Prior to teaching, Dr. Collica worked for a women's correctional facility in NYS coordinating an HIV prison-based peer education program and for a NY jail supervising their jail-based transitional services unit. She trains professionals in HIV- related issues in the NYS Metropolitan area. Dr. Collica has a Ph.D. and M.Phil. in Criminal Justice from the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York and a BA and MA from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She is a certified ACA and PREA auditor, as well as ASHI certified. Her Center, Collica-Cox Correctional Consulting, LLC, is an ASHI Training Center for CPR, First AID
Background: While persons who are incarcerated have high rates of previous trauma, further trauma... more Background: While persons who are incarcerated have high rates of previous trauma, further traumatization can result from the experience of incarceration. The inability to effectively process trauma can lead to maladaptive behavior, a serious concern for correctional administrators. Acquiring the skills to regulate emotions and mitigate feelings of impulsivity help persons who are incarcerated take responsibility for their actions to make better decisions, simultaneously encouraging prosocial behavior, decreasing institutional misconduct, and reducing behaviors that place one at risk for repeated involvement in the criminal justice system. Purpose: Trauma-sensitive yoga (TSY) is one correctional intervention that can effectively address misconduct issues. Yet, the specific impact of TSY on populations who are incarcerated has not been empirically investigated. Methods: A mixed-methods study, utilizing pretest and posttest interviewing, was conducted with male residents in a New York jail who completed a 4-week TSY program. Results: Data indicated that those who participated in TSY experienced statistically significant improvements in self-esteem, self-control, resilience, institutional conduct, self-efficacy, and emotion regulation. Qualitative data also indicated high levels of connectivity with other TSY class participants. Implications: This research implies that cost-effective interventions like TSY have the ability to produce beneficial outcomes within a short time, which is integral to furthering rehabilitative efforts within the transient nature of the jail setting.
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, Jun 11, 2013
Involvement in prosocial prison activities can ameliorate rule-breaking conduct and assist in the... more Involvement in prosocial prison activities can ameliorate rule-breaking conduct and assist in the reinforcement of conventional behavior. Extant research shows a connection between participation in traditional educational/vocational programs and reduced prison infractions. However, studies that examine a correlation between less traditional prison programs and better institutional conduct are lacking. This study analyzed rates of disciplinary infractions among 49 female prisoners that worked in two HIV prison-based peer programs (AIDS, Counseling, and Education [ACE] and CARE [Counseling, AIDS, Resource, and Education]) as peer educators during their incarceration. These women were unlikely to jeopardize their position by engaging in unlawful or deviant behaviors. Results showed that working in programs like ACE/CARE prevented periods of maladjustment and subsequent disciplinary infractions during incarceration.
There are five million children in the United States who have been affected by the current or for... more There are five million children in the United States who have been affected by the current or former incarceration of a parent. Although many of these children demonstrate resiliency to adverse life events, the disruption to the child-parent bond places these children at high risk for both externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Attachment strength with one’s parent plays a large role in the development of a child’s relationship with others throughout their life span; an attachment rupture, such as what can occur during a parent’s incarceration, could pose long-term psychological effects for children that continue into their adult lives. Trying to foster prosocial bonds between incarcerated parents and their children mitigate these problems, providing an overall benefit to the child. Research results imply more friendly correctional-based visiting policies, parent management training opportunities, better access to transportation for correctional facility visits, individual and family interventions integrating CBT and more support-related services, especially in the school setting, can help children restore relationships with incarcerated parents, subsequently reducing their potential for emotional harm and at-risk behaviors.
There are few studies of women in corrections executive positions. As women advance into execut... more There are few studies of women in corrections executive positions. As women advance into executive level positions, and their numbers continue to grow, information regarding their motivations, successes and challenges necessitate more substantive study. Currently, there are no works that provide a systematic account of women’s career trajectories in corrections substantiated though empirical study. There are several books which examine women’s experiences as corrections officers but not as corrections managers. This book attempts to address this gap in knowledge. To obtain this data, interviews with members of the Association of Women Executives in Corrections (AWEC) were conducted by Dr. Kimberly Collica-Cox, who will discuss the results from this study. Based on quantitative and qualitative data, through firsthand accounts and survey analysis, she examined women’s own perceptions of their experiences as corrections executives, their motives for promoting, their career trajectories, and the challenges they faced trying to promote in a male dominated environment, such as gender bias, perceptions of leadership effectiveness and difficulty maintaining work-life balance. This presentation will explore women’s roles from their initial entry into corrections and provide data pertaining to women working in titled corrections executive roles today. This work documents their successes and struggles in their own words.
