Grant Awarded for Center To Promote Humane Prisons
Perhaps they don’t deserve the amenities of a five-star hotel, but those incarcerated in our nation’s prisons should not be forced to survive in squalid, rat-infested conditions. To that end, the Department of Justice (DOJ) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) this week unveiled a $2 million grant award to establish the DOJ Jails and Justice Support Center to help create and maintain safe environments for people in the custody of the nation’s jails and those who work in jail facilities.
“It is the responsibility of our corrections systems — jails and prisons alike — to keep individuals in their custody safe and to treat them with dignity and respect,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “We are pleased to work with our partners to ensure that the professionals operating our nation’s jails have the tools and training they need to safeguard the rights and well-being of individuals incarcerated in their facilities.”
There are about 3,000 jails operating nationwide, with an average daily total prisoner count of about 734,000. BJA and NIC were especially concerned that 1,200 prisoners died in local jails in 2019. The grant program aims to establish a first-of-its-kind center that will be a centralized hub for providing resources and technical assistance support to help jails maintain safe and humane environments for people who are detained, for their visitors and for those who work there. It will also provide jail staff with specialized trainings, core competency development, expert assessments and consultation on issues related to jail administration, and other professional development resources.
The awarding agencies will issue the award to establish the center to the nonprofit organization CNA, and the National Sheriffs’ Association, the Major County Sheriffs of America, the American Jail Association and the National Association of Counties will be partners in the effort. This center will further DOJ’s mission by improving compliance among the nation’s jails with all constitutional and federal statutory requirements and other relevant U.S. law, regulations, standards, best practices and guidelines.
We send our best for the groups working on this program.
Join us for our following Thompson Grants events:
Federal Grants Forum | Dec. 7-9, 2022 | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Nonprofit Legal, Finance, and Grants Conference | April 6-7, 2023 | Washington, D.C.
