Launching the NYC Justice Training Institute
By Carla Sinclair, Communications Project Director, and Miriam Goodman, Senior Policy Associate
The new digital training portal connects service providers with practical tools to better serve New Yorkers with complex mental and behavioral health needs, helping them to both avoid the criminal legal system and create stability and opportunities to thrive.
Every year, thousands of people return back to their New York City communities from incarceration. Thousands more facing trial are diverted into alternative-to-incarceration (ATI) programs or served through court-mandated programs. Behind each story of a smooth, successful reentry is a network of community organizations providing a web of services, from reentry and employment to housing, mental health, substance use, and more.
The new Justice Training Institute (JTI) is a first-of-its-kind resource hub for these critical organizations who serve people with mental and behavioral health needs through ATI, reentry, and reentry housing programs. Launched today in partnership between the NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ) and the CUNY Institute for State & Local (ISLG), the JTI will be a one-stop-shop for trainings, with a calendar of upcoming sessions as well as opportunities for organizations to access on-demand, tailored training and technical assistance (TTA).
These trainings and resources will equip MOCJ-funded providers, overall NYC organizations, and the public with practical skills rooted in evidence-informed practices to improve service engagement, care coordination, and reduce gaps in services. There will also be opportunities for health care providers to learn more about working with people involved in the criminal legal system.
These trainings and resources will equip MOCJ-funded providers, overall NYC organizations, and the public with practical skills rooted in evidence-informed practices to improve service engagement, care coordination, and reduce gaps in services.
Topics include:
Understanding the criminal legal system, the roles of system actors, and common terms
Developing person-centered case management that addressing criminogenic risk and behavioral health needs
Basics of mental illness, substance use and co-occurring disorders to recognize needs
Best practices for case management and overdose prevention
Rapport-building techniques grounded in trauma-informed care, cultural humility, and motivational interviewing
Crisis management steps, conflict deescalation, and ways to connect with the NYC crisis service system
Navigating the housing, benefits, and workforce systems to provide warm handoffs and coordinated follow-up
Regularly and safely documenting client data and supporting service providers to use data for quality improvement
CUNY ISLG will maintain the calendar and respond to, develop, and deliver the TTA. Staff on the project have experience in social work, education, direct services, community organizing, research, and criminal legal policy.
“These organizations are doing extraordinary and essential work providing alternatives to incarceration and critical reentry support for people returning to their communities,” said Miriam Goodman, Senior Policy Associate at CUNY ISLG. “Through the JTI, we’re creating space for staff to access training and resources that support and strengthen what they’re already doing every day.”
“Through the JTI, we’re creating space for staff to access training and resources that support and strengthen what they’re already doing every day.”
- Miriam Goodman, CUNY ISLG
“We have heard providers’ request for additional support service delivery, staff retention, data collection, and the development of evidence-informed programs. The NYC Justice Training Institute will support justice practitioners, organizations, and agencies on core skills, and expansion of quality of services for people in the justice system. We want to assist in decreasing the research to practice gap,” said Molly Slothower, Executive Director of Research Innovation, NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice
For more, see the JTI website and sign up for updates.