Collica-Cox, K. (2022). It’s the Power of Zoom Part 1: Leveraging the Use of Technology to Prom... more Collica-Cox, K. (2022). It’s the Power of Zoom Part 1: Leveraging the Use of Technology to Promote Educational Services for the Incarcerated. American Jails, 36 (5), 43-48.
The antimicrobial activity of novel compounds is tested by determining the minimum inhibitory con... more The antimicrobial activity of novel compounds is tested by determining the minimum inhibitory concentration of the agent in question and investigating a few other parameters, including the type of antimicrobial action the drug exhibits. The aim of this study was to determine the type of antimicrobial action of the compounds synthesized from the substituted benzaminoindoles. The strain of Staphylococcus aureus АТСС 6538-Р was briefly exposed to the compounds with laboratory codes 5D, 7D, HD, and S3. Bacterial growth was evaluated macroscopically under transmitted light. Additionally, photoelectric colorimetry was applied to monitor changes in the optical density of the culture medium. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of the studied compounds delayed bacterial growth for 2–3 days and had a bacteriostatic effect on S. aureus.
UNSTRUCTURED COVID-19 vaccines significantly reduce rates of hospitalization and death for those ... more UNSTRUCTURED COVID-19 vaccines significantly reduce rates of hospitalization and death for those infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. Those facing social oppression, including people of color, experience heightened risk for COVID-19 and comorbidities. Yet, they are often mistrustful of governmental agencies and initiatives, contributing to low vaccine uptake and a reluctance to access vital healthcare services. Additionally, issues such as language barriers and the complexity of the healthcare system are among many structural challenges that impede access to health information and services. Dialogue-based, participatory health literacy interventions may help mitigate mistrust and increase access to health information and services, subsequently increasing rates of vaccination and other behaviors that reduce COVID-19 risk. To improve health literacy and reduce COVID-19 disparities, the Westchester County Department of Health, in partnership with two universities, c...
Although the benefits of animal assisted therapy for people are well established, the ethical con... more Although the benefits of animal assisted therapy for people are well established, the ethical considerations for the welfare and safety of the non-human animals involved are not. Without an accrediting body responsible for creating and overseeing national standards, therapy animal organizations are forced to create their own guidelines, creating inconsistencies within the field. Based on interviews conducted with therapy teams who have worked with Parenting, Prison & Pups (PPP), a parenting program provided to incarcerated jailed women that is integrated with the use of animal-assisted therapy (AAT), this article explores the extent of ethics training offered for AAT teams and will examine how agencies and handlers promote and ensure the safety of canine partners, especially in a correctional setting. The research suggests that specific protocols put forth by individual AAT organizations, which can provide for a national model, can afford for the safety and comfortability of canine ...
Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship, 2020
This project—Parenting, Prison, and Pups—is designed to help students think as socially responsib... more This project—Parenting, Prison, and Pups—is designed to help students think as socially responsible persons, in addition to understanding and caring about the world they will enter as criminal justice professionals. By becoming civically aware and involved, these students will be servicing one of society’s most underserved populations, female prisoners and their children. This program involves college students in remediating some of the most difficult problems within our criminal justice system, namely prisoner rehabilitation. Moreover, involving research as another level to this project is vital to understanding the effectiveness of this jail-based program, in addition to accurately investigating the experiences of participating students. This article not only examines the process of designing and developing a unique civic engagement experience for students, but discusses how four agencies were brought together as community partners to serve female prisoners, while simultaneously c...
With 1.7 million children in the United States with an incarcerated parent, the need to provide e... more With 1.7 million children in the United States with an incarcerated parent, the need to provide evidence-based programming, which helps incarcerated mothers re-establish healthy relationships with their children, is essential. This study examines Parenting, Prison, and Pups, a jail-based parenting course for incarcerated women, integrated with the use of animal-assisted therapy (AAT). Utilizing a mixed-method quasi-experimental design, the authors examined differences between mothers who completed a parenting course with AAT, compared with those who completed the same course without AAT; statistically significant lower rates of parental stress and higher rates of self-esteem and parental knowledge among the AAT group were found. Based on qualitative data, the presence of therapy dogs appeared to encourage communication, trust, and connectedness between group members. These results indicate the importance of using innovative tools to help incarcerated women, who often have long histo...
