Board of Directors - National Correctional Industries Association

NCIA NEWS 

Board of Directors 

Chairman/President 

Don Guillory (VA) 

President-Elect 

Denny Fracassi (ND) 

VP of Program Development 

Gayle Lambert (MT) 

VP of Marketing 

Brian Connett (NV) 

Treasurer 

Karen Brown (NC) 

Corporate Secretary/Executive 

Director 

Gina Honeycutt 

At Large Members 

Jerry Campbell (AR) 

J.D. Colbert (OK) 

Susan Cunningham (TN) 

Paul Laird (FPI) 

John Miller (MS) 

Tony Miller (PA) 

Chuck Pattillo (CA) 

Carol Tortarelli (FL) 

Appointees 

Mark Saunders, ACA 

Tom Grissom, Corporate 

Dean Mason, Jails 

Mike Herron, 

Central Region 

Joe Sommerville, 

Northeast Region 

Andy Farquhar, 

Southeast Region 

Steve Edwards, 

South Central Region 

Marty Thomas, 

Western Region 

National Office Staff 

Director of Operations/Grant 

Manager 

Wil Heslop 

Accounting Manager 

Julio Nacario 

Sales and Marketing Manager 

Rebekah Zinno 

Systems Coordinator 

Megan Klingman 

Administrative Assistant 

Nora Talley 

Graphic Designer 

David Bell 

2010 FALL NEWSLETTER 

About the National Correctional 

Industries Association 

The National Correctional Industries Association (NCIA) is the only 

association solely dedicated to advancing the unique profession 

of Correctional Industries. For more than half a century, NCIA has 

operated as an international, non-profit professional organization 

of individuals, agencies and companies, both public and private, 

who are committed to: 

• Promoting excellence and credibility in the field of 

correctional industries through the professional development 

of its members 

• Increasing public awareness of the benefits of correctional 

industries as work/training programs funded in part or whole 

by the sale of goods, services and commodities produced by 

inmates 

• Supporting innovation in and the development of offender 

work programs 

• Promoting reentry and reducing recidivism by providing 

offenders with real-world work experience that teaches 

transferable job skills, life skills and work ethic to prepare 

them for post-release reentry and employment 

NCIA Members 

NCIA Members represent all 50 state correctional industry agencies, 

Federal Prison industries and numerous county jail work programs, 

as well as private sector companies that work in partnership 

with Correctional Industries, both as suppliers/vendors and as 

partners in apprenticeship and work programs. 

Go to www.nationalcia.org to find out more about NCIA! 

National Office: 

1202 North Charles Street 

Baltimore, MD 21201 

410.230.3972 

(f) 410.230.3981 

www.nationalcia.org 

REENTRY — MEASURING OUR SUCCESS PAGE 1

NCIA NEWS 


TABLE OF CONTENTS 

N C I A N E W S 

2010 

F A L L 

4 PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS 

6 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REMARKS 

8 PEN PRODUCTS MAKES RE-ENTRY MOVES 

By Becky Deeb, New Enterprise Development Manager, PEN 

Products 

12 THE TRICOR EXPERIENCE – A WORKFORCE 

DEVELOPMENT MODEL IN CORRECTIONAL 

INDUSTRIES 

Susan Cunningham, OWDS, Director of Offender 

Development & Transitional Services and Molly McIntosh, 

OWDS, Manager of Field Services 

15 “A CHINO HAND” 

By Stephen Green, California Prison Industry Authority 

18 PRISONERS GET READY FOR WORK WITH THE 

“CLOTHES CLOSET” 

By Tujauna S. White, Marketing Specialist, Michigan 

State Industries 

20 MEASURING OUR SUCCESS – ONE REENTRY 

STORY AT A TIME 

20 DEFINITION OF REENTRY: AN ACT 

OF REENTERING 

By Ellen Cornette, Production Supervisor, 

Virginia Correctional Enterprises 

21 WE CANNOT DIRECT THE WIND … BUT WE CAN 

ADJUST THE SAILS 

By Cheryl Ahumada, Marketing Coordinator, Colorado 

Correctional Industries 

24 MY NAME IS ANGIE 

By Angie McDermott 

26 “LEO” — ONE OF THE MANY SUCCESS 

STORIES FROM MINNCOR’S EMPLOY PROGRAM 

By Brenda Chandler, Administrative Director, MINNCOR 

27 MAKING SECOND CHANCES WORK 

CONFERENCE WEBSITE RELEASED 

27 COST BENEFIT STUDY OF REENTRY PROGRAMS 

CONDUCTED IN WA STATE 

28 AN IDEA BORN OF NECESSITY — NOW A 

MODEL FOR SUCCESS 

By Julio Naudin, Program Development Manager, Lafayette 

Parish Sheriff’s Office 

30 WHEN JAIL INMATES WORK – EVERYONE WINS 

By Rod Miller, Director, National Jail Work and Industry 

Center (www.jailwork.com) 

34 WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT REGIONAL 

TRAINING: ENHANCING CORRECTIONAL 

INDUSTRIES’ ROLE IN REENTRY 

36 CORRECTIONAL INDUSTRIES IN THE NEWS! 

37 IN MARYLAND, RESTORATIVE JUSTICE 

INCLUDES RESTORING A PIECE OF 

AMERICAN HISTORY 

By The Maryland Department of Public Safety and 

Correctional Services Communications’ Office 

38 NCIA BOARD OF DIRECTORS GETS BUSY 

IN CHICAGO 

40 NCIA ANNOUNCES BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

ELECTION RESULTS 

41 CONFERENCE COLLABORATIONS 

ASSOCIATIONS PARTNER TO SAVE MONEY IN 

A TIGHT BUDGET YEAR 

By Dean Mason, Executive Director, Washington State 

Jail Industries Board 

42 NCIA WELCOMES NEW DIRECTOR – 

MICHAEL HURT 

43 GOODWILL INDUSTRIES INTERNATIONAL AND 

PRISON FELLOWSHIP JOIN FORCES TO HELP 

REDUCE CRIMINAL RECIDIVISM 

44 PEOPLE ON THE MOVE 

45 VENDOR CORNER 

46 CORPORATE AND CORPORATE 

PLUS MEMBERS 

NOTE: 

PAGE 2 

Statements contained in NCIA News are the personal views of the authors and do not constitute NCIA policy unless so 

indicated. NCIA does not assume responsibility for the content of NCIA News as submitted by contributors. 

REENTRY — MEASURING OUR SUCCESS

Capri Optics Ad

NCIA NEWS 


President’s Address 

Entry — That’s When Reentry Should Start… 

The buzz word for seemingly the entire “corrections” world is REENTRY! Why now and not 

many years ago? I believe that the economy has played a huge role in rethinking our delivery 

of services and whether or not we are really “correcting” anything. For many the word 

“corrections” is a misnomer … an oxymoron when paired with rehabilitation or other words 

that define what we attempt to do to an individual while in custody. We put an individual in 

a fenced facility and make every decision for him from morning to night. We offer some programs 

that may or may not be beneficial to that particular individual. We base our program 

design on the masses with little attention to individual assessment and need. True? Maybe 

in some systems — not in others! 

Don Guillory, CEO 

Virginia Correctional 

Industries 

The fact is we as a society can no longer afford “corrections” without some pay back on our 

huge investment in incarceration. The system in many cases does not correct anything. We 

effectively remove offenders … violators of the law … from society for a period of time. During 

that period of “time out” we must begin to make changes in that individual in order to 

stop the cycle of return to incarceration. 

Program participation is in many cases voluntary. Should we leave the choice up to that individual? 

Some of the programs would really make a difference … just participation would make 

a difference. Voluntary participation seems to be mandated by some program organizers. 

Why? The answer is simple — if they volunteer — that individual wants to participate. There 

may be many reasons for participation but mere participation will make a difference. 

Programs come in many different forms. A program that has proven to change a population’s 

rate of return to prison is Correctional Industries (CI). Participation in CI is voluntary; 

CI normalizes a facilities environment in several ways; CI mirrors the work place in the world 

outside; CI teaches real life experiences; CI trains individuals for a real job; in a word — It 

Works! (Okay that’s two words — but it still works!) 

