LSU NCBRT/ACE Chosen for Department of Justice Cooperative Agreement Award
(10/28/2021)
BATON ROUGE – The LSU National Center for Biomedical Research and Training/Academy of Counter-Terrorist Education (LSU NCBRT/ACE) has received a one-year, $99,985 cooperative agreement award from the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Institute of Corrections.
The award will allow LSU NCBRT/ACE to work in tandem with federal partners to convert the NIC’s current Learning Professional curriculum to a 40-hour virtual format. LSU NCBRT/ACE will also be able to create a teaching program that will train instructors on how to deliver that curriculum.
NIC's Learning Professional curricula is used to train new, veteran and or part time/adjunct trainers in corrections and criminal justice settings – such as jails, prisons and community services – to prepare and deliver established curricula. Participants learn to prepare and deliver established curriculum for their agency. This interactive program teaches participants the importance of building and utilizing facilitative training skills, how to identify strategies to prepare for learning events, applying classic learning theory and current research to the training process, and practice at tailoring training facilitation and delivery to audience needs, topic and delivery style strengths and challenges.
“LSU’s application was very responsive [to the solicitation],” said NIC Correctional Program Specialist Leslie LeMaster. “The organization’s capacity and possession of the skills, knowledge, and expertise to perform the work was evident.”
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, LSU NCBRT/ACE has been on the forefront of developing virtual trainings for law enforcement and emergency responders by converting many of its mobile delivery courses to online formats, and developing an e-Learning resource page for state, local, tribal and territorial responders.
“In today’s workforce, more working professionals than ever before are seeking opportunities to engage in online learning opportunities,” states the agreement proposal. “Moreover, there is a significant opportunity for learning organizations to develop virtual instructor led training that is just as engaging and effective as traditional classroom-based training.”
“I am extremely proud of the work that our research and development team has done in the past year,” said LSU NCBRT/ACE director Jeff Mayne. “We will keep pushing forward to help the university continue to improve our world.”
About LSU NCBRT/ACE:
LSU NCBRT/ACE is a nationally recognized center for emergency preparedness and response training located at Louisiana State University’s flagship campus in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We provide mobile training to both the national and international emergency response community. LSU NCBRT/ACE has expertise in research, development and delivery of training in the areas of specialized law enforcement operations; biological incident response; food and agriculture safety and security; school safety; and instructional design and technique. More information can be found at ncbrt.lsu.edu.
About the National Institute of Corrections:
The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) is the only federal agency with a legislative mandate (Public Law 93-41 5) to provide specialized services to corrections from a national perspective. NIC is recognized by other federal agencies for its unique role and quality services. Its leadership is evidenced by the numerous partnerships and interagency agreements targeted to provide correctional services and training. NIC is unique because it provides direct service rather than financial assistance as the primary means of carrying out its mission. It responds directly to needs identified by practitioners working in state and local adult corrections, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Department of Justice, other federal agencies, and the United States Congress. NIC staff provides leadership to influence correctional policies, practices, and operations nationwide in areas of emerging interest and concern to correctional executives and practitioners, as well as public policymakers. NIC provides practical assistance in planning and implementing improvements at the federal, state and local levels. These efforts contribute to cost efficiency and effectiveness in such areas as planning, design, and operation of new jails, prisons, and community corrections programs, offender workforce development programs, and offender classification and risk assessment.
NIC is acclaimed by the corrections community as a focused, customer-oriented, apolitical, professional agency that continues to make a significant difference. It is credited with raising the standard of performance for corrections agencies nationwide. More information on NIC and its unique services can be found at https://nicic.gov/.