Due to their small numbers, women in executive level positions in corrections have rarely had an ... more Due to their small numbers, women in executive level positions in corrections have rarely had an opportunity to discuss their motivations for seeking upward mobility in a male-dominated profession. This article describes whether their career paths were through custodial or non-custodial ranks, and how that influenced later choices and their ability to reach the executive-level. Based on surveys/interviews with members of the Association of Women Executives in Corrections, this study uncovered several factors contributing to their successes. Most notably, correction departments allow both custodial and non-custodial paths to promotion. By coming from the non-custodial ranks and sometimes delaying promotion, particularly for work/life balance, they were able to overcome career/personal challenges to achieve leadership positions in a variety of correction settings/institutions.
Journal of correctional health care : the official journal of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, 2021
The rate of new HIV infections has declined over the past several years. Mass education pertainin... more The rate of new HIV infections has declined over the past several years. Mass education pertaining to preventive measures is often credited for its decline, particularly among incarcerated populations where the infection rates are often higher than in the general community. Interestingly, those tasked with providing the education may not always practice the preventive measures taught. Interviews were conducted with 49 incarcerated women who worked in two HIV prison-based peer programs during their incarceration. Responses indicated that although participants were comfortable discussing their sex/drug histories with partners or potential partners, approximately half of participants did not practice safer sex consistently during/after the time they were working as HIV peer educators.
Background: While persons who are incarcerated have high rates of previous trauma, further trauma... more Background: While persons who are incarcerated have high rates of previous trauma, further traumatization can result from the experience of incarceration. The inability to effectively process trauma can lead to maladaptive behavior, a serious concern for correctional administrators. Acquiring the skills to regulate emotions and mitigate feelings of impulsivity help persons who are incarcerated take responsibility for their actions to make better decisions, simultaneously encouraging prosocial behavior, decreasing institutional misconduct, and reducing behaviors that place one at risk for repeated involvement in the criminal justice system. Purpose: Trauma-sensitive yoga (TSY) is one correctional intervention that can effectively address misconduct issues. Yet, the specific impact of TSY on populations who are incarcerated has not been empirically investigated. Methods: A mixed-methods study, utilizing pretest and posttest interviewing, was conducted with male residents in a New York jail who completed a 4-week TSY program. Results: Data indicated that those who participated in TSY experienced statistically significant improvements in self-esteem, self-control, resilience, institutional conduct, self-efficacy, and emotion regulation. Qualitative data also indicated high levels of connectivity with other TSY class participants. Implications: This research implies that cost-effective interventions like TSY have the ability to produce beneficial outcomes within a short time, which is integral to furthering rehabilitative efforts within the transient nature of the jail setting.
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, Jun 11, 2013
Involvement in prosocial prison activities can ameliorate rule-breaking conduct and assist in the... more Involvement in prosocial prison activities can ameliorate rule-breaking conduct and assist in the reinforcement of conventional behavior. Extant research shows a connection between participation in traditional educational/vocational programs and reduced prison infractions. However, studies that examine a correlation between less traditional prison programs and better institutional conduct are lacking. This study analyzed rates of disciplinary infractions among 49 female prisoners that worked in two HIV prison-based peer programs (AIDS, Counseling, and Education [ACE] and CARE [Counseling, AIDS, Resource, and Education]) as peer educators during their incarceration. These women were unlikely to jeopardize their position by engaging in unlawful or deviant behaviors. Results showed that working in programs like ACE/CARE prevented periods of maladjustment and subsequent disciplinary infractions during incarceration.
There are five million children in the United States who have been affected by the current or for... more There are five million children in the United States who have been affected by the current or former incarceration of a parent. Although many of these children demonstrate resiliency to adverse life events, the disruption to the child-parent bond places these children at high risk for both externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Attachment strength with one’s parent plays a large role in the development of a child’s relationship with others throughout their life span; an attachment rupture, such as what can occur during a parent’s incarceration, could pose long-term psychological effects for children that continue into their adult lives. Trying to foster prosocial bonds between incarcerated parents and their children mitigate these problems, providing an overall benefit to the child. Research results imply more friendly correctional-based visiting policies, parent management training opportunities, better access to transportation for correctional facility visits, individual and family interventions integrating CBT and more support-related services, especially in the school setting, can help children restore relationships with incarcerated parents, subsequently reducing their potential for emotional harm and at-risk behaviors.
