Advancing Pretrial Policy and Research (APPR) is pleased to offer a free virtual training on how to reduce jail populations and increase safety and well-being for women, primary caretakers, and their children through a focus on gender justice in pretrial. The training will be held on Thursday, November 21, 2024, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. ET. The deadline to register is Thursday, November 14.
This training responds to the urgent need to interrupt a 50-year trend of increasing pretrial detention and further incarceration of women and gender-expansive people, despite them posing the lowest risk to public safety and being likeliest to have the role of primary caregiver.
Nationwide, women’s state prison populations have grown 834% over nearly 40 years. In 2024, almost 190,600 women and girls were incarcerated in jails, prisons, and other carceral settings in the United States.
In response to related needs, the Center for Effective Public Policy (CEPP) developed a participatory pretrial model to foster more equitable, just, and family-strengthening pre-conviction decisions for women and gender-diverse people.
Join us to learn about the participatory pretrial model that helps prepare judicial officers, pretrial practitioners, women, and gender-diverse people facing court decisions to support a more inclusive process. This model will result in better informed decisions, greater autonomy for the people charged, a more holistic approach to pretrial release conditions, and ultimately, more successful completion rates for people on pretrial release.
Erica King, senior manager, Center for Effective Public Policy
Ms. King has over 20 years of experience as a senior policy associate at the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine, directing a results-focused portfolio to improve opportunities for emerging adults. She is an alumna of the Applied Leadership Network of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a member of the international Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers, and an adjunct faculty member at Colby College. She has coauthored policy briefs, evaluations, and interventions to help foster whole people and communities. Ms. King has a master of social work from the University of Southern Maine and is a policy leader across hyperlocal and national initiatives.
Keilah Joyner, program associate, Center for Effective Public Policy
Ms. Joyner supports the work of the National Resource Center on Justice-Involved Women, including the Gender-Informed Practices Assessment and an initiative focusing on assessing gender-responsive policies and practices. She also provides programmatic and training support to APPR. Before joining CEPP, Ms. Joyner worked for the Florida Commission on Offender Review and various nonprofit agencies.
Kristie Puckett, gender justice policy expert
Ms. Puckett’s direct experience with poverty, drug addiction, domestic violence, and incarceration led her to pursue a career in policy and advocacy. She is an expert on the conditions of confinement for women and girls, including those who are pregnant. Ms. Puckett also serves as the Women in Incarceration Workgroup chair for North Carolina’s State Reentry Council Collaborative and as a commissioner on the North Carolina Commission on Racial & Ethnic Disparities in the Criminal Justice System.
Darlene George, gender justice policy expert
Ms. George is a skillful, innovative, and dedicated scholar and thought partner from Brooklyn, New York. She resides in Maine, where she has been incarcerated and serving as a state-certified personal coach for over a decade. As a consultant with CEPP, Ms. George uses her life experiences and expertise to advise on a gender-equity tool for pretrial stakeholders and facilitate listening sessions. She has committed her life to teaching people that incarcerated individuals have the potential to contribute to topics, policies, and practices that can shift U.S. history and culture. Ms. George received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and forensic psychology from the College of New Rochelle.
Space in this training is limited. Prospective participants must complete the training registration by November 14, 2024, and be selected to attend.
Priority consideration will go to criminal legal system and community stakeholders, including people affected by DV/IPV. Space is available for national technical assistance providers to participate.
APPR will make selection decisions immediately after the November 14 registration deadline. Confirmed participants will receive additional information about the training, including how to attend the online session and access related resources.
Please direct any questions to Samuel Steed, operations assistant at the Center for Effective Public Policy, at ssteed@cepp.com.