We should be planning for “successful reentry” upon entry. Entry is when the process of 

release must start in order to make effective changes and have a successful outcome. Entry 

should initiate testing, evaluation and psychometric study to plan for that individual’s ultimate 

release. Only then will we be able to fine tune the programs that work and discard those that 

don’t. Part of that forward looking evaluation and tests should include the future work force 

needs — where will the jobs be? What programs should be offered? What programs should 

be mandatory or voluntary? If only we could start corrections prior to incarceration! We 

would really be ahead of the curve; however that is not possible at this day and age. So the 

next best solution must be used more intensely — Successful Reentry — start at entry! 

Plan ahead and increase the use of the best programs available. Create others and fine tune 

the programs that work. Broaden the CI program. Increase CI with more support from both 

correctional practitioners and the public. Create more jobs within every facility to fuel the 

generation of work programs like CI. CI reduces the spiraling increased population of corrections 

by reducing recidivism and increasing Successful Reentry. 

PAGE 4 


Keefe Ad

NCIA NEWS 


Executive Director’s Remarks 

Beyond the Numbers 

As Correctional Industry professionals, you all run successful businesses. And when 

it comes to measuring how successful your business is, it’s often the numbers that 

you turn to when justifying your existence. Profit margin, ROI, cost cutting and maximizing 

output … all are measured in numbers and neatly presented via spreadsheet, 

charts or on a PowerPoint presentation. 

Gina Honeycutt, 

Executive Director 

The same could be said about the success of reentry programs … but with a twist. 

With reentry initiatives, you not only measure success through decreased recidivism 

rates and other metrics, but by the individual stories of the offenders whose lives are 

transformed through their involvement in Correctional Industries. These individual 

transformations take us beyond the numbers and each one of these stories, whether 

in aggregate or on its own, serve as the ultimate proof that CI is a main driver of successful 

reentry. 

That’s why I’m excited about this year’s Reentry Issue. We’ve woven together stories 

about successful and innovative reentry programs (some with positive anecdotal results, 

some with the numbers to prove success and some showing promising results 

with a plan to measure future success) with stories of ex-offenders who have made 

a successful reentry into society. Hopefully, this will take you beyond the numbers … 

because at the end of it all, do the numbers alone really excite and motivate you? 

I’m also excited to be able to share with you that NCIA’s Offender Workforce Development 

Specialist (OWDS) Team in collaboration with the National Institute of Corrections 

(NIC) will pilot a regional training event called the Workforce Development 

Regional Training: Enhancing Correctional Industries’ Role in Reentry on October 

14 – 16, 2010 in Nashville, TN. We hope that anyone involved in offender workforce 

development for the Southeast and South Central Regions have the opportunity to 

attend this event … please see page 34 for more information on this event and the 

rollout of future regional training conferences. 

In addition to the excellent feature articles on reentry, this issue contains the recent 

Board of Directors’ election results (on page 40), as well as the launch of a new feature, 

“People on the Move” on page 44. 

It’s our hope that you will find the articles in this edition helpful, and that the insight 

you receive can be used to further advance the reentry initiatives and programs 

within your operations … Take CI beyond the numbers! 

Save the Date! 

Enterprise 2011 National Training Conference 

March 25 – 28, 2011 

PAGE 6 


NCIA NEWS 


Brother Ad 


NCIA NEWS 


PEN Products Makes Re-Entry Moves 

By Becky Deeb, New Enterprise Development Manager, PEN Products 

Offenders and staff work together during a Career Path 

Planning Workshop at the Plainfield Correctional Facility 

FEATURE ARTICLE 

PEN Products, the correctional industries division 

of the Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC), 

continues to fulfill its mission by providing offenders 

with a work ethic and job skills, preparing 

them to be job-ready upon their release. While 

continuing to focus on employment and increasing 

offender jobs inside Indiana’s prisons, great 

strides are also being made in helping to prepare 

offenders for post release. “PEN has created offender 

jobs at its new central office, is holding Career 

Path Planning Workshops, has implemented 

Job Clubs, is focused on the U.S. Department of 

Labor Apprenticeship programs, has developed 

Career Resource Centers, and is tracking post–release 

employment,” states Director Mike Herron. 

Central Office Move 

On March 1, 2010, PEN Products moved its central 

office administration and showroom to the 

grounds of the Indianapolis Re-entry and Education 

Facility (IREF). IREF is a 370 adult male facility 

focusing on long term sentenced offenders 

that are within three years of their release to the 

Indianapolis area. PEN Products’ move to a building 

with outside access allows for 31 resident of- 

fenders to work within PEN administrative functions, 

including: finance, marketing and sales, and 

building administration. The offender residents 

are learning job skills and are involved in the business 

activities of customer service, accounting, 

office administration, and building maintenance. 

Additionally, a crew of residents is also involved in 

an outside moving crew, moving offices for state 

agencies across the state. The resident offenders 

work up to seven hours per day at the PEN Products 

central office where they are learning and 

using business software while obtaining experience 

in a professional, business environment. 

Career Path Planning Workshops 

To date, twelve Career Path Planning Workshops 

have been held throughout the state of Indiana. 

These workshops provide interaction and joint 

participation of offenders and outside professionals, 

including: IDOC and PEN Products staff, 

post-release service providers, criminal justice 

professors and students, and workforce development 

staffers. The focus of these all day workshops 

is to look beyond that first post-release 

job and focus on a career approach by matching 

both job skills and interests to find a career suited 

to the individual. The main topics covered are career 

theory, job retention, and time management. 

Over 300 offenders and 100 staff members have 

participated in the Career Path Planning Workshops. 

Going forward, PEN Products will hold 

one workshop per month at different locations 

across the state. 

Job Clubs 

A follow up to the Career Path Planning Workshops, 

Job Clubs are held monthly and offer offenders 

that have successfully completed the Career 

Path Planning Workshop an opportunity to 

further their job readiness by focusing on resume 

writing, completing job applications, interviewing, 

and soft skills. College professors, employment 

professionals and ex-offenders who have been 

PAGE 8 


NCIA NEWS 


A Career Path Planning Workshop being held at the 

Rockville Correctional Facility 

U.S. Department of Labor Apprenticeship Graduation at 

the Pendleton Correctional Facility 

successful in finding and retaining post-release 

employment often visit the Job Clubs as guest 

speakers. 

The goal is for the Job Club to offer offenders up 

to twelve modules covering topics such as: 

• Networking 

• Job retention 

• Job searches 

• Soft skills 

• Time management 

• Resume writing 

• Problem solving 

• Decision making 

• Career employment approach 

• Interviewing skills 

Career Resource Centers 

Based on the National Institute of Corrections’ 

DVD series PEN Products has opened two Career 

Resource Centers, one at the Westville Correctional 

Facility and another at the PEN Products 

central office. These offender-run centers offer 

self-service training where offenders can learn: 

• Keyboarding 

• Computer skills 

• OSHA work place safety 

• First aid 

• Ethics 

• Trade specific curriculums 

• Completion of job applications 

• Resume and cover letter writing 

The Career Resource Center’s main focus is to 

better prepare the offender with the skills and 

training necessary to become effective when 

searching for employment. The training will provide 

a sense of integrity that is strongly needed 

for those to achieve success in the workforce 

upon release. The Career Resource Center provides 

offenders with the opportunity to research 

information about employment, education, and 

community resources. 

U.S. Department of Labor Apprenticeship 

Program 

PEN Products continues its emphasis on certified 

training documentation through continuing 

participation in the U.S Department of Labor Apprenticeship 

program. “Since its implementation 

in 2006, over 900 offenders have earned their 

apprenticeships, and 1,134 offenders are currently 

enrolled in an apprenticeship program,” comments 

Doug Evans, Operations and Job Placement Manager. 

PEN Products offers apprenticeships in 31 

trade specific occupations. Offenders must complete 

between 2,000 and 8,000 hours of on-thejob 

training and 144 hours of related documented 

Continued on page 10 


NCIA NEWS 


Continued from page 9 

training for every 2,000 hours of on-the-job training. 

This program has won the Indiana Governor’s 

Public Service Achievement Award (see article 

from Summer 2010 issue of NCIA News) and by 

providing sentence cuts for graduates has saved 

Indiana taxpayers over $4 million. 

“Over 900 offenders have earned their apprenticeships, 

and 1,134 offenders are currently enrolled in 

an apprenticeship program.” 

