violence, stress, and chronic health issues, and the available resources lack integration with respect to safety and health promotion. This scoping review sought to contribute to an integrated approach for correctional system safety and health resources and identify studies of correctional resources that address health promotion among correctional workers and people who are incarcerated. Guided by PRISMA, a search of gray literature, also termed peer-reviewed literature, published between 2013–2023 (n = 2545) was completed, and 16 articles were identified. Resources primarily targeted individual and interpersonal levels. At every level of intervention, resources improved the environment for both workers and those incarcerated, with trends of less conflict, more positive behaviors, and improved relations, access to care, and feelings of safety. The corrections environment is impacted by changes from both workers and people who are incarcerated and should be examined using a holistic approach. Future health and safety resources should target the larger correctional environment by utilizing practices, policies, and procedures to improve safety and health for incarcerated people and workers.
Maintaining an inmate’s health can serve as a challenge due to unhealthy background, risky behavior, and long imprisonment. This study aimed to analyze the prevalence of participation in health promotion activities among Israeli inmates and its association with their physical activity levels and subjective health status.
Visiting is an essential way for families to maintain and strengthen relationships during a family member’s incarceration, particularly for children with incarcerated parents. This brief shares 12 best practices for supplementing in-person visiting with video visiting options.
Affordable housing is fundamental to successful reentry. To help policymakers build sustainable pathways to housing, The Council of State Governments Justice Center, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance, conducted the first national survey of state Departments of Corrections reentry coordinators, receiving responses from 37 out of 50 states plus the District of Columbia. This national report outlines current practices, highlighting areas where policymakers can direct efforts to increase connections to housing.
This document provides a series of brief descriptions of Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) programs that have the purpose of supporting jails and criminal justice through funding, training and technical assistance (TTA), and other methods. Each program listed includes a brief scope note and links to relevant websites.