The National Center on Institutions and Alternatives (NCIA) was founded in 1977 as a 501(c)(3) corporation for the express purpose of providing timely intervention, education, and unconditional care to all persons who come into contact with the human services or criminal justice systems. NCIA is a national service provider, advocate, and resource for those persons and entities seeking alternatives to institutionalization. Principal programs include sentencing and capital mitigation services for courts and attorneys; technical assistance and master planning for state and local governments seeking to lower their reliance on institutionalization; residential living units for individuals with special needs; educational and vocational alternatives for the developmentally disabled; mental health counseling for adults; research and consultation on jail suicide and its prevention; and groundbreaking research and timely analysis on criminal and juvenile justice.