| Corrections News On-Line August 2003 |
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| Directors Message |
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About a year ago, I made a commitment to serve as the interim director until this September, and that time is drawing near. Many people have been asking about the schedule for my departure and hiring the new director. At the end of August, I will leave the DOC to begin my new position as director of the Criminal Justice Policy and Research Institute at the Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University. The recruitment for the new director closes August 8, but we don’t know how long it will take to complete. I have agreed to be involved in that process. Until the new director is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate, Nick Armenakis will serve as interim director.
Often, it is at transition points such as this that we take the time to look at changes and achievements. As I reflect on my eight years with the people and issues of the Department of Corrections, I realize we have accomplished a great deal together. We sited and built new prisons to handle an inmate population that nearly doubled. We developed and implemented the Oregon Accountability Model. We forged partnerships with legislators, other government agencies, non-profits and businesses. We built strong support in our communities. We implemented Measure 17 and launched Oregon Corrections Enterprises as a semi-independent state agency. The Children of Incarcerated Parents Project brought a new focus on ways to break the intergenerational cycle of criminality.
Although I turn in my keys to the Dome Building at the end of the month, I know the department is on solid ground and in good hands. Leaving the DOC is difficult, but knowing I will continue to be involved in corrections and other criminal justice matters in my new role makes the change easier.
My new job will focus on the policy issues that lead to the laws, practices and funding for criminal justice in Oregon and across the nation. Part of that will be work on a new “Children’s Justice Alliance,” a not-for-profit organization. Building on the work we began with the Children of Incarcerated Parents Project, the alliance will serve as the organizing entity for a variety of partner organizations that provide services for the children of those involved in the criminal justice system and their families. Its work will include coordinating efforts to help ensure these children and their families receive comprehensive services needed for success; providing policy leadership and technical assistance; and raising funds.
I look forward to working with the new DOC director during the transition and beyond. At Governor Kulongoski’s request, I will continue working on some specific projects through the next year. So while I will no longer work directly for the Department of Corrections, I will still be generating support for the DOC’s mission and working with legislators and other decision makers.
I wish each of you well. I will fondly remember the work we have done, the challenges we met, and the friends I have made during my time with the Oregon Department of Corrections.
Warm regards,
Ben de Haan
Interim Director
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| OAM Update |
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Comments on In-Service Training
“This is similar to what we have been doing for quite a few years now.” “It codifies many of the terms and techniques we already use.” “It answers my questions about the right ways to supervise another human being.”
These are some of the comments staff are including in their evaluations of the Oregon Approach to Offender Accountability. A major component of the Department of Corrections’ 2003 in-service curriculum, the Oregon Accountability Model encompasses the 3Rs: Role Model, Reinforce and Redirect. After a year of planning and more than six months of in-service classes, responses to the Oregon Accountability Model curriculum have been as diverse as a cross-section of our workforce.
“Staff echo that preparing inmates for successful reintegration into the community has been at the top of their list of goals and a priority for many years,” says SRCI Staff Trainer John Tyler. “Discussions continued not only during the OAM classes themselves, but also during the class breaks and as staff returned to duty at their institutions.”
In talking to staff, Tyler says many of the topics revolved around exchanging ideas that demonstrate consistency in process and similarity in the application of successful supervision techniques. Those techniques in turn help build the foundation necessary for inmates’ long-term positive change.
“By modeling appropriate pro-social behavior to inmates we demonstrate what is acceptable,” says DOC Training Section Administrator Greg Morton. “By reinforcing positive choices and redirecting unacceptable energies, we contribute to effective change.”
“DOC employees work hard every day to hold offenders accountable for their actions and reduce the risk of future criminal behavior,” concludes Tyler. “We also work harder to hold ourselves to an even higher standard.”
During the OAM portion of an in-service class at SRCI, Tyler asked the class if the inmates they supervise have ever had any good role models. After discussion, the group agreed that whether or not inmates had good role models before, it’s important that we continue to promote public safety by being ideal role models of the “3Rs” now.
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| TACE Event |
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Coffee Creek a Success
July 12 & 13 saw a special event for some inmate parents at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility and their children. “Through a Child’s Eyes” (TACE) brought together 650 people -- moms, kids and members of the community -- for two days of activities, including food, crafts and games. Sponsored by the Wilsonville Rotary Club, DOC staff volunteers and members of the CCCF Prison Advisory Committee worked with the Rotarians to make the event a success. The TACE event was open to minimum and medium custody inmates who had six months without misconduct reports and who had completed parenting education or who are enrolled in the classes.
