Covid-19 Resources

9th July 2020 @ 1600hrs (Brussels)

Staff Well-Being and Resilience in Correctional Environments – During and After a Pandemic

A webinar presented by the International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology (IACFP) and the ICPA Covid-19 Prisons Taskforce.

This webinar will explore the cumulative effects on staff working in correctional environments and how this is intensified during a pandemic. Panelists will also share strategies for:

• Maintaining social responsibility
• Building resilience
• Supporting staff mental well-being
• Building individual and organizational psychological capital
• Supporting staff working in both secure facilities and community supervision
• Phases of support

Speakers:

Dr Robin Belcher-Timme Psy.D, ABPP, CCHP-HM, Vice President & Senior Consultant Falcon Inc., USA
Dr Gabriel Ong, Principal Psychologist & Deputy Director of PCRD, Singapore Prison Service
Dr Sarah Lewis, Director Penal Reform Solutions, United Kingdom
Dr Jake Phillips, Reader in Criminology, Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom

Introduction: Dr Frank Porporino, President IACFP, Chair of ICPA Research & Development Network Group

Facilitated by Cherie Townsend, Executive Director IACFP

Link to Video
Link to Presentation Material
Link to Q&A

19th May 2020 @ 1600hrs (Brussels)

Using Technology to Tackle Covid-19 in Corrections

Technology is playing a crucial role in the way we respond to the current COVID-19 crisis in corrections. At the same time it has created huge challenges for correctional agencies to make those solutions available in a secure way on a very short notice. During this webinar, we will learn from different jurisdictions across the world what problems they are facing and how they have resolved them. Speakers will share with the audience their projects and experiences related to the rapid deployment of technologies, the challenges they had and the outstanding issues they may still have. It is during crisis periods that we need to focus on quick wins and short-term projects. Though, this brings potentially additional risks and concerns on the sustainability of the solutions. At some point things will go back to normal, or maybe not: during this webinar we will also reflect on the post-covid-19 period: What are the things that are there to stay and what will removed as soon as possible after the crisis? How will our current experiences change the way people look at communication and technology in the context of corrections in the future?

Speakers:

Peter Severin, President ICPA
Simon Bonk, CIO, Correctional Service Canada
Russ Nichols, CIO, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Håkan Klarin, CIO, Swedish Prison and Probation Service
Mr CHEUNG Shu-yan Eric, Senior Superintendent Hong Kong Correctional Services Department

Link to Video
Link to Presentation Material
Link to Q&A

COVID-19 has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation. World-wide, the public health response to this evolving pandemic is unprecedented and has challenged governments, countries and health systems. While prisons can provide the ideal environment to spread communicable diseases, it also offers the ideal environment to rapidly isolate, quarantine and cohort inmates with suspected or actual COVID-19.

Speaker:

Gary Forrest, Chief Executive, Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network, New South Wales Ministry of Health, Australia

Link to Video
Link to Presentation Material
Link to Q&A

COVID-19 and Detention Webinar 6: Towards a data-driven global response

Organiser: The Justice Health Unit (JHU) of the University of Melbourne

COVID-19 and Detention: Towards a data-driven global response is the sixth and final webinar in a series of six, convened by the Justice Health Unit (JHU) of the University of Melbourne, on Building a sustainable, comprehensive response to COVID-19 in relation to detention. The focus of this webinar will be on the need for reliable, routine, publicly-reported data on health status and services in detention to inform the global response going forward. Panellists are from leading global organizations including: the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Penal Reform International (PRI) and the International Corrections and Prisons Association (ICPA) as well as the Justice Health Unit.

In this final webinar, our international panel will consider what data are currently available on COVID-19 infection and responses in custodial settings globally; what additional data are required; and potential opportunities for enhancing global data collection on the health of incarcerated people.

Facilitator: Prof Stuart Kinner, Head of the Justice Health Unit, The University of Melbourne; Head of the Justice Health Group, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute

Speakers:

• Lindsay Pearce, Justice Health Unit (JHU), will summarise key findings and next steps from a global review of guidance for the prevention and control of COVID-19 in custodial settings.
• Dr Carina Ferreira-Borges, World Health Organization (WHO) will provide an overview of the Health in Prisons European Database (HIPED), and the WHO’s framework for prison health data collection.
• Tríona Lenihan, Penal Reform International (PRI) will examine key issues regarding equity and transparency in custodial health data collection and reporting.
• Dr Elena Leclerc, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will reflect on the importance of building the capacity of correctional authorities to collect and report on health data in custody
• Peter Severin, International Corrections and Prisons Association (ICPA) will discuss some of the challenges and opportunities associated with collecting and reporting health data in custodial settings.

