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Chicago Beyond presents 'holistic safety' plan as Vermont DOC revises visitation and disciplinary policies
Summary
Dr. Nika Jones Tapia of Chicago Beyond told the House Committee on Corrections and Institutions on May 1, 2026, that the nonprofit’s holistic safety framework has helped Vermont’s Department of Corrections reduce isolation, revise visitation and disciplinary practices, and expand staff wellness and reentry training; committee members pressed for data and asked how changes will be sustained after Chicago Beyond’s formal engagement ends in September.
Dr. Nika Jones Tapia, managing director of justice initiatives at the nonprofit Chicago Beyond, told the House Committee on Corrections and Institutions on May 1 that the group’s “holistic safety” framework has helped the Vermont Department of Corrections rethink safety by reducing physical, emotional and interpersonal isolation for both staff and people who are incarcerated.
Tapia, a clinical psychologist who served as chief psychologist and later warden at the Cook County Jail, said the framework centers administrators, staff and incarcerated people collaborating to identify needs rather than responding only through stricter controls. “By giving people what they say they need in order to be well, we reintroduce people to themselves,” Tapia said, arguing that the approach reduces the “us versus them” dynamics that underlie dehumanization and violence.
The presentation listed…
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