Empowering Reentry: How DCJS and Atomic Jolt Developed Accessible Training

Client: Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS)

The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) plans and carries out programs and initiatives to improve the functioning and effectiveness of the criminal justice system as a whole in the state of Virginia.

The Challenge

DCJS's training coordinator identified a need for new training for Community Corrections Officers, Reentry Case Managers, and Advocates in person-centered reentry strategies for individuals transitioning from the criminal justice system.

To meet this need, DCJS partnered with Atomic Jolt's Curriculum Services team to develop a suite of 11 short courses focused on a person-centered approach. The courses had three main requirements: each needed a summative assessment, each topic needed to include application strategies, and the courses needed to be 508 compliant, or in other words, fully screen-reader accessible.

The Solution

The Atomic Jolt Curriculum Team started building the courses in Articulate Rise, using the review features to collaborate within the team as well as with the DCJS training director.

Summative Assessments

The summative assessment for each course required a score of 80% to pass, and the Atomic Jolt team began to map out the learning objectives for each course. As the timeline for this project was tight, and the courses needed to be short and direct, there was no room for extraneous content. The curriculum development team made sure that all content tied directly to the learning objectives for the course and helped learners prepare for the summative assessments to pass the course.

Application

In order for learners to actually use the skills presented in these courses, they need to see what they look like in action. Many of the topics in this training suite are mastery-based skills that are more abstract than concrete, especially for beginners. The curriculum team wanted learners to have clear examples of how those skills should be used with individuals transitioning from the criminal justice system, so a variety of example formats were included in the courses, such as written and video case studies. Infographics were also included that learners could download to reference later as they applied the skills to their own work.

Accessibility

A standard part of Atomic Jolt's accessibility practice is creating accessible PDFs of any course infographics for students using screen readers. While completing the accessible PDFs and checking the course for overall accessibility, the curriculum team realized that certain question types native to Articulate Rise were not screenreader accessible. Even though it took time to rework, 508 compliance was a major priority for DCJS, so the affected questions were reworked using accessible question types.

Key Takeaways

Show skills in action: Even though the individual courses were designed to be short, they couldn't be considered complete without showing application of the skills that learners needed to develop. Most job-related skills are more complicated than simple knowledge; successful professionals must understand and apply the knowledge to different situations. The curriculum team made sure to include application examples and strategies for all the major topics in this suite of courses.

Be intentional about accessibility: Many major design software programs have native accessibility tools, but it is always a good idea to run an independent accessibility check. This project highlighted a gap in Articulate Rise’s native question types: not all types are screenreader accessible. The curriculum team had to choose between accessibility and variety, and accessibility was the obvious choice.

Align LOs to assessments: With limited time to develop these short courses, it was vital that content be aligned with the summative assessments in each course so that learners would learn exactly what they needed to pass the course. The Atomic Jolt curriculum team collaborated with the DCJS training director to ensure that topics and assessments were aligned and that there were no major gaps.

Future Plans

Now that the suite of courses is ready for deployment, the training director will begin administering the courses to applicable employees and will be able to collect data on how employees are performing within the courses and in their regular duties. She will be able to identify gaps where new training needs to be created or existing training refined.

Short and Sweet Learning Content

When working with tight deadlines or small courses, aligning your learning objectives and assessments before developing content is crucial to ensure every piece of material serves a purpose. By keeping a focused approach, you can maximize impact without unnecessary complexity.

It's also essential to conduct independent accessibility checks in any software you use. While built-in accessibility features can be helpful, they don't always catch every issue. As seen in this project, even widely used tools can have accessibility gaps, requiring adjustments to ensure full compliance.

At Atomic Jolt, accessibility is a core part of our course development process. From screen-reader-friendly assessments to accessible PDF resources, we prioritize inclusive learning experiences. Learn more about our accessibility services.

Looking Ahead

If your institution faces challenges with resource accessibility or learner engagement, there's no need to tackle it alone. At Atomic Jolt, we specialize in creating tailored, scalable solutions that empower both learners and staff.

Ready to start? Reach out to discuss how Atomic Jolt can transform your learner experience today.