The event brought incarcerated mothers and their children together in a setting that enabled them to interact in a more relaxed and friendly environment. As a result, mothers learned more about their children in three hours than they would in the typical visiting sessions. Some of the mothers saw their children for the first time in years.
“This is another springboard for the pro-social work we are doing to break the intergenerational cycle of criminality that is far too prevalent in our society,” says CCCF Superintendent Joan Palmateer. “Future community/Rotary-sponsored events will vary and are planned for twice a year, allowing moms and children to learn from each other and bond in a supportive environment. Also, the children’s caregivers will get a chance to learn some of the parenting curriculum the mothers receive at Coffee Creek.”
For more information about upcoming TACE activities, contact Margie Viall at (503) 570-6803.
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| Family Visiting Pilots |
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The Rule on Visiting (Inmate) grants each inmate who is permitted visiting 24 visiting points each calendar month. On weekdays, one point is deducted for each visitor at each visiting session, regardless of age. However, an important component of the Oregon Accountability Model is building appropriate, strong family relationships.
To encourage family bonding, a pilot project to potentially increase family visiting and possibly relieve visiting room crowding began at Oregon State Penitentiary on July 14 and will begin at OSCI on August 1. Under the pilot programs, un-emancipated minor children on inmates’ approved lists are allowed to visit weekday (non-holiday) mornings without points being deducted from the inmate’s allotment. At the end of pilots, the department will analyze results and decide whether to end, extend or adopt the program.
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| Alternative Incarceration Prog |
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Powder River & Coffee Creek
On June 24, 2003, Governor Ted Kulongoski signed House Bill 2647 into law, authorizing a new alternative incarceration program focusing on inmates with drug and alcohol addictions.
“Eighty percent of those entering prison have serious alcohol and drug problems,” says DOC Assistant Director for Programs Scott Taylor. “Substance abuse is a clear criminogenic risk factor. Dealing with addiction before inmates return to our communities is good for public safety.”
The new program will have the same strict eligibility requirements targeted at non-Measure 11 offenders as the SUMMIT “boot camp” program, which the department has operated for nine years at Shutter Creek Correctional Facility in North Bend. However, the PRCF program will not be based on a military model. Instead, it will incorporate proven research-based interventions and focus on alcohol and drug treatment and cognitive thinking.
Taylor reports the residential program will begin later this year and will be housed at Powder River Correctional Facility (PRCF) in Baker City for male inmates, and at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville for females.
“Inmates will spend six to nine months in a highly structured and regimented routine for 14 hours each day,” says Taylor. “Inmates who successfully complete the residential component of the program will be transitioned to the community for an additional 90 days to establish stability and demonstrate behavior changes. Inmates who violate the terms of their release agreements will be returned to prison to complete their sentences.”
“We expect graduates of the new program to have lower rates of recidivism than the overall inmate population,” concludes Taylor. “Another benefit is that both the reduction in time served and the 90-day transitional leave will help with the growing demand for new prison beds predicted by the ‘Oregon Corrections Population Forecast’ released last April.”
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| ISSD Update: E-Mail Etiquette |
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E-mail is often seen either as an incredible convenience or a huge headache, and sometimes both. The headaches often come from sifting through the “spam” -- that junk e-mail you can’t delete fast enough. However there is another kind of e-mail that walks the narrow line between acceptable and annoying: legitimate e-mails of narrow interest sent out to large distribution lists, or “reply to alls” on legitimate e-mails.
Distribution list can be an effective means of sending email to a large group of people. However:
§ Know your audience. Ensure the list you are using is truly your intended audience.
§ Don’t use the “Reply to All” button unless you know who it is going to, and that they need to see your reply. Many distribution lists have hundreds of individual addresses. In most cases it’s best to respond only to the sender of the email message, not to its entire recipient list.
§ If you’re using a distribution list to address multiple recipients, consider entering the list (or any large group of recipients) in the “Blind Carbon Copy” (BCC:) field. If added to the “To:” field, Outlook will list every recipient individually in the header of the email. Readers will have to wade through perhaps hundreds of addresses just to get to the body of the e-mail. Another reason is privacy; especially if you are dealing with people outside state government, most people don’t want their email address exposed to everyone on a distribution list.
