The Vera Institute of Justice said that in addition to Virginia, prison departments in Louisiana, Minnesota, Nevada and Utah were chosen after a competitive proposal process.

Five other jurisdictions — Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon, New York City and Middlesex County, N.J. — already are participating.

Solitary confinement has been used widely in prisons and jails across the country both for punitive reasons and for safety — to protect the inmate in question or other inmates from a dangerous prisoner.

However, it long has been known there can be serious mental and physical effects on people held in solitary for extended periods. It also is a more expensive way to imprison people.

The Virginia Department of Corrections says it has been moving toward curbing the use of solitary confinement.

The U.S. Department of Justice, in a 2016 report on restrictive prison housing across the country, favorably cited Virginia’s effort to reduce inmate segregation at Red Onion State Prison through its “administrative segregation step-down program.”

In 2011, Red Onion, in Wise County, held 511 inmates in maximum-security administrative segregation. As result of the step-down program, as of last March only 84 inmates remained in segregation there. The departments says it now is examining ways to apply the Red Onion results systemwide.

The Vera Institute, a justice reform organization that works with government and civic leaders to foster change in public safety and justice systems, said many corrections departments want to reduce the use of solitary confinement, but it often is entrenched as a way to maintain order and respond to infractions.

Segregation can be overused for the young and people with mental illnesses, the institute said.

The 21-month initiative on segregation begins in early 2017 and is supported by a $2.2 million grant awarded to Vera by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance. The states will provide a match up to $50,000.

According to the institute, it will work with Virginia and the other selected states to assess how they use solitary confinement, develop ways to safely reduce that use, and help implement changes.

“We are thrilled to now be working with 10 jurisdictions to not only improve the safety and well-being of individuals, prisons and communities in their states, but also to model promising practices for others who share this vision,” said Fred Patrick, director of Vera’s Center on Sentencing and Corrections.

Harold Clarke, director of the Virginia Department of Corrections, said, “While we are pleased with the progress we have made … we also know that there is more work to be done. We are delighted to be selected for this initiative, and we welcome the opportunity to learn and share ideas with Vera and the participating departments.”

Virginia has more than 30,000 inmates in its prisons. Red Onion State Prison, which held 800 to 900 inmates last month, opened in 1998 as the state’s first so-called “supermax” prison designed for the most dangerous of Virginia’s criminals.

Under the step-down program, prisoners who once were kept in cells for 23 to 24 hours a day are given a chance to work their way out and join small groups of other prisoners.

Performance expectations rise at each level of the program, and additional privileges can be earned.

All but 84 of the original 511 offenders in segregation at Red Onion have completed the step-down program and transitioned to general population housing. The Department of Corrections said that just 15 of those who completed the program have returned to segregation.

The department said that at Red Onion, from 2011 through 2015, incident reports were down 65 percent; inmate grievances fell 71 percent; and informal complaints were reduced by 76 percent.

A school opened for the first time at Red Onion in 2013. By last year, 260 inmates were enrolled.