Post-Release Success 

PEN Products is now tracking the post-release 

employment of offenders that have taken advantage 

of the programs outlined above. Andrew 

was one such previous PEN Products worker. 

He had earned his Material Coordinator Apprenticeship 

and took his certificate with him to an 

employment interview. During the interview, he 

showed the certificate to the interviewer and was 

asked how he had earned this certification during 

his time of incarceration. After Andrew explained 

how he completed the Apprenticeship program 

and his actual work experience and job skills 

gained through PEN Products, the interviewer responded 

by saying, “that is exactly what we need 

here…” The interviewer 

even offered Andrew 

a better position 

at a higher wage 

than the job for which 

he had applied. 

Andrew shared with 

PEN Products that, 

Offender receptionist working at PEN Products 

new central office and showroom 

“this is a prime example of how important the 

Apprenticeship Program is to the rehabilitation 

of offenders … it shows how it can help you find a 

job so that you may become a productive citizen 

once again.” 

Ex-offenders are finding employment after release, 

mostly as a result of their time spent employed 

by PEN Products. They are learning job 

skills inside, obtaining certified credentials, earning 

sentence cuts, preparing for a job search, and 

then finding and, most importantly, retaining employment 

upon release. PEN Products’ hope is 

that as these programs continue and as more offenders 

reach their release date, data will support 

the antidotal results obtained so far and lead to 

show an even further reduction in recidivism. 

In the meantime, PEN Products is Changing Lives 

… One Job at a Time. 

Proud Offender Recipient 

of a U.S. Department 

of Labor Apprenticeship 

Certificate 

PAGE 10 


Dauphin Ad

NCIA NEWS 


The TRICOR Experience – A Workforce 

Development Model in Correctional Industries 

By Susan Cunningham, OWDS, Director of Offender Development & Transitional Services and Molly McIntosh, OWDS, Manager of Field Services 


TRICOR has established a workforce development 

model that guides the training and development 

of our offender workforce. This model has 

evolved over the last few years to utilize evidence 

based practices to ensure the most current and 

comprehensive training is provided. The TRAILS 

(Transitional Readiness and Improving Life Skills) 

Program encompasses the entire TRICOR experience. 

The program has several objectives: 

• To instill in offenders the value of work 

through supervision, training, and coaching 

• To promote rehabilitation through meaningful 

occupational skills training and 

work 

• To train offenders in the performance of 

daily tasks in order to optimize industry, 

service, and farm operations 

• To prepare offenders for post-release job 

placement and continued employment in 

the community 

• To assist with career development 

• To promote successful living 

• To make communities safer 

• To reduce recidivism 

TRAILS ~ an 18 month pre-release and one year 

post release program that supports systematic 

learning and development for each offender. 

Phase One: 

Recruitment and Intake Screening for TRAILS 

Program Participation (Recruiting process is ongoing.) 

Phase Two: 

Assessment, Evaluation, Continued Screening & 

Preparation for TRAILS Program 

Phase Three: 

Participation in Occupational and Life Skills development 

for improved knowledge, skills, and 

abilities 

Phase Four: 

Referrals, Coordination, & Collaboration of Post 

Release Services for Successful Reentry 

Offenders who complete the program become 

eligible to receive full post-release services. 

TRAILS ~ the program components 

Orientation 

Orientation introduces the offender to the overall 

TRICOR experience and how to become a successful 

member of a workforce through a career 

development focus. During this six hour class, 

TRICOR’s mission and programs are discussed 

along with workplace behavior, practice, and safety. 

In addition, the importance of work in people’s 

lives is reviewed. Offenders’ occupational interests 

are identified and the TRICOR Successful Living 

Plan is unveiled. TRICOR’s Transitional Team 

teaches this class. The Orientation curriculum 

was developed by TRICOR staff and is based on 

the offender career development model taught 

by the National Institute of Corrections. 

Successful Living Plan 

The Successful Living Plan teaches offenders to 

develop and evaluate both personal and professional 

goals. The entire process can be used for 

PAGE 12 


NCIA NEWS 


career development, release planning, and other 

case management concerns. The plan gives offenders 

the opportunity to strive for successful 

living while incarcerated and to continue on this 

path after release. 

Occupational Skills Training 

TRICOR’s occupational skills training (OST) is the 

program component that gives offenders the opportunity 

to learn useful job skills and good work 

habits through demonstration, instruction, and 

practice in an actual work setting. 

OST emphasizes three types of skills which transfer 

to a variety of jobs in the community after an 

offender returns home: 

• Basic Universal Occupational Skills – Participants 

learn listening and oral communication 

skills, on the job safety, how to use 

tools, occupational terminology, and other 

behaviors required to keep a job, such as 

creative thinking, decision-making, and 

problem-solving. 

• Specific Occupational Skills – These are 

the specific activities, tasks, operations, 

experiences and technical skills required 

to perform a particular job. 

• Job Readiness Skills – These are the skills, 

attitudes, and understandings essential for 

success in the world of work. Job readiness 

training addresses the attitudes and 

behaviors that employers seek in their employees, 

such as integrity, dependability, 

teamwork, responsibility, and self management. 

Performance Evaluations 

Performance evaluations are conducted every 

six months by the worksite staff. This gives offenders 

the opportunity to review their progress 

in mastering the activities, tasks, and transferable 

skills associated with their jobs. 

Life Skills Curriculum 

Unit One of the Life Skills curriculum is TRICOR’s 

18 hour Pre-Release Life Skills class on finding and 

keeping employment along with reentry and successful 

living. Included in the employment readiness 

components of the curriculum are: 

• Job seeking skills 

• Job interviewing skills designed for former 

felony offenders 

• Resume writing skills 

• Strategies for overcoming employment 

barriers 

• Job retention skills 

The additional chapters are devoted to reentry 

and successful living and emphasize actions and 

behaviors needed to enter the job market and 

manage reentry barriers. All class members receive 

a TRICOR Life Skills Manual which was developed 

by TRICOR in partnership with the National 

Institute of Corrections. 

Unit Two of the Life Skills Curriculum is the National 

Institute of Corrections’ “Thinking for a 

Change” class. The goal of this 22 session course 

is to effect change in thinking in order to impact 

behavior positively. Putting it simply: Thinking 

controls behavior and if people can take charge 

of their thinking they can take control of their 

lives. The course is divided into three parts: 

social skills, cognitive self-change, and problem 

solving. 

TRICOR Offender Preparedness Services 

Funded by a JAG/Byrne AARA Grant, offenders 



NCIA NEWS 



are provided with enhanced personal and career 

development skills through the delivery of Life 

Skills modules and access to a worksite career 

center where Participants explore their occupational 

interests while improving their computer 

skills. Enhanced post-release follow-up is provided. 

Transition Assessments 

Transitional assessments are performed for eligible 

participants who are returning home. The 

assessments underscore strengths and identify 

areas that may still need special attention. 

Other Transitional and Post-Release Services 

The TRICOR Transitional Team collaborates with 

the offender to map out a plan for a successful 

return to the community. With the aid of the 

offender’s Successful Living Plan, performance 

and transition assessment, appropriate job leads 

and additional career development resources 

are identified. The staff also provides information 

about support groups, social services, health 

care, and housing resources, making any appropriate 

referrals for other services. After release, 

the staff stays in contact with the offender for at 

least one year offering support and other case 

management services. 

Last year TRICOR served over 1,500 men and 

women who participated in the TRAILS Program. 

If you would like further information about the 

TRICOR TRAILS program, please contact Susan 

Cunningham at (615)741-5705. 

JR Wald Ad 

PAGE 14 


NCIA NEWS 


“A Chino Hand” 

By Stephen Green, California Prison Industry Authority 


Among his brawny peers in the underwater construction 

industry, J. R. Childress is known as “A 

Chino Hand.” 

Chino refers to the California Institution for Men 

in Chino, Calif., where Childress learned his job 

skills at the Leonard Greenstone Marine Technology 

Training Center — the world’s only training 

program for prison inmates seeking to become 

commercial divers. 

“That’s not a negative,” said Fred Johnson who 

has charge of the Training Center. “A Chino Hand 

is one of the best hands on the job. Because our 

training is so intense, we have priority hiring in the 

industry. Inmates who complete our training are 

guaranteed a job — before they leave prison.” 