§ Don’t send out commercial e-mail, advertisements, chain letters and the like from state computers. That also means don’t use agency distribution lists for such e-mails. This is considered spamming and is against state and department policy. Violations are strictly enforced.
Next month: Jokes and chain letters and SPAM (Oh, My!)
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| DOC Payroll News |
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Health Benefits for 2004
On June 17, the Public Employees’ Benefit Board (PEBB) approved plans to renew existing medical, dental, life and disability plans with current carriers for 2004. The board was able to hold the annual rate increase to 9 percent, and PEBB benefits are not expected to change significantly in 2004. Visit the PEBB Web site for more information: http://pebb.das.state.or.us
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| More News... |
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- Kevin Hormann is the new administrator of the DOC Intake and Assessment Center. Hormann joined the department in 1990 as administrator of alcohol and drug programs at Columbia River and later also at Coffee Creek. Earlier, he worked as a counselor in the Cornerstone Drug Program at Oregon State Hospital for five years. Hormann holds a masters’ degree from Concordia Seminary in Exile. He succeeds Steve Ickes, who recently retired.
- Kutten Memorial Fundraiser BBQ Results: Oregon State Penitentiary hosted a barbecue contest as a fundraiser to benefit Sarah Kutten (19) daughter of the late OSCI Diversity Coordinator James Kutten. The sales of barbecue netted $910. “This is a wonderful testament to all of the professionals that we have within our ranks,” reports OSP Lt. Ken Stepp. “Together, united, we can do so much for one another and our community.” Stepp expects the barbecue contest to become an annual event to raise funds for worthy causes.
- The US Bureau of Justice Statistics’ publication: “Prisoners in 2002” describes the number of persons in state and federal prisons, compares the increase in the prison population during 2002 with that of the previous year, and gives the prison growth rates since 1995. You can find it online at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/p02.htm
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| More News... |
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August 1 in Salem -- BBQ & Game Day at OSP: Come join the fun behind Residence 1 at Oregon State Penitentiary from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. A cheeseburger barbecue lunch can be purchased for $3.50 and try your hand at games of skill including basketball toss, football toss, and putt-putt golf for the chance to win some great prizes.
August 9 in Salem -- SCI/MCCF Second Annual Fun Run &Walk: All runners, walkers, strollers, family members, friends and onlookers are encouraged to join the group at Minto Brown Park in Salem at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 9. Cost: $12.
August 26 in Salem -- Oregon AFSCME Council 75 public service fingerprinting at the Oregon State Fair. (At the AFL-CIO booth.)
August 22 & 23 in Portland -- The DOC “Leg Irons” team is competing in the 2003 Hood To Coast Relay Run. If you are interested in participating on the team, please contact Craig Mitchell (503) 378-2465.
September 20 in Albany -- Oregon Criminal Justice Association Annual Open Invitational Fall Pistol Match and Golf Tournament: Individual and team competitions, as well as a civilian category. Cost: $40, includes lunch at T-shirt. For more information, contact Todd Cooper at (541) 682-2053 or by e-mail: todd.cooper@co.lane.or.us.
September 27 in Salem -- 2003 DOC Annual Golf Tournament: This four-person scramble format tournament sponsored by the OSP Fitness Center is open to all DOC and OCE employees and retirees. Each team must have at least one employee or retiree on it. A maximum of three guests will be allowed per employee/retiree. Location: Santiam Golf Course in Stayton, 8:00 a.m. “shotgun start.” Cost: $55 per player/$220per team includes greens fees, lunch, skill prizes and t-shirt. Proceeds from the tournament raffle will be donated to the Tyler Fritz Euromed Clinic Fund. For more information, call Jerry Long at (503) 378-2010 or Ron West at (503) 373-7604 ext. 254.
DOC Corrections News
Oregon Department of Corrections
Ben de Haan, Interim Director
The mission of the Oregon Department of Corrections is to
promote public safety by holding offenders accountable for their
actions and reducing the risk of future criminal behavior.
For more information or to submit story ideas, please call Nancy Sellers in DOC Public Affairs
at (503) 945-9225 or e-mail nancy.sellers@doc.state.or.us
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