Evaluation of in-prison programming for incarcerated women: Addressing trauma and prior victimization

The Urban Institute (UI), and its partners, the Association of State Correctional Administrators (ASCA), the National Center on Victims of Crime (NCVC), and the Center for Effective Public Policy (CEPP), propose to conduct a two-tiered, 36-month, mixed-methods study of the policies, programs, and practices used nationwide to address the effects of violent victimization prevalent among incarcerated women with the goal of generating actionable information for policymakers, practitioners, and program developers. UI would conduct a national scan of practice (Tier 1) that draws from: phone interviews with all 50 state departments of correction (DOC) leaders; a web-based survey of state-level victim services coalitions; and phone interviews with staff (administrators, clinicians, and program staff) in 15 women’s prisons offering victim services. These activities will capture the state of corrections responses to violent victimization, including all types of interpersonal violence, incarcerated women experienced before and during their incarceration. Tier 2 study activities include process evaluations and evaluability assessments (EA) in five women’s prisons, identified during Tier 1. Five case studies will then be conducted on five promising victim service strategies. These case studies will document the conceptual logic, operations, and outcomes of each facility’s victim services strategy and inform the creation of a typology of approaches that can be used to guide future research and programming. Note: “This project contains a research and/or development component, as defined in applicable law," and complies with Part 200 Uniform Requirements - 2 CFR 200.210(a)(14). CA/NCF