The Louisiana Department of Corrections was recently selected by the Vera Institute of Justice as one of five state correctional departments to participate in the Safe Alternatives to Segregation Initiative, which aims to assist agencies in reducing their use of restrictive housing, according to DOC officials. Louisiana, Minnesota, Nevada, Utah and Virginia were chosen after a competitive proposal process and will join five jurisdictions — Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon, New York City and Middlesex County, New Jersey — who have been participating in the initiative since April 2015.
The practice of restrictive housing is common in U.S. prisons and jails as a way of maintaining order, as a response to all levels of infractions and as a way to manage people who are considered challenging.
Vera will work with Louisiana to study their use of restrictive housing and help reduce the practice with strategies developed under guidance from the initiative’s advisory council, which brings together members of corrections systems that have successfully reduced their use of restrictive housing and experts in mental health and correctional reform.
The 21-month partnership will begin in early 2017 and is supported by a $2.2 million grant awarded to Vera earlier this year by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance. The selected states will match up to $50,000 of the funding. Louisiana is providing a $40,000 in-kind match.
In the spring, Vera will release a report on their findings and recommendations from its work with the five jurisdictions who joined the initiative last year — many of whom have already begun implementing reforms.
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