The panellists’ presentations will be followed by a facilitated discussion enabling questions from participants via the Q & A function.

Following the webinar, a recording will be available, with the link emailed to registrants.  The recordings of previous webinars in this series are available here.

Engaging the Correctional Ecosystem in COVID-19 Vaccination: Strategies to Address Uptake in Incarcerated People and Correctional Staff

Organiser: SEICHE Center for Health & Justice, Yale University

One year ago, as the COVID-19 outbreak hit our nation, many probation and parole officials throughout the country sought to limit the impact of the coronavirus. The pandemic spawned several emergency measures and innovations within probation and parole systems to mitigate the suffering — from transforming vacant hotels into homes that facilitated the release of people jailed for parole violations to terminating fees for probation and unpaid tickets that too often land people behind bars.

The webinar will focus on strategies surrounding COVID-19 vaccinations within prisons and jails for incarcerated individuals and correctional staff. Our panelists will include public health vaccine experts, correctional administrators, and legal advocates to discuss a range of topics, including:

• Acknowledging the impact of systemic racism and high likelihood of vaccine hesitancy, what are promising approaches to supporting high vaccine uptake incarcerated individuals and correctional staff?
• What are correctional system approaches to addressing COVID-19 vaccine concerns among correctional staff and incarcerated individuals within their facilities?
• What are the ethical and legal considerations for such COVID-19 vaccine strategies?
  .

Speakers:

• Dr. Rupali Limaye, Associate Research Scientist @Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

• Secretary John Wetzel, Secretary of Corrections @Pennsylvania Department of Corrections

• Elizabeth Matos, Executive Director @Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts

From Pandemic Reforms to Systematic Change: How COVID-19 Housing and Financial Supports Can Permanently Alter Probation and Parole

Organiser: Columbia University

One year ago, as the COVID-19 outbreak hit our nation, many probation and parole officials throughout the country sought to limit the impact of the coronavirus. The pandemic spawned several emergency measures and innovations within probation and parole systems to mitigate the suffering — from transforming vacant hotels into homes that facilitated the release of people jailed for parole violations to terminating fees for probation and unpaid tickets that too often land people behind bars.

This webinar — the first of two on COVID-19 reforms — will feature probation and parole executives, formerly incarcerated people, and advocates who spearheaded innovations in housing and financial security that demonstrated changes in probation and parole are possible in the long term. The speakers will share their insights, including lessons learned, why these changes should stick, and the need for further reforms.

Speakers:

• Julio Medina, Founder, Executive Director, & CEO, Exodus Transitional Community, Inc. (Exodus coordinated with NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice to provide hotel rooms to facilitate release of people jailed for parole violations)

• John Klavins, Director of Community Corrections, Ramsey County, MN (Ramsey County eliminated fines and fees, specifically the fees tied to probation supervision)

• Betty McNeely, Programs & Services Director, Seattle Municipal Court (Seattle Municipal Court eliminated probation and other supervision fees)

COVID-19 and Detention Webinar 5: Australasian issues

Organiser: The Justice Health Unit of the University of Melbourne

The Justice Health Unit hosted the fifth webinar in the six webinar series on Building a sustainable, comprehensive response to COVID-19 in relation to detention, which focused on immigration detention.

The webinar, held on 4 February 2021, was co-facilitated by Prof Stuart Kinner and Dr Lucas Calais Ferreira of the Justice Health Unit.

Presentations and links

Link to recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RemryXO0CMY

The panellists presented in the order listed below. Links to the their PowerPoint presentations, where used, are provided.

• Larissa Strong, Acting Commissioner, Corrections Victoria. Her PowerPoint presentation is available here.
• John Hancock, Chief Legal Adviser, New Zealand Human Rights Commission. His PowerPoint presentation, including weblinks, is available here.
• Dr Erik Monasterio, Consultant in forensic psychiatry; Clinical Director and Director of Area Mental Health Services, Canterbury Regional Forensic Service; Senior clinical lecturer, University of Otago, Christchurch School of Medicine.  See recording for verbal presentation.
• Roxanne Moore, Noongar woman and human rights lawyer; Executive Officer, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services. Her PowerPoint presentation is available here.
• Dr Mindy Sotiri, Executive Director, Justice Reform Initiative. See recording for verbal presentation.

