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UVM–DOC PRIN partnership institutionalized; surveys show high engagement but reentry and staffing gaps persist
Summary
UVM’s Justice Research Center and the Department of Corrections outlined steps to sustain PRIN — a research–practice partnership — after national funding ended, citing a new contract, a UVM Justice Research Center, and plans to expand surveys to Marble Valley. Surveys produced unusually high response and completion rates; staffing and reentry preparation remain central challenges.
Abby Crocker, director of the Justice Research Center at the University of Vermont, told the Corrections & Institutions committee on Wednesday that PRIN, a research–practice partnership with the Vermont Department of Corrections (DOC), has been institutionalized through a UVM–DOC contract and the creation of a UVM Justice Research Center.
Crocker said PRIN grew from pilot work and a five-state Urban Institute consortium funded initially by Arnold Ventures. The national funding has ended, she said, and the new contract and center are intended to preserve the partnership’s data collection and support capacity.
The program’s central tool is a pair of 150‑question surveys—one for staff, one for incarcerated people—co‑created with people inside facilities. Crocker said the surveys achieved response rates reported at 75–85% and completion rates of about 99% for those who started the instrument. "People started to take it and were like, ‘okay. This is the right information I want to share, and they took the whole thing,'" Crocker said. She emphasized the surveys are anonymous and administered by UVM rather than DOC.
The data collection has driven changes at multiple levels, Crocker said. PRIN established steering and executive committees, an anchor facility with a PRIN council composed of incarcerated research partners, and a PRIN Scholars program at UVM to build analytic capacity. Crocker said those structures help translate survey findings into operational changes and keep the work from relying on single faculty members.
On results, Crocker told the committee staff repeatedly identified staffing shortages as the top priority (94% in the 2021 survey), while incarcerated respondents identified preparation for release and reentry as the most pressing concern (83% in the 2021 survey). Crocker said the proportion of staff reporting insufficient staffing fell from 94% in 2021 to 84% in 2024 and that the change is statistically significant, but she cautioned interpretation without linking to administrative staffing data. "That's why this contract with the Department of Corrections is important," she said, explaining it provides UVM access to administrative records for more complete analysis.
Committee members asked how PRIN will adapt its instruments to different facility cultures when expanding. Crocker said the core survey will remain, but items that are no longer relevant (for example, pandemic‑specific sections) will be revised and local buy‑in will be built through peer introductions and the PRIN council. She described a plan to begin surveys in Southern and Rutland and to onboard Marble Valley in June, with local contacts (including Jesse Rose) identified to build trust.
Crocker outlined several site innovations that accompanied PRIN pilots at Southern: a staffed coffee shop used as a meeting space for the PRIN council, an honors unit, arts projects, and break‑room upgrades that staff and incarcerated persons described as humanizing. Those operational pilots, she said, were part of how PRIN moved culture and practice in facilities.
Crocker said the original national model included modest state grants disbursed through the Urban Institute: roughly $100,000 to DOC in year one to support capacity and a separate $100,000 award to UVM to fund the research role. With that national support ended, she said, sustained institutional infrastructure is now the priority.
The presentation closed with CROCKER thanking steering committee members, anchor facility staff and community partners; committee members expressed support and asked follow‑up questions about rolling the surveys out to additional facilities.
The committee did not take formal votes on PRIN during the hearing; employees and committee members discussed implementation steps and local buy‑in needed for expansion. The DOC–UVM contract and the Justice Research Center are the most recent procedural steps toward sustaining PRIN’s work.
