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Jail Executive Institute

Overview

The Jail Executive Institute (JEI) is a cooperative venture between the American Jail Association (AJA) and the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s (UNO) School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. The classroom portion will be held September 17-22, 2023, in Omaha, Nebraska at UNO.

Tuition

JEI tuition is $2,995 and includes all class materials, lodging for five (5) nights, daily snacks, and three (3) evening meals. Airfare, transportation to/from the airport in Omaha, Nebraska, and some meals are the responsibility of the participant.

Application/Review Process

Applications and required documentation will be sent to the JEI Advisory Committee for review. Once eligibility is determined, the candidate will be notified and sent acceptance materials. The geographic location of the participant and rated jail capacity will be taken into consideration to form a well-rounded class. Applications will be accepted electronically or by mail (see application for details).

Deadlines

Applications will be accepted until the class is at capacity.

Tentative Schedule

JEI will consist of three segments:
 
Segment 1 will be held onsite and include five nights lodging. Candidates should plan to arrive in Omaha, Nebraska no later than 4 p.m. on Sunday, September 17, 2023, for introductions, networking, and dinner. Candidates are required to attend the Sunday night activities. The institute will end at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Friday, September 22, 2023

Segment 2 consists of one 90-minute virtual (Zoom) class per month from October 2023 to April 2024.

Segment 3 requires your attendance at AJA’s Conference & Jail Expo, May 18-22, 2024 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. JEI participants will deliver an oral presentation before a panel of jail experts.

Class Size

Attendance at each session of JEI is limited to 25 participants. JEI recommends no more than two participants per agency per class.

Who is a jail executive?

For the purposes of the JEI, a jail executive is defined as:
 
A person (sworn or civilian) who directs, administers, and/or is in charge of the operations of a local correctional agency. This person reports directly to the sheriff, and/or county/city governing body or board. The jail executive has the final decision‑making authority in the facility with regard to policies and procedures, staff and inmate safety and security, maintenance, staffing, training, all programs, and preparation of annual budgets and expenditures.
 
or
 
A member of your executive command staff.  Ideally, this person is involved with executive-level policy, operations, budget, and human resource/disciplinary decisions.
 
For the purposes of the JEI, a jail is defined as:
  1. A county, municipal, tribal, or regional facility that houses pretrial and sentenced inmates; and/or an institution that houses pretrial and sentenced inmates where the state is responsible for jail operations (Alaska, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, Delaware); and/or a private facility that houses pretrial and sentenced inmates and exists to serve the local jail needs of the community where it operates.
and/or
  1. A facility that houses ONLY pretrial detainees, regardless of what entity operates it. This includes, but is not limited to facilitates that house persons for less than 72 hours (lock-ups), facilities that house federal or military custody inmates awaiting trail (e.g. ICE, U.S. Marshals, Armed Forces), institutions where the state is responsible for the operations of jails, and private facilities.
and/or
  1. A local government or private facility that houses convicted persons who, without this facility’s existence, would serve their sentence in the local jurisdiction’s jail. With regard to private facilities, the local government responsible for jail operations has contracted with a separate entity to replace that jurisdiction’s jail operations.

Application Requirements

To apply to attend JEI, please complete the application along with the following documents:
  • Official Agency Description
  • Official Agency Organizational Chart
  • CV, Resume or Vita
  • A brief narrative written by the applicant that describes why he/she desires to attend JEI and how it will benefit him/her both individually and as an executive of his/her institution (no more than 500 words)
 
The application must be signed by the direct report administrator or a senior executive-level member who works in the criminal justice system.
 
Incomplete applications and/or applications received without the required documentation and signatures will be returned to the candidate and the evaluation process will not commence until all required materials and information have been received by the JEI Advisory Committee.
 

Inquiries and/or questions should be directed to Connie Lacy at conniel@aja.org or Dr. Mark Foxall at markfoxall@unomaha.edu. Completed applications should be emailed to Lori Bachtell at lorib@aja.org