Most graduates earn $50,000-to-$80,000 in their 

first year out of prison, he added. Once they’ve 

had a few years experience, they pull in six-figure 

salaries. 

That’s why only two Chino graduates have returned 

to prison 

in the four 

years Johnson 

has been running 

the program. 

And one 

of them was 

sent back only 

after it was 

discovered he 

used a false 

name while 

he was doing 

time. For inmates 

in California’s 

general 

prison population, 

52.3 percent return to incarceration during 

the first two years after their release. 

Like most inmates who enter the program, Childress 

had no diving or construction skills. Today, 

at age 48, he does underwater welding, bracing 

and fabrication on the Texas Gulf Coast. And he’s 

also learned engineering duties on the boats that 

take workers to off-shore job sites. 

The Association of Diving Contractors International 

finds worldwide placements for Chino’s 

certified graduates. Most graduates use their 

skills constructing bridges and off-shore oil drilling 

rigs, and in construction and maintenance 

work in ports and shipyards. 

“The training was just excellent,” Childress said. 

“I never thought I’d be doing anything like this … 

and I like what I do, what I am.” 



NCIA NEWS 



Chino’s diver training “changes the whole psychological 

and social attitudes of the people there,” 

said Leonard Greenstone who founded the program 

in 1970. 

Greenstone was a U.S. Navy salvage diver and 

diving contractor in Southern California who began 

volunteering in inmate training programs in 

1961. Now at age 87, he is a long-time member of 

the California Prison Industry Authority governing 

board. There he oversees a self-supporting 

state agency that operates manufacturing and 

agricultural programs where inmates learn job 

skills. Chino’s Training Center is one of the Authority’s 

programs. 

“People who learn good job skills that lead to 

productive employment come out of prison very 

determined,” Greenstone said. “They turn out to 

be good employees.” 

Some also give back. In spare time, Childress 

meets with students at the Alternative Learning 

Center in suburban Houston for kids who are one 

step from doing time in juvenile detention. 

“J.R. has been providing counseling to our students 

since early May 2010,” said Franklin Izuora 

of the Learning Center staff. “Our students listen 

to him attentively. The hard-core students 

who are in gangs 

initially are cautious, 

but eventually have 

opened up to him. 

They meet role models 

like J.R. and realize 

that all is not 

lost and that there is 

hope for them.” 

The Chino Training 

Center has 30 

inmates in training 

at any given time. 

When one makes parole, 

another comes 

in from a waiting list. 

Besides learning to dive, they take a wide range 

of classes in general education, physics, diving 

medicine, underwater survival, welding, blueprint 

reading and seamanship. 

Inmates train in pools and in simulated underwater 

working conditions. They learn to work in a 

pressurized water tank while standing in muck in 

total darkness. 

It takes 18 months and the completion of 2,050 

hours of course work to become a certified commercial 

diver. The entry-level diver tender (or 

diver’s helper) course is 1,850 hours. Topside 

welders complete 350 hours of course work and 

topside riggers take 250 hours. Two-thirds of the 

trainees drop out in the first month. 

“The program is very intense,” Johnson explained. 

“It requires 150 percent of participation. There’s 

no dilly, dallying. I have a one-strike rule. Screw 

up one time and you’re out.” 

The one-third who complete training “develop a 

completely different attitude than the one they 

had when they came in,” Johnson continued. 

“They are taught to be self-starters. They have a 

PAGE 16 


NCIA NEWS 


new attitude toward life and everything else.” 

Some enter training without knowing how to 

swim. “They’re tadpoles,” Johnson said. “But they 

learn. In four months, they swim five miles without 

stopping to rest. If you’re working in the Gulf 

Coast, you’re apt to be swimming all-day long.” 

Greenstone started the program with a grant from 

the federal Manpower Development Administration. 

After a few years, the California Department 

of Corrections and Rehabilitation took charge of 

the program. But it was closed down in 2003 in 

response to budget cuts. 

In December 2006, the California Prison Industry 

Authority resurrected the program and recruited 

Thompson to run it. Thompson, who is now 67, 

became a certified diver at age 16 and worked for 

years as a diving contractor. 

“This is one of the most unique rehabilitation programs 

for inmates in the country,” said Charles 

Pattillo, General Manager of the California Prison 

Industry Authority. “It gives inmates real job skills 

that are in high demand around the world. More 

importantly, it gives inmates confidence, life skills 

and a lucrative paycheck — all that helps them 

succeed in their transition back to society.” 

Global Shop Solutions Ad 


NCIA NEWS 


Prisoners Get Ready for Work with the 

“Clothes Closet” 

By Tujauna S. White, Marketing Specialist, Michigan State Industries 


You can say that Michigan State Industries (MSI) 

is part of a unique “Reentry Network.” A couple 

of years ago, the Michigan Department of Corrections 

(MDOC) realigned several departments 

and moved MSI into MDOC’s Office of Employment 

Readiness (OER). The move has paid dividends 

in many ways … most important, it gives 

MSI access to a “Reentry Network” that MSI and 

OER have built up over time to include partnerships 

with non-profits outside of MDOC and the 

opportunity to create job fair programs 

The “Clothes Closet” 

Julie DeRose, MDOC Prisoner Education Manager, 

recognized a need and stepped up to fill it. While 

MSI and OER were providing job skill training and 

other job placement educational opportunities 

to offenders, some of the “soft skills” were missing. 

For example, many ex-offenders had no idea 

what to wear to a job interview or what would be 

considered “appropriate dress” for the workplace 

once they landed a post-release job. Additionally, 

ex-offenders most likely did not possess such 

clothing to begin with. 

MDOC turned to the non-profit organization, 

STRIVE which serves Flint, MI by providing a wide 

range of services including employment services 

and job placement. The program is comprised 

of a three-week workshop, job development services, 

and follow-up services. STRIVE’s threeweek 

workshop focuses on attitudinal and job 

readiness skills. Positive attitude and attitudinal 

changes that zero in on unwanted behaviors and 

create desirable ones such as, flexibility, honesty, 

attentiveness, and patience are taught. This focus 

is the central philosophy of the STRIVE approach. 

Creating and refining these positive attributes 

has substantial impact on placement and retention. 

MDOC has worked with STRIVE, contracting 

with them through grant funding to provide 

programming for prisoners reentering the city of 

Flint from the Saginaw Correctional Facility. 

One thing that impressed Julie when she visited 

STRIVE was the requirement for all clients 

to dress professionally while they are attending 

classes or participating in any STRIVE activity. 

This set a great tone by requiring a level of professionalism 

and a work-like atmosphere. To help 

support individuals and ensure the dress code is 

maintained, STRIVE offers a “clothes closet” to 

clients. Julie thought that it would be a positive 

step to contribute to STRIVE’s efforts by having 

a professional clothing drive with donations coming 

from OER’s Prison Education Staff. 

Coupled with STRIVE’s existing inventory of donated 

clothing, these additional donations from 

OER increased the clothing available to prisoners 

and ex-offenders, as well as other STRIVE clients. 

STRIVE clients show off their professional dress clothes 

obtained through the Clothes Closet. 

The Job Expo — A Unique Opportunity to Meet 

with Local Employers 

In addition to the clothing drive, the MSI and OER 

hosted a Job Expo at the Ionia Bellamy Creek 

(IBC) Correctional Facility in Ionia, MI on July 28, 

PAGE 18 


NCIA NEWS 


Dress shirts and ties await 

STRIVE clients in the 

Clothes Closet. 

• Schafer Heating 

• Dana McClean Electric 

2010. The Job Expo 

gave prisoners a unique 

opportunity to meet 

with local employers for 

a first-hand look into 

the world of work. 

MSI operates industries 

within the IBC facility 

producing signs, and 

shoes, while OER offers 

vocational programs in 

building trades, custodial 

maintenance, and horticulture. Representatives 

from both MSI and OER met to identify local 

employers in these industries and invited them to 

speak to prisoners in a job expo setting. Prior to 

the Job Expo, prisoners were provided information 

on how to make a good impression during 

an interview, as well as how to highlight the skills 

they may have that employers may be looking 

for. 

• Albin Hengesbach Construction 

• Grand Rapids Community College 

• Eagle Vision 

• Capital Area Michigan Prisioner Reentry 

Initiative 

Providing prisoners an avenue to realize how skills 

and job training acquired on the inside will transfer 

to employment on the outside allows them 

to see how their efforts now are relevant to their 

success upon reentry. 