Race in America: Criminal Justice Reform

Organiser: The Washington Post

Join former U.S. Attorneys General Loretta E. Lynch and Alberto Gonzales, co-chairs of the National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice, for a conversation with Washington Post opinions writer Jonathan Capehart to discuss the Commission’s proposals for post-pandemic system reform

Speakers:

Alberto Gonzales, Former Attorney General

Loretta L. Lynch, Former Attorney General

COVID-19: Behind Bars

Organiser: The SEICHE Center for Health and Justice, Yale University

The SEICHE Center will gather a group of public health experts, correctional administrators, historians, and ethicists to discuss COVID-19 vaccine distribution within prisons and jails. The aims of this webinar are:
1. Briefly detail the science behind vaccines and the state of the COVID-19 vaccine development
2. Present an overview of the historical and ethical context surrounding vaccine distribution within prisons and jails in the U.S.
3. Highlight current efforts aiming to ensuring those who live and work inside prisons and jails will have access to the COVID-19 vaccine.

Speakers:

John Wetzel, Secretary of Corrections @Pennsylvania Department of Corrections

Jonathan Zenilman, Professor of Medicine @Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

DeAnna Hoskins, President & CEO @JustLeadershipUSA

COVID-19 and Detention Webinar 4: Immigration detention

Organiser: The Justice Health Unit of the University of Melbourne

The Justice Health Unit hosted the fourth international webinar in the six webinar series on Building a sustainable, comprehensive response to COVID-19 in relation to detention, which focused on immigration detention.

The webinar, held on 12 November 2020, was co-facilitated by Prof Stuart Kinner and Louise Southalan of the Justice Health Unit.

Presentations and links

Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu8yvj4p6dU

Presentations:

• Vivienne Chew, Acting Co-Director, International Detention Coalition. Her PowerPoint presentation is available here.
  • Note the collaborative 2020 report by IDC and HADRI, COVID-19 Impacts on Immigration Detention: Global Responses, available here; and
  • IDC Briefing Note, October 2020, Room for Hope: An Overview of Promising Alternatives to Detention in the Era of COVID-19, available here.
• Dr Mitsuyoshi Morita, Health Care In Detention Specialist, International Committee of the Red Cross. See recording for verbal presentation.
• Mark Travassos, MD, MSc, Assistant Professor, Director, Pediatric Global Health Track, Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine. His PowerPoint presentation is available here.
• Joanna Josephs, General Manager, Centre for Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Detainees. Her PowerPoint presentation is available here.

COVID-19: Behind Bars

Organiser: The Frederick Douglass Project for Justice

Featuring:
Daniel F. Martuscello III, Acting Executive Deputy Commissioner of the NY Department of Corrections and Community Supervision
Michael Capra, Superintendent of NY’s legendary Sing Sing Correctional Facility

With Special Guest:
Carmelle Norice-Tra*, MD, PhD., Member, Board of Directors, The Frederick Douglass Project for Justice and Infectious Disease Specialist at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health

*The opinions expressed are from Dr. Norice-Tra’s own perspective and should not be taken as representing the viewpoint of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, NIH, or NIAID. Dr. Norice-Tra serves on the Frederick Douglass Project for Justice Board of Directors in her personal capacity.

Moderated by:
Marc Howard, President and Founder of the Frederick Douglass Project for Justice
Lawrence Bartley, award-winning journalist at the Marshall Project

International Webinar: Covid-19 Effect on Managing Correctional Institutions

Organiser: Polytechnic of Correctional Sciences, Indonesia & BPSDM HUKUM dan HAM

Speakers:

Slamet Prihantara. Bc.IP.SH.M.Si, Director of Probation and Juvenile Reintegration, Indonesia
Dr. Mohd Nor Hayat Bin Mamat, Head of Treatment Unit, Inmate Management Division, Malaysia Prison Headquarters
Michiel van Herpen, Advisor, Reclassering, the Netherlands

Introduction: Dr. Asep Kurnia, S.H., M.M., Chief of BPSDM Law and Human Rights, Indonesia & Dr. Rachmayanthy. Bc.IP.,SH.,M.Si., Director of POLTEKIP

Moderator: Hastria Dwi Restusari, S.Sos., M.J, Indonesia

COVID-19 and Detention Webinar 3: Rights and accountability

Organiser: The Justice Health Unit of the University of Melbourne

This COVID-19 and Detention: Rights and accountability webinar is the third in a series of six free webinars, convened by the Justice Health Unit of the University of Melbourne, on Building a sustainable, comprehensive response to COVID-19 in relation to detention.

