Policy Research Associates, Inc.

09/04/2026

PRA's August newsletter is out! In this edition:
☑️ RFP Toolkit featured in Sheriff & Deputy
☑️ New research on the Brief Jail Mental Health Screen
☑️ PRA in the News

🔗 Read it here: https://bit.ly/3xUJsDc
🔗 Sign up for our monthly newsletter: https://bit.ly/4vedGcq

09/03/2026

What does a Sequential Intercept Model (SIM) Mapping Workshop accomplish?

Coconino County, Arizona, shared its answer after a recent PRA-facilitated SIM Mapping Workshop:

"This workshop allowed local criminal justice and mental health leaders to collaboratively design an approach that enhances public safety and improves individual outcomes," said Criminal Justice Coordinating Council Director Dianna Kalandros. "With strategic insight from Policy Research Associates, we are better positioned to leverage our resources and plan for a collaborative continuum of care."

That’s our desired result: A multi-agency group building a shared picture of how their system works and a shared plan for change.

🔗 Learn more about what a SIM Mapping Workshop could look like in your community: https://bit.ly/3EFKYwD

🔗 Learn more about Coconino County’s experience: https://bit.ly/4wXOeZA

The Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) hosted a 1.5-day Sequential Intercept Model Mapping Workshop, a nationally recognized systems-mapping event designed to support communities in improvin

09/02/2026

8 questions at booking. 180 days after release, recidivism reduced by 12 percentage points.

The Economic Mobility Catalog highlighted the Brief Jail Mental Health Screen (BJMHS) as a promising strategy for reducing recidivism, an extension of its original design.

The strategy draws on research from Johnson County, Kansas, where staff used BJMHS booking results to connect people leaving jail with mental health providers. Pairing the screen with coordinated reentry outreach reduced recidivism by 12 percentage points after 180 days, and most of that decrease held 365 days after release.

🔗 The BJHMS is free, validated, and available for download: https://bit.ly/49qZd3M
🔗 Read the case study: https://bit.ly/4xkcHsU

09/01/2026

Providing health care in jails and prisons is challenging and complex. Many facilities outsource health care to for-profit companies, making the contract critical to the quality and success of the healthcare program.

In an article in Sheriff & Deputy, Senior Project Associate Ashley Krider, MS, and Marc Stern, MD, make the case for starting further upstream, with the RFP that governs the contract. But how do facilities write high-quality RFPs?

The authors advance PRA's Toolkit for Writing an RFP to Contract for Healthcare Services in a Correctional or Detention Institution as a solution. It was developed with contributions from more than 20 national organizations, health care vendors, correctional facilities, and people with lived experience.

The Toolkit provides guidance and sample language to help facilities and governments create effective, outcomes-focused RFPs.

🔗 Read the article: https://bit.ly/4cNl9bT
🔗 Download the Toolkit: https://bit.ly/41VXiBJ

08/27/2026

PRA's August newsletter is out! In this edition:

☑️ RFP Toolkit featured in Sheriff & Deputy
☑️ New research on the Brief Jail Mental Health Screen
☑️ PRA in the News

Check it out: https://bit.ly/3xUJsDc

Sign up for our monthly newsletter: https://bit.ly/4vedGcq

08/19/2026

The SOAR microsite is live!

Explore tools, training, and stories that show how the SOAR model supports access to disability benefits for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

This site is built for providers and partners who are working to create lasting, community-level impact.

🔗 Start here: https://bit.ly/4pWyrI9

08/18/2026

We’re hiring! Our Research and Evaluation area is seeking a Senior Research Associate who will lead and support behavioral health research.

We’re looking for:
✅ A collaborative and intellectually curious researcher
✅ Strong methodological expertise
✅ Excellent communication skills

Sound like you? Then learn more and apply today!

🔗 https://bit.ly/3TGL3nl

08/10/2026

See us at for CRISIS: Crisis Responder Intervention Skills and Instructional Standards.

📅 August 11, 2026, 1:20-2:20 p.m.
📍 Sandlake
🎤 Vice President Chanson Noether, MA, and Senior Project Associate Kristin Sauerbier, LCSW

08/07/2026

PRA will be at the , connecting with practitioners, trainers, and leaders building and sustaining Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) programs across the country.

📅 August 10–12, 2026
📍 Orlando, FL

Travis Parker, MS, LIMHP, CPC, and Funding Resources Advisor Sara Partyka will highlight our SMTC offerings. Chanson Noether, MA, Travis Parker, MS, LIMHP, CPC, and Kristin Sauerbier, LCSW, will present the following sessions:
➡️ Wanna be a Millionaire? Tools and Tips for Developing Sustainable Funding Streams
➡️ From Policy to Police to Prison to Practicality
➡️ CRISIS: Crisis Responder Intervention Skills and Instructional Standards