For the Job Expo, MSI and OER collaborated with 

the following local employers, making the Job 

Expo a huge success: 

• Slagter Construction 

• Lansing Sanitary Supply 

• Steve Weber Plumbing 


NCIA NEWS 


Measuring Our Success – One Reentry 

Story at a Time 

We’ve all had to provide statistics, hard numbers, recidivism rates … proof that our CI programs 

are working. And while the numbers are extremely important to help prove ROI, they 

often miss out on an essential aspect of why we focus on reentry … that is that behind every 

number is a person and it’s that individual person’s success that really makes the difference. 

The following “success stories” were sent in from CI programs in Virginia, Colorado, Iowa and 

Minnesota. 

Definition of Reentry: 

An Act of Reentering 

By Ellen Cornette, Production Supervisor, Virginia Correctional Enterprises 

If you had asked me ten years ago to define the word 

“reentry” or to discuss the impact it would have on 

my life, I wouldn’t have had any idea what to tell 

you. But after making several bad choices in my life, 

I ended up spending nine years in prison. So, when 

the time came for my release, I got up close and personal 

with the challenges that face anyone reentering 

society. Now, I fully appreciate the meaning of 

the word and can truly tell you the impact it is having 

on my life. 

First a little background. I had been an accountant 

prior to my incarceration and it became pretty clear 

that finding work in accounting after my eventual release 

wasn’t in the cards. I also felt that the prison 

system in general did little to prepare me for the obstacles 

that were present in our society – that is except 

for my participation in the inmate work program 

at Virginia Correctional Enterprises (VCE). Through 

VCE, I learned to utilize various software programs 

and gain hands-on experience in graphic design. I 

got a chance to learn a new trade and discover a job 

that I absolutely love. 

But, what makes my story unique is that VCE was 

there for me as an inmate worker, there for me while 

on work release and literally continues to be there 

for me now that I’m free. I had worked for VCE the 

entire time I was incarcerated and had proven myself 

to be a valuable employee. So, in what turned out 

to be a “first” in the history of the Commonwealth of 

Virginia, I was granted permission to enter a work release 

program maintaining the exact same job I had 

held as an inmate. Then, in January 2010, in yet another 

unprecedented move, I was presented with an 

offer to keep my job at VCE as a graphic specialist/ 

production supervisor, but this time as a free person, 

working full-time with benefits. 

Only those who have been incarcerated know how 

difficult life on the outside can be. Reconnecting 

with my children, obtaining housing, getting car insurance 

… and just trying to establish a new definition 

of “normal,” were just a few challenges I faced. 

Plus, I had no idea how the world was going to react 

to me as a convicted felon. So, the fact that my job 

was there for me… just as it had been the day before 

… provided immense comfort. So, when I think 

of “reentry,” I think of how difficult it would’ve been 

without my job at VCE. 

I’m living proof that VCE has truly lived up to its 

commitment to train individuals to make a difference 

in their lives upon release. They have given me the 

training, skills, and opportunity to be a successful individual 

and to live a meaningful life as a productive 

citizen. Thank you VCE! Working on the inside— 

succeeding on the outside … That’s me! 

PAGE 20 


NCIA NEWS 


We Cannot Direct the Wind … But We 

Can Adjust the Sails 

By Cheryl Ahumada, Marketing Coordinator, Colorado Correctional Industries 

Jose Gonzales, photographed while working at the CCi 

CAD/DMV Call Center, is now successfully employed by a 

nationwide order center. 

What do working in Colorado’s prison computer 

aided drafting program, fiberglass shop and print 

shop all have in common? The answer is simple; 

these programs have all recently turned out inmates 

who have gone on to successfully reintegrate 

into society and have well paying, lucrative 

careers … all because of Colorado Correctional 

Industries (CCi). 

Correctional Facility for eight years. After working 

in the shop for a few months, his demeanor 

completely changed. He worked on his own 

time reading computer and DMV manuals, and 

then enrolled in the vocational computer course 

offered through the prison. He received several 

promotions over his eight-year employment, and 

toward the end of his stay, he worked with CCi’s 

Chief Financial Officer to complete a budgeting 

computer program to track shop budgets of the 

entire division. Mr. Gonzales promised that once 

he was released, he would become a productive 

citizen. A year after his discharge, CCi received a 

phone call that he is gainfully employed in a call 

center for 1-800-FLOWERS. 

Roy Jones – Custom Fiberglass Creator Extraordinaire 

Roy Jones reported daily to CCi’s Fiberglass shop 

at Fremont Correctional Facility where he learned 

the art and technique of creating fish tanks, alpine 

slides, and various other custom created fiberglass 

fixtures. As part of a pre-release initiative, 


CCi’s focus has always been to rehabilitate inmates 

who are under our direction and employment 

while incarcerated, but it is our pleasure to 

hear of the success stories from these inmates 

once they are discharged and completely free to 

make their own choices. Three inmates have recently 

contacted CCI to give us updates in their 

lives, and we are pleased to share their stories of 

success. 

Jose Gonzales – The Friendly Voice You Hear 

When You Call 1-800-FLOWERS 

Jose Gonzales worked in CCi’s Computer Aided 

Design and DMV Call Center at Arkansas Valley 

Roy Jones, standing proudly by his company’s painting 

and fiberglass insignia, is a valued employee due to the 

skills he attained from CCi’s Fiberglass shop. 


NCIA NEWS 



CCi’s Fiberglass shop supervisor, Caleb Moore, 

hand-chooses those inmates who show promise 

of wanting to succeed outside of prison as well 

as possessing solid skill sets, and then sets them 

up with employment leads. Mr. Jones was one 

of those inmates who showed potential, and just 

after release, he landed a position at EJ Painting 

& Fiberglass. The letter Mr. Jones sent to CCi indicated 

he was working hard earning $12/hour, and 

was, at that time, currently working on a project 

for a Warner Brothers theme park. 

Susan Reichert – Madison Avenue is Waiting… 

Susan Reichert held the position of typesetter and 

programmer at the CCi Print shop located at the 

Denver Women’s Correctional Facility. While incarcerated, 

Ms. Reichert trained for several years 

working with In Design, Quark, Illustrator and 

Photo Shop. Shortly after releasing to parole, Ms. 

Reichert landed a very lucrative position as a Marketing 

Assistant with Hager & Meisinger, a dental 

tool manufacturer. Ms. Reichert designs promotional 

materials for print vendors and dental 

supply dealers. She monitors dealer ad deadlines 

and maintains specifications on each publication. 

Clearly, Ms. Reichert’s skill sets were derived from 

her training and experience achieved while working 

for CCi’s Print shop. 

One of Colorado Correctional Industries mission 

statements is, “…to train inmates in meaningful 

skills, work ethics and quality standards which 

better enable them to secure long-term employment 

after release from prison…” There are many 

success stories within our agency, but we are most 

proud to be part of those individuals’ life changes 

that promote personal betterment, safety within 

our communities, and citizenship within the state 

of Colorado. 

Send Us Your Success Stories 

If you missed the opportunity to 

submit a success story for this issue, 

don’t worry … NCIA is considering the 

creation of a “Success Story” section 

on www.nationalcia.org. So, send in 

your success stories to Wil Heslop at 

NCIA (wil@nationalcia.org). 

Susan Reichert utilized the desktop publishing skills she 

acquired while working for CCi’s Print shop to land her 

position in the dental technology industry. 

PAGE 22 


MVE Ad

NCIA NEWS 


My Name is Angie 

By Angie McDermott 

Editor’s Note – The following letter was received 

by Iowa Prison Industries (IPI) from a former IPI 

inmate worker. It is unedited and is being published 

as received. 

My name is Angie McDermott. I was previously 

known as Inmate #1103363. Wow, it feels funny 

to say that! What a great journey since my release 

15 months ago. During my incarceration in 

Mitchellville, I had the wonderful opportunity to 

work for Iowa Prison Industries. This work program 

was instrumental in the success I am having 

today. I recently acquired a job in Warehouse 

Management that is identical to what I was doing 

for IPI. First a little history. 

I have been out of prison since March 2009. 

