The Chill Plan

In state prisons, 73% of women have symptoms of mental disorder. Women coming into the prison system are often victims of trauma and suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Unalleviated anxiety can be associated with misbehaviors as inmates resort to violence as a dysfunctional coping mechanism. Research demonstrates that appropriate treatments and programs reduce levels of depression and anxiety and mitigate psychiatric disorders. 

With assistance from Professor Angela Hawken and her BetaGov team, the staff at the Pennsylvania State Women's Correctional Institution at Cambridge Springs designed the "Chill Plan" as a crisis prevention program. This program empowers female inmates to preemptively manage their anxiety through personalized calming strategies with the end purpose of reducing misbehavior. To learn more about BetaGov's collaboration with the Pennsylvania State Department of Corrections, read the pilot snapshot at the link below. 

Pilot Snapshot

To learn more about this and other trials visit betahub.org.