The National Incarceration Association Inc

The National Incarceration Association (NIA) was born from the personal story of our president and CEO, Kate Boccia, and her husband, Frank, after the incarceration of their son, Daniel. With incarceration comes a path of uncertainty, helplessness, and pain, and it is that journey that led to the creation of the NIA. Since its inception in 2016, NIA has existed to help families impacted by incarceration successfully navigate the carceral system to achieve true rehabilitation and restoration for their loved ones. We believe families should not be torn apart because of the imprisonment of a loved one, that everyone deserves a second chance, and that the stigma of incarceration must be removed.

To this day, the NIA has mapped out resolutions for over 1,800 clients, resulting in stronger, healthier, more productive families. Our organization continues to grow and raise awareness about the criminal justice system and to push innovations throughout the system to correct, rehabilitate, cure, and restore, for greater public safety for all. Driven by core values of empathy, diligence, and responsibility, the NIA works passionately to empower families and individuals for success.

In 2021:

• We celebrated our organization's fifth anniversary and supporting our 1800th client. 
• We grew our staff to 22 passionate and engaged volunteers. 
• We are implementing a much-needed Customer Relationship Management software to more effectively support our clients, track and analyze our findings and solutions, and stay in touch with families.
• We mourn the loss of Daniel, who is the reason the NIA exists.

Coming in 2022:

• We are launching a new program - the Whole-Way Housing Initiative- by giving returning citizens a true second chance and supporting them every step of the way for up to three years with some of the following and more:
  • Comfortable, dignified housing
  • Trauma-Informed Post-Incarceration Syndrome Peer Support (TIPPS) by certified professionals
  • Physical, mental, emotional, and substance use care
  • Financial services planning
  • Employment assistance
  • Probation and parole navigation

Please see the What's New tab for more information and how you can help. 

• #CarryOnInMyName campaign in memory of Daniel - accelerated activism to further our mission by intensifying leverage, expanding strategic partnerships, and influencing policy-making
• Ramping up our If Moms Ran Prison project - a toolkit for policy makers and the public on how best to correct the worst of problems by using knowledge collected from personal stories of our clients to incite advocacy and critical mass for more aggressive accountability, transparency and policy changes