I came out of prison during a very difficult time 

in our economy. I had job searched for over 3 

months and finally acquired a job in the fast food 

industry. My great work ethic, a direct result of 

my IPI experience, helped me rise through the 

ranks. I had greater aspirations and knew the talents 

I learned at IPI would eventually land me a 

better position elsewhere. I had no idea how true 

that was. 

In May of this year, the opportunity finally came up 

at a warehousing company. They needed someone 

with a very specific set of skills. This person 

not only had to be comfortable in a warehouse 

situation, but also with office, communication 

and leadership skills. These are ALL skills I gained 

at IPI. I worked for the print shop, CD ROM, 

and chemical department at the Mitchellville 

plant. Staff at the plant were so great at allowing 

me to gain skills in several areas. In my job today 

I utilize my inventory management skills, hazardous 

material safety, personal protective equipment 

knowledge, leadership, computer, customer 

service among so many others. 

I think the best thing I have taken from IPI is a 

strong self-esteem that I am capable of performing 

to MUCH higher standards than I had ever 

known. This confidence shines through in my job 

today, putting the people I am responsible for and 

people I work for at ease. Throughout my employment 

at IPI, we were taught “You create your 

own opportunities.” This philosophy has stuck 

with me throughout this past 15 months. During 

my interviewing and hiring process I was honest 

with the owner of where my experience had 

come from. 

His statement to me was simple and to the point. 

“Where the skills came from matters little to me, 

everyone deserves a second chance.” Yesterday 

he informed me that hiring me was one of the 

best decisions they had made and that my commitment 

and knowledge far exceeded their expectations. 

Thank you IPI, staff and everyone who 

makes this work program possible. I am proud of 

where my life is today and the choices I make. 

Sincerely, 

Angie McDermott 

PAGE 24 


AC Furniture Ad

NCIA NEWS 


“Leo” — One of the Many Success Stories 

from MINNCOR’s EMPLOY Program 

By Brenda Chandler, Administrative Director, MINNCOR 

At 32 years of age, “Leo Jones” had been in and 

out of prison since he was nineteen. A couple 

of years ago, he decided it was time to make 

a change. He applied and was accepted into 

MINNCOR’s EMPLOY program prior to his release 

in February 2010. Leo attended training with EM- 

PLOY staff who equipped him with employment 

tips and helped him with his resume. A few days 

after his release, EMPLOY staff met with Leo to 

give him a portfolio with specific, skill-matched 

job leads and resource material. Leo managed to 

land not one — but two part-time jobs and one 

full-time job! He is in the process of successfully 

accomplishing the goals he set for himself, including 

getting a job, buying a house and obtaining 

his driver’s license. 

When EMPLOY was invited to speak at a case 

manager’s conference in April, Leo was asked to 

present his story to the group. He gladly volunteered 

and used the opportunity to discuss the 

challenges he faced and continues to face; his 

victories so far and how hard work and the skills 

he received from EMPLOY are helping him accomplish 

the goals he has set for himself. 

Fully funded by MINNCOR, the EMPLOY program 

was started in 2006. The mission of EMPLOY is 

to reduce recidivism by empowering offenders 

with employment readiness, employer connections, 

and reinforcing positive change. Offenders 

must complete a vocational program or work for 

MINNCOR for at least 

six months in order 

to be eligible for the 

program. Two full 

days of individual or 

small group training 

Leo Jones addresses a 

group of case workers 

at a conference in April 

2010. 

is provided to offenders prior to release. Topics 

covered include: 

• Skills assessment 

• Job search methods 

• Completing job applications 

• Resume writing 

• Providing References 

• Job Interviews 

• Conviction response 

• Job survival skills 

After release, EMPLOY provides support services 

for up to one year. A staff person hand-delivers 

an individualized portfolio to the offender, reviews 

the contents and answers any questions for the 

offender. Retention visits or calls are made at 1, 

3 and 6 month intervals, as well as a final 1 year 

visit or call. 

Over 700 companies have been contacted to 

date and have agreed to hire applicants even 

though they have a felony on their record. This 

year, EMPLOY staff will further develop those relationships 

by visiting 60 companies per quarter. 

EMPLOY staff currently are working with over 100 

released and nearly 350 incarcerated participants. 

Over 90 participants have been released for over 

one year and are considered to have completed 

the program. A formal program evaluation is being 

completed on the EMPLOY program. While 

the results are not yet finalized, the preliminary 

findings are very encouraging. The research suggests 

that in addition to significantly lowering the 

risk of recidivism for four benchmarks (re-arrest, 

reconviction, new offense re-incarceration, and 

technical violation revocations), EMPLOY significantly 

increases the odds that offenders will find 

employment after getting released from prison. 

Moreover, those who participated in EMPLOY are, 

compared to the comparison group, likely to work 

more hours and earn higher wages (both per hour 

and overall) following release from prison. 

PAGE 26 


NCIA NEWS 


Making Second Chances Work 

Conference Website Released 

The National Reentry Resource Center, with support 

from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. 

Department of Justice, has launched the Making 

Second Chances Work conference website. 

Conference participants and others interested in 

reentry can view the videotaped sessions with 

experts and download materials used during the 

conference on some of the most pressing issues 

facing the field. 

Making Second Chances Work: A Conference for 

Grantees Committed to Successful Reentry was 

held May 26-27, in Washington, D.C. It brought 

together 2009 Second Chance Act grantee representatives. 

Individuals from state and local 

governments, community and faith-based organizations, 

and federally recognized Indian tribes 

participated in two days of meetings with experts 

in the fields of housing, employment, mental 

health and substance abuse treatment, community 

supervision, and other areas important 

to people transitioning from prison or jail to the 

community. 

Many sessions focused on grantees making the 

most of the federal investment in their programs 

by highlighting accountability issues and key 

practices such as assessing an individual’s risk for 

committing future crimes, designing data-driven 

programs, and effectively allocating the limited 

resources available for people returning from prisons 

and jails. Special attention was dedicated to 

sharing strategies on meeting the distinct needs 

of youth returning to schools and families from 

detention in a secure facility in an effort to interrupt 

the costly cycle of crime and incarceration. 

To visit the website, go to: www.nationalreentryresourcecenter.org/making-second-chanceswork 

If you have any questions, please contact Shawn 

Rogers at (646) 383-5745 or by e-mail at 

srogers@csg.org. 

COST BENEFIT STUDY OF REENTRY 

PROGRAMS CONDUCTED IN WA STATE 

Recently, the well known and highly respected 

Washington State Institute for Public Policy 

(WSIPP) published a cost-benefit study of programs 

for people in the adult & juvenile offender 

system. Facing a long-term forecast that Washington 

would need two new prisons by 2020, the 

state legislature directed the WSIPP to conduct 

this study to determine what programs (including 

“Correctional industries in prison”) worked in 

that they reduced the need for prison construction, 

saved taxpayer money and contributed to 

lower crime rates. Titled “Evidence-Based Public 

Policy Options to Reduce Crime and Criminal 

Justice Costs: Implications in Washington State,” 

the study reviewed multiple offender programs 

and determined their effect on crime outcomes 

as well as placed a net, dollar value benefit to 

both victims and taxpayers. 

To read the complete study and the resulting data 

for all programs studied (including “Correctional 

industries in prison”), go to 

www.wsipp.wa.gov/rptfiles/09-00-1201.pdf 


NCIA NEWS 


An Idea Born of Necessity — Now a Model 

for Success 

By Julio Naudin, Program Development Manager, Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office 


A recent New Orleans Times-Picayune article 

quoted a Pew Center study that found Louisiana’s 

incarceration rate to be up by 272% since 1982. 

Our own statistics show that from 1999 to 2009, 

the un-sentenced Lafayette Parish offender population 

increased 32 percent; while the sentenced 

population increased 47 percent. 

In dealing with higher incarceration rates, Lafayette 

Parish decided early on in the last decade 

that rather than build traditional prisons, it would 

be better to establish a different approach … one 

that was cost effective, decreased recidivism and 

insured public safety. 

To date, we have been able to accommodate the 

significant increases in our offender population, 

without adding square footage to our correctional 

facility by establishing several diversionary 

programs early on. 

These programs included a day reporting program, 

a work release program and an inmate industries 

enterprise. 

While these programs were started with limited 

resources and a handful of staff, they all have become 

the fastest growing areas in both the corrections 

division and the Sheriff’s Office. Their 

success has relied on a shift in priorities brought 

about by a new way of thinking. This new way of 

thinking is best expressed by Rob Reardon, Director 

of Corrections at the Lafayette parish Sheriff’s 

Office. 