There are few studies of women in corrections executive positions. As women advance into execut... more There are few studies of women in corrections executive positions. As women advance into executive level positions, and their numbers continue to grow, information regarding their motivations, successes and challenges necessitate more substantive study. Currently, there are no works that provide a systematic account of women’s career trajectories in corrections substantiated though empirical study. There are several books which examine women’s experiences as corrections officers but not as corrections managers. This book attempts to address this gap in knowledge. To obtain this data, interviews with members of the Association of Women Executives in Corrections (AWEC) were conducted by Dr. Kimberly Collica-Cox, who will discuss the results from this study. Based on quantitative and qualitative data, through firsthand accounts and survey analysis, she examined women’s own perceptions of their experiences as corrections executives, their motives for promoting, their career trajectories, and the challenges they faced trying to promote in a male dominated environment, such as gender bias, perceptions of leadership effectiveness and difficulty maintaining work-life balance. This presentation will explore women’s roles from their initial entry into corrections and provide data pertaining to women working in titled corrections executive roles today. This work documents their successes and struggles in their own words.
Collica-Cox, K. (2022). It’s the Power of Zoom Part 1: Leveraging the Use of Technology to Prom... more Collica-Cox, K. (2022). It’s the Power of Zoom Part 1: Leveraging the Use of Technology to Promote Educational Services for the Incarcerated. American Jails, 36 (5), 43-48.
The antimicrobial activity of novel compounds is tested by determining the minimum inhibitory con... more The antimicrobial activity of novel compounds is tested by determining the minimum inhibitory concentration of the agent in question and investigating a few other parameters, including the type of antimicrobial action the drug exhibits. The aim of this study was to determine the type of antimicrobial action of the compounds synthesized from the substituted benzaminoindoles. The strain of Staphylococcus aureus АТСС 6538-Р was briefly exposed to the compounds with laboratory codes 5D, 7D, HD, and S3. Bacterial growth was evaluated macroscopically under transmitted light. Additionally, photoelectric colorimetry was applied to monitor changes in the optical density of the culture medium. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of the studied compounds delayed bacterial growth for 2–3 days and had a bacteriostatic effect on S. aureus.
UNSTRUCTURED COVID-19 vaccines significantly reduce rates of hospitalization and death for those ... more UNSTRUCTURED COVID-19 vaccines significantly reduce rates of hospitalization and death for those infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. Those facing social oppression, including people of color, experience heightened risk for COVID-19 and comorbidities. Yet, they are often mistrustful of governmental agencies and initiatives, contributing to low vaccine uptake and a reluctance to access vital healthcare services. Additionally, issues such as language barriers and the complexity of the healthcare system are among many structural challenges that impede access to health information and services. Dialogue-based, participatory health literacy interventions may help mitigate mistrust and increase access to health information and services, subsequently increasing rates of vaccination and other behaviors that reduce COVID-19 risk. To improve health literacy and reduce COVID-19 disparities, the Westchester County Department of Health, in partnership with two universities, c...
Although the benefits of animal assisted therapy for people are well established, the ethical con... more Although the benefits of animal assisted therapy for people are well established, the ethical considerations for the welfare and safety of the non-human animals involved are not. Without an accrediting body responsible for creating and overseeing national standards, therapy animal organizations are forced to create their own guidelines, creating inconsistencies within the field. Based on interviews conducted with therapy teams who have worked with Parenting, Prison & Pups (PPP), a parenting program provided to incarcerated jailed women that is integrated with the use of animal-assisted therapy (AAT), this article explores the extent of ethics training offered for AAT teams and will examine how agencies and handlers promote and ensure the safety of canine partners, especially in a correctional setting. The research suggests that specific protocols put forth by individual AAT organizations, which can provide for a national model, can afford for the safety and comfortability of canine ...
Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship, 2020
This project—Parenting, Prison, and Pups—is designed to help students think as socially responsib... more This project—Parenting, Prison, and Pups—is designed to help students think as socially responsible persons, in addition to understanding and caring about the world they will enter as criminal justice professionals. By becoming civically aware and involved, these students will be servicing one of society’s most underserved populations, female prisoners and their children. This program involves college students in remediating some of the most difficult problems within our criminal justice system, namely prisoner rehabilitation. Moreover, involving research as another level to this project is vital to understanding the effectiveness of this jail-based program, in addition to accurately investigating the experiences of participating students. This article not only examines the process of designing and developing a unique civic engagement experience for students, but discusses how four agencies were brought together as community partners to serve female prisoners, while simultaneously c...
With 1.7 million children in the United States with an incarcerated parent, the need to provide e... more With 1.7 million children in the United States with an incarcerated parent, the need to provide evidence-based programming, which helps incarcerated mothers re-establish healthy relationships with their children, is essential. This study examines Parenting, Prison, and Pups, a jail-based parenting course for incarcerated women, integrated with the use of animal-assisted therapy (AAT). Utilizing a mixed-method quasi-experimental design, the authors examined differences between mothers who completed a parenting course with AAT, compared with those who completed the same course without AAT; statistically significant lower rates of parental stress and higher rates of self-esteem and parental knowledge among the AAT group were found. Based on qualitative data, the presence of therapy dogs appeared to encourage communication, trust, and connectedness between group members. These results indicate the importance of using innovative tools to help incarcerated women, who often have long histo...
Due to their small numbers, women in executive level positions in corrections have rarely had an ... more Due to their small numbers, women in executive level positions in corrections have rarely had an opportunity to discuss their motivations for seeking upward mobility in a male-dominated profession. This article describes whether their career paths were through custodial or non-custodial ranks, and how that influenced later choices and their ability to reach the executive-level. Based on surveys/interviews with members of the Association of Women Executives in Corrections, this study uncovered several factors contributing to their successes. Most notably, correction departments allow both custodial and non-custodial paths to promotion. By coming from the non-custodial ranks and sometimes delaying promotion, particularly for work/life balance, they were able to overcome career/personal challenges to achieve leadership positions in a variety of correction settings/institutions.
Journal of correctional health care : the official journal of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, 2021
The rate of new HIV infections has declined over the past several years. Mass education pertainin... more The rate of new HIV infections has declined over the past several years. Mass education pertaining to preventive measures is often credited for its decline, particularly among incarcerated populations where the infection rates are often higher than in the general community. Interestingly, those tasked with providing the education may not always practice the preventive measures taught. Interviews were conducted with 49 incarcerated women who worked in two HIV prison-based peer programs during their incarceration. Responses indicated that although participants were comfortable discussing their sex/drug histories with partners or potential partners, approximately half of participants did not practice safer sex consistently during/after the time they were working as HIV peer educators.
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children demonstrate resiliency to adverse life events, the disruption to the child-parent bond places these children at high risk for both externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Attachment strength with one’s parent plays a
large role in the development of a child’s relationship with others throughout their life span; an attachment rupture, such as what can occur during a parent’s incarceration, could pose long-term psychological effects for children that continue into their adult lives. Trying to foster
prosocial bonds between incarcerated parents and their children mitigate these problems, providing an overall benefit to the child. Research results imply more friendly correctional-based visiting policies, parent management training opportunities, better access to transportation
for correctional facility visits, individual and family interventions integrating CBT and more support-related services, especially in the school setting, can help children restore relationships with incarcerated parents, subsequently reducing their potential for emotional harm
and at-risk behaviors.
children demonstrate resiliency to adverse life events, the disruption to the child-parent bond places these children at high risk for both externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Attachment strength with one’s parent plays a
large role in the development of a child’s relationship with others throughout their life span; an attachment rupture, such as what can occur during a parent’s incarceration, could pose long-term psychological effects for children that continue into their adult lives. Trying to foster
prosocial bonds between incarcerated parents and their children mitigate these problems, providing an overall benefit to the child. Research results imply more friendly correctional-based visiting policies, parent management training opportunities, better access to transportation
for correctional facility visits, individual and family interventions integrating CBT and more support-related services, especially in the school setting, can help children restore relationships with incarcerated parents, subsequently reducing their potential for emotional harm
and at-risk behaviors.