Moderators/Speakers:

• Facilitator: Prof Stuart Kinner, Head of the Justice Health Unit, The University of Melbourne; Head of the Justice Health Group, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute

Panel Members:

• Commissioner Peter Severin, Corrective Services NSW (Australia); President, International Corrections and Prisons Association (ICPA)
• Tríona Lenihan, Penal Reform International (PRI), Policy and International Advocacy Manager, based in London
• Dr Ruth Gray, Clinical Lead for Prison Dentistry in Northern Ireland; South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust (SEHSCT), Clinical Lead in Quality Improvement;
  Project ECHO (Northern Ireland), Clinical Educator and prison network lead

Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltzkIw8mbjs&feature=youtu.be

Link to Presentation Material: https://mspgh.unimelb.edu.au/centres-institutes/centre-for-health-equity/research-group/justice-health-unit/news-and-events/justice-health-unit-hosts-covid-19-and-detention-webinar-3-rights-and-accountability

Health Care and Health Care Financing for COVID-19 in Correctional Facilities

Organiser: The National Academy of Sciences | The Societal Experts Action Network (SEAN) & the Committee on Law and Justice (CLAJ)

How can correctional facilities manage COVID-19 related health care? What are strategies for financing COVID-19-releated health care in correctional facilities? Join this webinar to learn more about sick call and long-term care for COVID-19 patients, protection of medically vulnerable people in correctional facilities, and opportunities for expansion of Medicaid coverage for correctional populations.

Speakers:

• Dr. Jennifer Clarke, Rhode Island Department of Corrections
• Vikki Wachino, Community Oriented Correctional Health Services
• Dr. Brie Williams, University of California, San Francisco
• Dr. Tyler Winkelman, Hennepin Healthcare

COVID-19: How are Pretrial Service Agencies Dealing with the Coronavirus?

Organiser: National Institute of Corrections 

In line with directives from the White House, state authorities, and local officials, criminal justice agencies around the country have modified operations to comply with social distancing, travel restrictions, and mandatory health orders due to COVID-19. These policies have a significant impact on the judiciary, causing courthouse closures, the suspension of jury trials, and the halting or modification of court orders. It has required criminal justice decision makers to swiftly examine their pretrial populations and practices to comply with these modified operations.

In this webinar you will hear from decision makers who were responsible for upholding these recommendations. They will share their challenges and experiences in implementing these directives, as well as the opportunities they found for adopting long- term practice changes that focus on maximizing public safety, court appearances, and release of pretrial defendants.

Moderators/Speakers:

• Greg Crawford, Correctional Program Specialist, National Institute of Corrections
• Lori Eville, Correctional Program Specialist, National Institute of Corrections
• Spurgeon Kennedy, Vice-President, National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies

Panel Members:

• The Honorable Karen Thomas, Judge, 17th Judicial District of Kentucky
• Tara Boh Blair, Executive Officer, Kentucky Court of Justice, Department of Pretrial Services
• Kevin Burns, Captain, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, New Mexico
• Krista Lawrence, Division Director, 11th Judicial District and Magistrate Courts, New Mexico
• Jon Tunheim, Prosecuting Attorney, Thurston County District Court, Washington
• Marianne Clear, Director, Thurston County Pretrial Services, Washington

Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in Correctional Facilities

Organiser: The National Academy of Sciences | The Societal Experts Action Network (SEAN) & the Committee on Law and Justice (CLAJ)

Jails and prisons are epicenters of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. What are best practices for preventing new cases? Join this webinar to learn more about testing and contract tracing in correctional facilities, vaccine distribution, and best practices for decarceration.

Speakers:

• Annette Chambers-Smith, Ohio Department of Corrections
• Dr. Sara Smith Kariko, Washington State Department of Corrections
• Dr. Lisa Puglisi, Yale School of Medicine
• Dr. Homer Venters, former Chief Medical Officer of the NYC Correctional Health Services
• Dr. Bruce Western, Columbia University

Watch the recording here

Coronavirus: Justice Health Unit hosts COVID-19 and Detention Webinar 2: Decarceration

Organiser: The Justice Health Unit (JHU) of the University of Melbourne

The Justice Health Unit hosted the second international webinar in the six webinar series on Building a sustainable, comprehensive response to COVID-19 in relation to detention, which focussed on the important issue of decarceration.