“People need to understand that locking up offenders 

in little rooms is the most expensive and 

least effective way of dealing with the problem. 

Every day that someone sits in a jail cell without 

access to a program that could help turn their 

lives around, deal with their substance abuse, or 

advance their education is time wasted,” Reardon 

says. 

This new way of thinking is the catalyst for the 

Community Corrections Campus which opened 

its doors in 2002 with the launch of a home monitoring 

program called, GPS Offender Tracking. It 

has grown to include a variety of adult and juvenile 

programs and services including: 

• Adult and Juvenile Day Reporting 

• Visitation 

• Leadership and Resiliency 

• Intensive Outpatient Counseling 

• Truancy Enforcement 

• Corrections Department Training 

• REHAB 

• Alternative to Suspension program. 

Today the Community Corrections Campus 

serves almost 350 people every day — quite the 

increase over the original twenty it started with 

in 2002. 

As the number of offenders assigned to the Day 

Reporting program has grown, so has the number 

of educational, employment and other facilitative 

group services it provides as well as the 

total time on average each participant spends in 

a program. 

The Community Corrections Campus Program 

with the highest increase in enrollment is the GED 

program. In 2009, a total of 536 offenders partici- 

PAGE 28 


NCIA NEWS 


pated in a GED educational program … representing 

a 60% increase over the prior year. Through 

the first six months of this year our GED program 

has already graduated as many students as it did 

in all the prior years combined. The program focuses 

on bringing up low literacy scores to the 

national level. We have been successful in raising 

literacy scores among a third of those needing 

the help. 

“People need to understand that locking up 

offenders in little rooms in the most expensive 

and least effective way of dealing with 

the problem.” 

What started as an idea born of necessity has become 

a model for other Louisiana Parishes who 

are looking to create their own reentry programs 

and alternatives to incarceration programs. 

Now, almost ten years later, the positive impact 

these programs have made both to recidivism 

rates and to operating costs are significant. Recidivism 

rates for those offenders who successfully 

complete our programs range in the low 

30th percentile while offenders leaving jails and 

prisons without such programming statistically 

return to incarceration 55 percent of the time 

within three years. 

All this at a cost that is nearly half the cost of 

keeping these same offenders incarcerated (see 

chart “Daily Costs per Offender”). Daily incarcerations 

costs are $42.20 per incarcerated offender 

versus $21.36 per day for those offenders in one 

of our various Community Corrections Campus 

programs — less than half the cost with almost 

twice the success rate. 

The Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Corrections Division 

will continue to seek out forward thinking 

concepts for offender supervision, education and 

counseling both inside and outside of a secure 

setting. For more information on The Lafayette 

Parish Sheriff’s Office and its Diversion Programs 

visit our website at www.lafayettesheriff.com. 

Daily Costs per Offender 


NCIA NEWS 


When Jail Inmates Work – Everyone Wins 

By Rod Miller, Director, National Jail Work and Industry Center (www.jailwork.com) 


On an average day, nearly 20 percent of all jail 

inmates work at least 6 hours (Work in America’s 

Jails. National Jail Work and Industries Center, 

1993). Some jails go much further, enlisting 

inmates in a wide range of work activities in, near, 

and outside of the jail. A common characteristic 

of such programs is that everyone wins—community, 

jail, taxpayers, and inmates. This article profiles 

industry programs in seven jails of varying 

sizes and located across the nation. 

Two Bridges Regional Jail, Wiscasset, Maine 

Having one of the newest jail industries programs 

in the country, Two Bridges Regional Jail employs 

a full-time industries manager and has recently 

added an officer to operate the wood shop. The 

program has also assumed responsibility for the 

inmate commissary program. Much of the proceeds 

of the program are used to implement 

community service projects. An inmate garden 

donates produce to the area food pantries. Last 

year, 500 wooden toys, designed and fabricated 

in the wood shop, were donated to area “Santa 

Funds.” An innovative doll house was also raffled 

and the proceeds went to a heating oil fund for 

senior citizens. 

The program has proven to be a powerful management 

tool for the whole facility. Inmates must 

earn the right to be eligible for a paying job, according 

to Naomi Bonang, the program director, 

who is “a believer that community service projects 

help keep inmates connected to society and 

are a vital part of a successful reentry.” 

Franklin County Jail, Pennsylvania 

The new Franklin County Jail in Chambersburg, 

Pennsylvania, recently received recognition for 

one of its industries projects—tearing down the 

old jail and recycling many pieces. The jail gained 

national attention for its community involvement 

and its development process. 

One ongoing industries project involves assisting 

the Council for the Arts with their newsletter. Inmates 

assemble and collate the pages from the 

printer, and sort and label them for bulk mailing. 

The project takes about 2 days, and employs 15 to 

20 women inmates. 

Another ongoing project is for the Chambersburg 

Cardinals. This minor league football team 

delivers their uniforms to the jail, where they are 

washed, dried, and delivered back to the team 

on hangers. The jail also cleans and repaints the 

team’s helmets during the off-season. 

Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Jail Enterprise 

Unit 

The primary focus of Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s 

(LASD) Jail Enterprises Unit continues 

to be providing quality vocational training to the 

inmates in California’s Los Angeles County jails. 

However, a strong emphasis is placed on cost 

savings for the department. 

In 2009, the LASD Jail Enterprises Unit began a 

Plastic Bag Operation at the East Facility, a maximum 

security jail at the Pitchess Detention Center, 

a.k.a. “The Ranch.” The operation is currently 

in its first phase of production. In this phase, 11 inmates 

operating 2 machines are producing lunch 

and trash bags for the LASD’s Food Services Unit. 

By producing rather than purchasing these bags, 

LASD will save approximately $100,000 annually. 

In the next phase of production, trash bags of all 

sizes for the rest of the department’s units will be 

produced, saving an additional $250,000 annually 

for LASD. In the last phase, the Jail Enterprises 

PAGE 30 


NCIA NEWS 


Unit will market the bags to other government 

agencies within Los Angeles County. 

At the Pitchess Detention Center’s South Facility, 

the Jail Enterprises Unit operates a pet grooming 

shop where a credentialed vocational instructor 

trains minimum security inmates. During the 

course of their training, inmates have traditionally 

groomed LASD service dogs (at a cost savings 

to the department) and the pets of LASD employees 

to generate revenue. Last year, the shop 

starting grooming animals for adoption from the 

local county animal shelter, which increased the 

adoption rates for animals from this shelter. Additionally, 

a pet tag engraving machine was purchased 

and is used to generate additional revenue 

by selling engraved pet tags to shop customers. 

Arapahoe County, Colorado 

The Arapahoe Sheriff’s Training Employment Program 

(ASTEP) breaks new ground for jail work 

and industries programs and continues to be on 

the cutting edge under the leadership of Sheriff 

Grayson Robinson. 

The ASTEP program assigns 35 inmates to various 

work projects in the facility. Much of the work 

is completed in the newly renovated jail industries 

workshop. The renovations, including installation 

of an elevator, were funded by revenues generated 

by the ASTEP program. 

In addition to receiving hourly wages, inmate workers 

are motivated to participate in the program by 

earning the privilege to wear headphones in the 

jail (they are the only inmates with this privilege), 

an expanded list of commissary choices, and living 

conditions that are more desirable than those 

provided for non-working inmates. 

ASTEP currently assigns 10 inmates to its ongoing 

hanger recycling contract. Thousands of used 

hangers are brought to the facility where inmates 

clean them, reshape them as needed, and put 

new stickers on them. This recycling contract has 

been active for several years and currently serves 

three local customers. 

Working with another local customer, a recycling 

company, ASTEP acquired 956 voting machines 

from the city and county of Denver. The machines 

were on their way to the landfill as trash until 

Arapahoe County stepped in. Thinking “green,” 

ASTEP and their client collaborated to find a 

more environmentally friendly, and profitable, solution. 

ASTEP retrieved one voting machine and 

completely disassembled it to determine what 

recyclable parts were available. Program staff 

discovered that each voting machine had over 21 

separate parts that could be recycled—virtually 

the entire machine. The parts included transformers, 

castors, printers, three types of aluminum, 

copper, steel, plastic, and batteries. 

