Family Justice’s
Relational Inquiry Tool is a list of eight carefully crafted questions supported by a training module. The tool is designed for use by
corrections staff providing day-to-day case management and for developing reentry plans. As a complement to standard risk and needs assessments, the Relational Inquiry Tool helps staff learn about a key resource for successful reentry: families and social networks.
The goals of the tool are:
- To provide staff with a user-friendly method of recognizing and reinforcing positive connections to family and social networks during and after incarceration
- To build rapport between the professional using the tool and the incarcerated individual
With support from the National Institute of Corrections, the Relational Inquiry Tool was developed in partnership with state departments of corrections in Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, and Oklahoma as well as the Safer Foundation in Chicago. Family Justice’s
research and evaluation team is developing a second version of the tool, the
Juvenile Relational Inquiry Tool.
- Read recommendations related to the Relational Inquiry Tool in a report from New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson’s Task Force on Prison Reform.
- Read a Research in Action brief about the Relational Inquiry Tool here.
