This event, originally scheduled for January 16, has been rescheduled to April 9.

The world’s prisons now reportedly hold more than 10.74 million men, women, and children. Imprisonment for even minor crimes is often a default punishment in many jurisdictions, leading human rights organizations to express growing concerns about overcrowding, poor sanitation, inadequate health care, and violence in overburdened facilities. Alternatives to incarceration projects offer a promising means of addressing these growing challenges, and often provide minor offenders with the holistic support they need for rehabilitation and reintegration into their communities. Yet instituting these approaches in developed nations and fragile states alike can be difficult.

Join the University of South Carolina’s Rule of Law Collaborative and the United States Institute of Peace for a day-long symposium that explores the promises and challenges associated with instituting effective alternatives to incarceration programming. Experts will offer insights from their work domestically and abroad, covering key questions of the day such as how to handle reintegration of foreign fighters, and how to tailor support to meet the needs of vulnerable prison populations. Take part in the conversation on Twitter with #IncarcerationAlternatives.

Agenda

9:00am - 9:15am - Welcoming Remarks

  • David Yang, Vice President, Applied Conflict Transformation (ACT) Center, United States Institute of Peace
  • Hamid Khan, Deputy Director, Rule of Law Collaborative, South Carolina

9:15am - 9:45am - Alternatives to Incarceration Explained 

9:45am - 11:00am - Panel I: Overcoming Obstacles to Implementing Alternatives to Incarceration

  • Laura Chioda, Senior Economist, The Chief Economist Office of the Latin America and Caribbean Region and in the Office of the Chief Economist for Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions, World Bank 
  • Fred Patrick, Director of the Center on Sentencing and Corrections, Vera Institute of Justice
  • Michele Worobiec, Chief Counsel, Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities
  • Moderator: Antonio Lomba, Unit Chief, Institutional Strengthening Unit, Alternatives to Incarceration Coordinator, Executive Secretariat of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), Organization of American States

11:15am - 12:30pm - Panel II: Examining Alternatives to Incarceration at Each Stage of the Criminal Justice Process

  • Jee Aei (Jamie) Lee, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer, Justice Section, Division for Operations, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
  • Angela Hawken, Director of the Litmus Program & Professor of Public Policy, Marron Institute of Urban Management, New York University
  • Janeen Buck Willison, Senior Research Fellow, Justice Policy Center, The Urban Institute
  • Moderator: Hayne Yoon, Vera Institute of Justice

12:45pm - 1:45pm - Keynote: James A. Walsh, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, U.S. Department of State

  • Introduced by Joel Samuels, Director, Rule of Law Collaborative, University of South Carolina

2:00pm - 3:15pm - Panel III:Examining Appropriate Populations for Incarceration Alternatives

  • Aaron Arnold, Director of Technical Assistance, Center for Court Innovation
  • Fiona Mangan, Director of Justice + Security in Transitions and Visiting Fellow, Rule of Law Collaborative, University of South Carolina
  • Jumaina Siddiqui, Senior Program Officer for the Asia Center, U.S. Institute of Peace
  • Moderator: Kerry Neal, Senior Child Protection Advisor, United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF)

3:30pm - 4:45pm - Panel IV: Ensuring Success: Beyond the Criminal Justice Sector 

  • Richard Cherwinski, Senior Corrections Advisor, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, Office of Criminal Justice Assistance and Partnership, U.S. Department of State 
  • Mariano Montenegro, Consultant, Organization of American States and Former Director of the National Service for the Prevention and Rehabilitation of Drug and Alcohol Consumption (Chile)
  • Lisa Rawlings, Chief of Staff, District of Columbia Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency
  • Moderator: Greg Gisvold, Senior Fellow, Rule of Law Collaborative, University of South Carolina

4:45pm - 5:00pm - Closing Remarks

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