The webinar, held on 20 August 2020, was co-facilitated by Prof Stuart Kinner and Claire Keen of the Justice Health Unit.

Watch the recording here

Coronavirus: Preventing harm and human rights violations in criminal justice systems

Organiser: Penal Reform International Organiser: Penal Reform International

As governments around the world continue to navigate the global coronavirus pandemic, with some beginning to ease restrictions in communities and prison systems, while others grapple with increasing infection rates and spikes in cases, PRI’s upcoming briefing considers how criminal justice systems are responding, how it is affecting people serving custodial and community sentences, and what action can be taken – now and in the longer term – to prevent harm and human rights violations. As governments around the world continue to navigate the global coronavirus pandemic, with some beginning to ease restrictions in communities and prison systems, while others grapple with increasing infection rates and spikes in cases, PRI’s upcoming briefing considers how criminal justice systems are responding, how it is affecting people serving custodial and community sentences, and what action can be taken – now and in the longer term – to prevent harm and human rights violations.

Building on our March briefing, Coronavirus: Healthcare and human rights of people in prison, on considerations to prevent outbreaks in prisons, we now analyse the impact of measures taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and issue recommendations for immediate and systemic reform. Building on our March briefing, Coronavirus: Healthcare and human rights of people in prison, on considerations to prevent outbreaks in prisons, we now analyse the impact of measures taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and issue recommendations for immediate and systemic reform.

Watch the recording here

COVID-19 and Detention Webinar 1: Global overview

Organiser: The University of Melbourne

This COVID-19 and Detention: Global overview webinar is the first in a series of six free webinars, convened by the Justice Health Unit of the University of Melbourne, on Building a sustainable, comprehensive response to COVID-19 in relation to detention.

The overall focus will be on:

• Understanding the policy/operational responses so far
• Identifying what has been missing from the responses
• Developing recommendations on what is needed to achieve comprehensive, sustainable, cross-governmental responses

Following the webinar a recording will be available, with the link emailed to registrants. Future monthly webinars will be on the following themes:

• COVID-19 and decarceration
• Rights, accountability, information and standards in a COVID-19 world
• Immigration detention and COVID-19
• Australasian issues
• International responses – next steps for policy, advocacy, funding and research

Facilitated by: Prof Stuart Kinner, Head of the Justice Health Unit, University of Melbourne; Head of the Justice Health Group, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute

Panellists:

• Dr Carina Ferreira-Borges, (WHO), Programme Manager Alcohol, Illicit Drugs and Prison Health at the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Europe, providing technical support on policy development, monitoring and surveillance systems, research and capacity building to inform public health policy in 53 countries.
• Dr Elena Leclerc, (ICRC), Health Care in Detention Programme Coordinator, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has worked for the ICRC for over 22 years in various contexts and countries. Now based in Geneva, her work has included development of guidelines on prison health, and postgraduate education in health care in detention.
• Terry Norris Hackett, (ICRC), Regional Prison System Advisor, ICRC, has worked in senior and advisory corrections roles in Canada, Africa and Asia. He is now is based in Manila supporting ICRC delegations and detaining authorities in the Philippines and Malaysia to address systemic humanitarian concerns in places of detention.
• Prof Carlos Magno Neves, Collective Health Department, University of Rio Verde-UniRV, and researcher at the Observatory of Social Security and Justice Systems-OSJ/UFSC, Brazil. He works and advocates for the rights of incarcerated people, adolescents, and vulnerable groups.

Watch the recording here

COVID-19 and Incarceration: An International Perspective on Disease Mitigation Strategies

Organiser: The Health Justice Lab at Yale University

An international panel of experts will discuss innovative strategies for mitigating COVID-19 within correctional settings, including decarceration efforts, wastewater testing, and mobile technologies.

Moderators: Lisa Puglisi, MD, and Emily Wang, MD, MAS, Yale School of Medicine

Decarceration and Community: COVID-19 and Beyond (Part II)

Organiser: The Radcliffe Institute

The Radcliffe Institute is offering a two-part series of virtual programs to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on incarcerated people.

