Dear ACA Member,

It is important to our profession that the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) maintains its full funding. NIC provides professional development, training opportunities, leadership, and other vital services to the field of corrections.

We encourage you to contact your member(s) of the US House of Representatives and your US Senators and urge them to support full funding for NIC.  Email and phone calls will certainly help in getting our message out.  However, sending formal letters and meeting with your member(s) and/or his/her staff are the most effective ways to let them know how supportive you are of NIC and how concerned you are that funding for this vital agency has been eliminated.

On our website and below, we are providing two sample letters for you to use in corresponding with your members of Congress. Please feel free to modify these drafts as you wish.  If you have specific examples of how your agency (and the members' district) has benefited from the work of NIC you should include it in your letter.  If you need assistance in contacting your Member of Congress, please contact Eric Schultz at ACA by email at erics@aca.org or by calling (800) 222-5646 x0110.

Thank you for your help with this important effort.  If the NIC were to be eliminated, the entire corrections profession would surely suffer.

Sincerely,

James A. Gondles, Jr., CAE

Executive Director  

May 1, 2008

The Honorable _______________

United States Senate

Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator _________________:

I am writing in support of the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) and to ask for your support for funding in FY 2009 at $21 million, consistent with current funding.

The National Institute of Corrections is the only federal agency with a legislative mandate to provide specialized services to the corrections profession.  It is unique because it provides direct services rather than financial assistance as the primary means of carrying out its mission and because it responds directly to the needs identified by practitioners in the field. 

NIC provides practical assistance in planning and implementing improvements at the federal, state and local levels while contributing to cost efficiency and effectiveness in planning, design and operations of new jails and prisons, community corrections programs, offender workforce development programs and offender classification and risk assessment.

The training opportunities and technical assistance provided by NIC to sheriffs' offices, jail administrators, judges, directors of state departments of corrections and others is invaluable to the profession.  NIC also provides research and evaluation guidance and data collection, networks for information sharing and the only national corrections-specific information clearinghouse capable of surveying the field.

Despite being a small agency with a limited budget, the NIC is capable of providing services and support mechanisms that make a significant impact on federal, state and local correctional agencies and the profession as a whole. 

Please support full funding for the National Institute of Corrections.

Sincerely,
 

May 1, 2008

The Honorable ___________________

United States House of Representatives

Washington, DC  20515

Dear Rep. ______________________:

I am writing to ask for your support for full funding of the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) in FY 2009. 

NIC was created in 1971 by legislative mandate to provide specialized services to correctional facilities nationwide, the NIC's mission is to provide comprehensive planning and support to state and local correctional agencies to improve and promote public safety.  The aim of the NIC is to promote correctional practices and procedures that maximize the safety of the community, staff, and offenders; hold offenders accountable; and improve the likelihood of offenders choosing responsible, law-abiding behavior.

The NIC has played a critical role in supporting national, state and local initiatives designed to improve juvenile justice and adult correctional systems.  To remain responsive to the field, the NIC continuously monitors the needs of correctional practitioners and provides training, technical assistance, information services, and policy/program development assistance to federal, state, and local corrections agencies.

The NIC encourages the development of a body of corrections' knowledge, research coordination, and policy formulation recommendations, as well as provides professional training for corrections employees and executives.  Through training and resources, the NIC has brought about improvements in the professionalism of the corrections field over the last 30 years.

Through practical assistance at the federal, state and local levels, the NIC contributes to cost efficiency and effectiveness in such areas as planning, design, and operation of new jails, prisons, community corrections programs, offender workforce development programs, and offender classification and risk assessment.

Please support full funding for the National Institute of Corrections in FY 2009 to ensure public safety and continued improvements in corrections.

Sincerely,