Jennifer Vollen-Katz

The John Howard Association (JHA) independently monitors correctional facilities, policies and practices, and advances reforms needed to achieve a fair, humane and effective criminal justice system in Illinois. As Illinois'​ only non-partisan prison watch dog and correctional policy organization, JHA’s primary activities are: 1. Monitoring all of Illinois'​ prisons, both adult and juvenile. To monitor prison conditions and programs, JHA staff and volunteers tour every prison to observe, collect data, and talk to those who live and work inside the prisons. Our visits result in reports that inform the public, media, and law and policy makers about the issues inside Illinois’ prisons. 2. Advocating to improve the criminal justice and prison systems. JHA’s advocacy program includes: advancing legislative initiatives; serving on advisory boards to Illinois correctional agencies; providing expert testimony to state and national legislative and executive branch committees and commissions; and writing reports which promote policy change by elected officials and state agency leaders. JHA is also frequently quoted in the media. 3. Receiving and tracking communications from incarcerated people and their loved ones. JHA reads every letter and email and listens to all voicemails; we track the information reported to us. This provides us with valuable quantitative information we use in our advocacy work - both when working with individual correctional facilities and when seeking system-wide reform. Together, JHA’s program areas provide a holistic view of the criminal justice and correctional systems in Illinois. We use our unique vantage point to be the eyes and ears of the public, which allows us greater exposure to and understanding of the issues, which enhances our ability to promote important change.