Part II of this discussion series considers how public officials responsible for the operation of jails and prisons are responding to the current pandemic. What challenges and opportunities present themselves, given the reality of COVID-19 in carceral spaces? Responding to the issues raised by impacted people during the first session, how do we understand public health in and around carceral spaces, and how do we develop strategies to keep communities safe during the pandemic? Drawing on decades of collective experience running county jails and state prisons along with expertise in addressing health concerns within and outside such settings, the panelists will consider possible solutions, including justice reinvestment, decarceration, and early release.

Presenters:

Patricia Caruso, former director, Michigan Department of Corrections
Harold Clarke, director, Virginia Department of Corrections; former director, Massachusetts Department of Correction and Nebraska Department of Correctional Services; former secretary, Washington State Department of Corrections
Homer Venters, president, Community Oriented Correctional Health Services; clinical instructor, NYU Langone Health; former chief medical officer, NYC Health + Hospitals/Correctional Health Services; former director of programs; Physicians for Human Rights

Moderated by Mary T. Bassett, director of the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health Human Rights and FXB Professor of the Practice of Health and Human Rights; Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; former commissioner, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Watch the recording here

Electronic Monitoring as a Solution for Decreasing Jail Capacity Amidst the COVID-19 Crisis

Organiser: American Probation and Parole Association

Keep Communities Safe While Reducing Overcrowded Jail Populations

As governments and municipalities work to cope with the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, overcrowding in state and local jails is presenting a significant public safety challenge. The OM500 electronic monitoring solution enables authorities to remotely monitor low-risk inmates who are released in an effort to reduce the spread of the virus due to overcrowding by wearing an ankle bracelet. The solution provides information that helps personnel make smarter, more effective decisions, reducing the stress on staff while increasing public safety. Electronic monitoring decreases recidivism and incarceration rates and therefore the need for additional jail and prison capacity. Plus, the ongoing costs are significantly lower when compared to the expense, human resources, and stress of providing for incarceration.

Presenters:

Scott Durham, Director, Vertical Sales
Dave Scheppegrell, Senior Director, Omnilink Offender Monitoring
Dana Childers, Director, PLM Security

Decarceration and Community: COVID-19 and Beyond (Part I)

Organiser: The Radcliffe Institute

The Radcliffe Institute is offering a two-part series of virtual programs to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on incarcerated people.

Part I of this discussion series, cosponsored by the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, focuses on people in jails and prisons as well as the communities from which they come and to which they will return. The panelists work directly with people impacted by incarceration and several focus particularly on the all-too-often neglected plight of incarcerated women and their families. The discussion will probe how incarceration imperils particular communities and will illustrate the ways the COVID-19 crisis magnifies these inequities, with deadly results.

Presenters:

Gina Clayton-Johnson, executive director and founder, Essie Justice Group
Sofiyyah Elijah, executive director, Alliance of Families for Justice
Andrea James, founder, Families for Justice as Healing; executive director, National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls
Zach Norris, executive director, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights

Moderated by Dehlia Umunna, clinical professor of law and faculty deputy director of the Criminal Justice Institute, Harvard Law School

Watch the recording here

COVID-19 & The Global Fight Against Mass Incarceration

Organiser: IDPC (International Drug Policy Consortium), WOLA (Washington office on Latin America) and Penal Reform International.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led governments to release an unprecedented number of people from prison and curb new admissions to prevent deadly outbreaks in prisons and other detention centres. This webinar will look at the drivers of mass incarceration worldwide, sharing analysis on the impact of COVID-19, the negative impacts of imprisonment exposed by the pandemic, and the challenges and opportunities it provides for sustainable reform.

Watch the recording here

Combatting COVID-19 with Leader Character

Organiser: The Ivey Academy

The devastation of COVID-19 requires leaders to demonstrate strength of character to help navigate this treacherous time. COVID-19 has challenged every model of disruption and reveals that when we activate our character, we can do the impossible and imagine the previously unimaginable.

Join us on Thursday, May 21, from 12-1 p.m. EDT for a complimentary livestream where we’ll examine how to harness the dimensions of leader character to cope – and thrive – during these stressful and isolating times. We’ll be joined by Ivey Academy professor Mary Crossan, MBA ’85, PhD ’91, a leader character expert, and Stephen Virgin, Director, Character Based Leadership, at the Canada Revenue Agency. Together we will discuss how you can develop your own character, how teams can work together cohesively, what organizations can do to activate collective character, and how to use leader character to continue to address the many pressing problems that had previously seemed intractable.

