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Professional Development Workshops: Corrections

The School of Criminology and Criminal Justice proudly presents a series of workshops for criminal justice professionals that explore opportunities for criminal justice reforms. The overarching theme of these workshops centers on changes that generate system improvements. Each workshop has been specifically designed with emphasis on the importance of a healthy agency and organizational culture driven by excellence in policy development, carefully crafted training, and inspired leadership. Each workshop explores how agencies can perform successfully by both engaging advancements within the field and also by embracing certain external pressures for process changes.

Panelists will engage the audience in discussions surrounding leadership and how core criminal justice practices can generate significant improvements in agency performance. Transformational leaders make little distinction between externally driven change and reforms that arise from within their agency; leaders lead by embracing the change and focusing on outcomes.

Upcoming Workshops:

AMEREICAN JAIL ASSOCIATION AND UNO SCCJ COLLABORATIVE OFFERING:
THE JAIL EXECUTIVE INSTITUTE

The University of Nebraska at Omaha School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (UNO SCCJ) and the American Jail Association (AJA) have entered into a cooperative leadership training initiative in offering the Jail Executive Institute (JEI). JEI will provide prison and jail executives with new and innovative best practices in the field and a chance to learn from and network with one another.

JEI is open to jail executives, both sworn and civilian, who direct, administer and/or are in charge of the operations of a local correctional agency and have final decision-making authority in the facility with regard to policy and procedures, staff as well as inmate safety and security, maintenance, staffing, training, programs, and preparation of annual budget and expenditures. Members of an executive command staff involved with executive-level policy, operations, budget and human resources/disciplinary decision are also eligible to attend. Class size is limited to 25 participants and it is recommended that no more than 2 individuals from the same agency attend at the same time. All applications will be reviewed by the JEI Advisory Committee. Once eligibility is determined, candidates will be notified and sent acceptance materials. The geographic location of applicants and rated jail capacity will be taken into consideration to form a well-rounded class. Applications will be accepted electronically or by mail.

The Jail Executive Institute is a nine-month commitment for participants. The initial portion of the Institute will be held in Omaha, Nebraska on UNOs campus starting Sunday, September 19, 2021 with daily in-person sessions running through Friday, September 24. Then, from October, 2021 through April, 2022, participants will meet once per month for a 90-minute zoom session. The JEI concludes with all participants attending AJA’s Conference and Jail Expo from May 21-24, 2022 in Long Beach, California, with JEI participants delivering oral presentations before a panel of jail experts.

JEI tuition is $2,995 and includes all class materials, lodging for five (5) nights, daily snacks, and three (3) evening meals. Airfare, transportation to/from the airport in Omaha, Nebraska, and some meals are the responsibility of the participant. For more information, visit the AJA website or contact Dr. Mark Foxall at markfoxall@unomaha.edu.

Completed Workshops:

Medicolegal Death Investigations held June, 2021.

In collaboration with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice helped facilitate a three (3) day course on Medicolegal Death Investigations in June of 2021. The seminar explored aspects of the cause and manner of death, forensic anthropology, environmental reconstruction of post-mortem events, and distinguished foul-play from alterations caused by other factors. Instruction included crime scene investigations, firearm and toolmark criminalistics, entomology, toxicology, technology in the courtroom, and laws pertaining to death investigations. Also addressed were first responders, trauma, and working with families of homicide victims.

Brain Injury and Domestic Violence: What the Legal System Needs to Know
held Friday, March 30, 2018

This free workshop entitled Brain Injury and Domestic Violence: What the Legal System Needs to Know was presented the morning of Friday, March 30, in room 101 of the College of Public Affairs and Community Service building (CPACS) on the University of Nebraska Omaha campus. This workshop, which was conducted jointly by Brain Injury Alliance of Nebraska, University of Nebraska Medical Center Department of Neuropsychology, University of Nebraska Omaha School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, and Women’s Center for Advancement – Omaha, focused on the correlation of brain injuries and domestic violence. Participants learned about the prevalence of domestic violence, brain injury and co-occurring condition, brain injury screening tools, and community resources.

This workshop benefited first responders, probation officers, parole officers, attorneys, corrections staff, judges, and law enforcement personnel. For Probation Officers, this training offered 3 hours approved for Supreme Court of NE, Office of Probation Administration’s Registered Service Provider List for the Standardized Model for the Delivery of Substance Abuse and Adult Behavioral Health Services.

Workshop speakers included:

  • Sara Eliason, Prevention and Education Manager, Women’s Center for Advancement
  • Matthew Garlinghouse, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Neurological Science, University of Nebraska Medical Center
  • Peggy Reisher, Executive Director, Brain Injury Alliance of Nebraska

Jail and Prison Litigation - held Friday, October 20, 2017
This workshop covered strategies employed to litigate and defend the governance of corrections entities. Participants gained a deeper understanding of jail/prison litigation and its ongoing role in determining humane conditions of confinement. This interactive session will cast the dilemmas of corrections management against the evolving social and legal aspects of corrections. The Nebraska Bar Association approved CLEs for attorneys attending this session and it was broadcast via webcam.

Facilitator:
Bob Houston, Senior Community Research Associate, UNO School of Criminology and Criminal Justice

Introduction:
Gaylene Armstrong, Ph.D. Director and Professor, UNO School of Criminology and Criminal Justice

Program Moderator:
Robert Francis Cryne, U.S. Justice Department prosecutor (retired)

Panelists:
Laurie Smith Camp, Chief Nebraska Federal Judge
J. Kirk Brown, Nebraska Department of Justice (retired)
Harold W. Clarke, Director of Corrections, The Commonwealth of Virginia
Danielle Conrad, Executive Director, ACLU Nebraska

Military Veterans in the Criminal Justice System: From Arrest to Re Entry in Douglas County, Nebraska - held Friday, November 3, 2017

This workshop provided participants with a working knowledge of both the Douglas County Department of Corrections (CDCD) Veteran’s Housing Unit and the Douglas County Veteran’s Treatment Court (DCVTC). DCVTC is made up of an extensive collaboration between the criminal justice system (judge, prosecutor, defense lawyer) and dedicated partners, mentors, mental health specialists, addiction specialists, including criminal justice, federal veterans’ agencies, and local community veterans’ organizations. The target population includes military veterans who have been charged with felony offense(s) and who are diagnosed with substance use and/or mental health issues.