Watch the recording here

Community Corrections Virtual Roundtable: As the COVID-19 Dust Settles: Agency Efforts to Recover

COVID-19 hit many probation and parole departments hard. Daily operations were often suspended, employees were affected both personally and professionally, and as Dr. Beth Skinner said, “There is no play book for this kind of event.” As the COVID-19 dust settles, we want to talk to a few Directors across the country whose next challenge, like many of ours, is to recover from the impact that COVID-19 is having on our staff, clients, and overall criminal justice system. The 2nd part of APPA’s Virtual Roundtable series will feature:

Dr, Brian Lovins, Moderator, Principal, Justice System Partners
Michael Cimino, Probation Chief, Maricopa County Adult Probation
Russ Marlan, Deputy Director, Michigan Department of Corrections
Joe Winkler, Assistant Secretary of Community Corrections, Florida Department of Corrections
Jeffrey Green, Acting Director of the Division of Adult Parole Operations, California Department of Corrections

Participants will be provided with insight into how these four jurisdictions are handling the aftermath of COVID-19 from staff to justice-involved individuals, courts and the criminal justice system, and the impact of COVID-19 will have on 2021 budgets.

Watch the recording here

Viral Threat within Prison Walls: The Corona War of the Wardens

Organisers: International Institute for Migration and Security Research

Speaker: Col. (ret.) Natan Paz – highly esteemed international lecturer who has more than 24 years of experience in prison management and in the fine units of the special forces of Israel. He is a former head of the national prison special intelligence unit DROR and former commander of RAMON- the prison with the maximum level of security. Together with him, we will discuss how to protect prisons from an outbreak of the Coronavirus? Is there a right way to implement a prisoner releasing tool? What do we do with new detainees?

Watch the recording here

State Prisons and COVID-19

Organisers: Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University

How should directors of state prison systems respond to the current pandemic? Patricia Caruso and Harold Clarke will draw on their decades of experience to address the particular challenges posed by COVID-19. They will consider possible solutions, including steps to protect both the incarcerated population and staff, repurposing prison garment shops to produce protective gear for people on the front lines, and responsible early release—all with the aim of contributing to lasting public safety. We welcome the participation of people who are directly impacted by crime and punishment in the Q and A portion of the program. Subsequent Radcliffe programming will seek to feature the perspectives of currently and formerly incarcerated individuals and of their families.

Speakers:

• Patricia Caruso, former director, Michigan Department of Corrections
• Harold Clarke, director, Virginia Department of Corrections; former director, Massachusetts Department of Corrections and Nebraska Department of Correctional Services; and former secretary, Washington State Department of Corrections

Moderator:

• Kaia Stern, practitioner in residence: law, education, and justice at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, lecturer on education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and cofounder and director of the Prison Studies Project, Harvard University

Watch the recording here.

COVID-19: How are Veterans Treatment Courts Dealing with the Coronavirus?

Everything APPA does is aimed at reducing recidivism to keep our communities safe. That means strengthening the role of community corrections industry. Our primary goals are to inform the field, develop professionals in the community corrections field, and to lead best practices. APPA will be hosting this live webinar about How Veterans Treatment Courts are Dealing with the Coronavirus so that we can share the experiences of three jurisdictions: Tarrant County, Texas, El Paso County, Colorado, and Salt Lake City, Utah, and how they are adjusting to COVID-19 while maintaining a connection to justice-involved veterans in their programs and at the same time keeping their communities safe.

Objectives

– Share experiences from jurisdictions across the country and how they are dealing with the coronavirus pandemic;
– Identify innovative approaches to helping veterans maintain a connection to veterans treatment courts and stay in compliance with program requirements;
– Highlight early successes and challenges;
– How mentors are helping veterans bridge the gap; and
– Provide key resources to the field.

In 2008, Judge Robert Russell started the first Veterans Treatment Court (VTC) in Buffalo, NY. There are now more than 560 Veterans Treatment Courts across the country! What motivated him was the realization that many of the veterans who populated his mental health and drug courts had lost their way and were struggling. Their experiences in a combat zone led many of them to self-medicate in an attempt to assuage their mental and emotional-related issues. These courts have served to raise an awareness of the unique issues facing justice-involved veterans, issues that are a significant factor in their descent into the criminal justice system. The COVID-19 global pandemic is another challenge we are all facing. Please join the conversation and lets work together to share experiences and forge a path forward to continuing to help our justice-involved veterans.