Utah County, Utah 

Utah County is one of the few counties in the 

United States currently certified for interstate 

commerce of prisoner-made goods under the 

Federal Prison Industry Enhancement Certification 

Program (PIECP). The mission of its jail industries 

program is to provide inmates with a 

realistic work experience and teach marketable 

skills. This in turn will improve inmate opportunities 

for gainful employment upon release, thus 

reducing recidivism and lowering Utah County’s 

resource commitment for maintaining the jail. It 

is through the development of these work habits 

that inmates prepare themselves for the challenges 

of post-release employment. 

The county operates a unique program in which 

inmates work for private businesses in the community 

setting rather than on correctional institution 

grounds. 



NCIA NEWS 



Local business owners appreciate the reliable labor 

supply that, under PIECP regulations, creates 

no competition with free citizen workers. Inmates 

are happy to have a break from jail time and to 

show potential employers their capabilities. They 

gain marketable skills, make contact with conventional 

members of society, and save money 

for food, housing, and other start-up needs upon 

release. As for Utah County, in its nine years of 

operating the jail industries program, the program 

has produced over $5,000,000 in gross 

revenues. 

In addition, the county also operates a large agricultural 

program (called “the Garden”) that has 

donated more than 50 tons of vegetables to food 

banks, food coalitions, senior citizen centers, and 

the jail kitchen. 

Washington State Jail Industries Board 

The Washington State Jail Industries Board (JIB) 

provides statewide leadership for jails to promote 

and mobilize employment-focused, community 

re-entry programs through partnerships with 

labor, businesses, victims, communities, social 

service agencies, and government (see www.jib. 

wa.gov). The board promotes: 

• Victim compensation and restitution 

• Reduced victimization and recidivism 

• Meaningful work experience and work 

ethics 

• Public service through offender labor 

JIB and the Washington State Department of Corrections—Correctional 

Industries won a Perkins 

grant for 2010/2011 in the amount of $145,000. 

Part of the grant funding is being used to conduct 

Hazardous Waste Operations & Emergency 

Response and Asbestos Abatement training for 

jail offenders in nine jails in Washington State. All 

of the offenders trained through the grant are 

enrolled in the Washington State Employment 

Department’s Services, Knowledge & Information 

Exchange System (SKIES) database. Through 

this database, JIB is able to track employment 

and recidivism rates and compare against nontrained 

offender data. According to Dean Mason, 

JIB’s Executive Director, it is possible for offenders 

trained in the program to obtain employment 

after release in the hazardous waste field earning 

anywhere from $20 – 40/hour. 

Additional grant funded programs address offender 

employment deficits to better prepare 

offenders for successful transition and re-entry 

to the community. These programs blend existing 

resources and partnership development with 

grant funds to produce a statewide coordination 

of offender industries/work programs, offender 

workforce development, and re-entry enterprises. 

Here are a few examples: 

Yakima County — In September 2008, Yakima 

County Department of Corrections was awarded 

$11,588 in grant money for the Jail to Work: 

Cultivating Offender Reentry Program, from the 

Washington State JIB. The grant provides funding 

for Forklift Train-the-Trainer classes for two 

officers and computers. Eligible inmates can receive 

forklift training, and if they pass the class, 

receive a certificate that will enable them to get 

a job typically paying $10 to $12 per hour to start. 

The classes are eight hours over the course of 

two days. Inmates receive classroom training on 

one day and hands-on training on the other day. 

Whatcom County — With $24,810 in funding 

from the Jail to Work: Cultivating Offender Reentry 

grant and by combining county resources, 

the Whatcom County Jail developed a horticulture 

work crew. Utilizing a jail employee with a 

PAGE 32 


NCIA NEWS 


background in teaching horticulture, the program 

delivers three phases of training for a total of 480 

hours of instruction. The horticulture work crew 

is operated from the Whatcom County Interim 

Work Center, where a new greenhouse was constructed 

to grow plant starts. The Horticulture 

Work Crew Program produces and supplies native 

species plants to local wetland and habitat 

restoration groups while providing offenders the 

opportunity to learn the skills needed for employment 

by local farms, nurseries, and retail outlets. 

The program enlisted the aid of a dedicated master 

gardener and uses partnerships with several 

local organizations. 

Hampden County, Massachusetts 

In addition to a manager’s certification, all staff 

are ServSafe® trained. Restaurants utilize ServSafe 

certification to assure the public that the staff serving 

food is trained in food safety and proper food 

handling procedures. The half-dozen participants 

in the Olde Armory Grille project are selected by 

the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department from 

community corrections and minimum-security 

operations as part of their vocational training for 

successful community reentry. 

The program is completely self-sustaining. The income 

derived from the restaurant directly offsets 

job skills training costs, which would otherwise 

be a burden on the taxpayer. 

Started more than 25 years ago, York Street Industries, 

located at Hampden County Jail and 

House of Correction, continues to focus on job 

development and has grown steadily since its inception. 

A new restaurant program called the Olde Armory 

Grille was launched last year. The restaurant 

is a collaboration between the Springfield Technical 

Community College (STCC) Technology Park 

in Springfield, Massachusetts, and the Hampden 

County Sheriff’s Department’s prison industries 

operation. Sheriff’s department supervisory staff 

and participants of its Community Reentry Program 

operate the restaurant. 

The managers of the Olde Armory Grille have 

extensive experience in food service preparation 

and delivery, which they utilize in the operation 

of the restaurant. Supervisory staff who run the 

restaurant come from the jail’s food services and 

security staff, and have business backgrounds. 

These staffers serve as onsite food service and 

dining room managers, operating the restaurant 

Monday through Friday. Full-service catering is 

also available to the Springfield area. 


NCIA NEWS 


Workforce Development Regional Training: 

Enhancing Correctional Industries’ Role in Reentry 

NCIA’s Offender Workforce Development Specialist 

(OWDS) Team in collaboration with the 

National Institute of Corrections (NIC) is ready to 

take its NIC training to the next level. After rolling 

out its abbreviated curriculum at the Enterprise 

2010 conference, it is now ready to launch 

a series of three-day regional workforce development 

training conferences. Called the Workforce 

Development Regional Training: Enhancing 

Correctional Industries’ Role in Reentry, the 

conference’s goal is to deliver basic skills in Offender 

Workforce Development to Correctional 

Industries Professionals that will enhance CI’s role 

in reentry. 

Geared toward CI staff and stakeholders interested 

in or responsible for developing the skills and 

knowledge to effectively deliver offender workforce 

development programming, the training will 

focus on four areas: assessments, employment 

readiness, job placement and job retention. 

The first training will be held in Nashville, TN on 

October 14 – 16, 2010 at the Millennium Maxwell 

House Hotel and is aimed at providing this 

training to CI professionals in the Southeast and 

South Central Regions. Training will also be held 

in the future in Columbus, OH (for the Northeast 

and Central Regions) and Las Vegas, NV (for the 

West Region). The dates for the Columbus, OH 

and Las Vegas, NV training conferences will be 

determined shortly. 

Space is limited at each conference, so make sure 

you register early in order to reserve your spot. 

The registration deadline is September 30, 2010. 

Full conference information is available on www. 

nationalcia.org. 

OEI and Enterprise Ad 

PAGE 34 


NCIA NEWS 


Plascon Ad 


NCIA NEWS 


Correctional Industries in the News! 

The following Correctional Industries were recently featured in various media stories! 

• “The Hidden Workforce,” a video from North Carolina Correctional Enterprises (NCCE) can 

be viewed on YouTube. The six minute video features how NCCE is leading the way in turning 

ex-offenders into excellent employees after release. 

• Maryland Correctional Enterprises (MCE) was featured in a WHAG Channel 4 news segment 

“MD Inmates Work to Beautify Battlefield Before July 4th.” The news segment included an 

interview of Rick Martin, Supervisor of MCE’s Agricultural Program. For the full story, please 

go to page 37. 

• The Times of Ottawa, Illinois ran the feature article, “From Cells to Shelves: Reddick Library 

Buys Prison-made Furniture,” on July 6, 2010. The article highlighted Illinois Correctional Industries’ 

top quality furniture making, repair and refurbishing capability. 

• The Colorado State Wildland Inmate Fire Team’s (SWIFT) recent role in fighting the 628-acre 

Parkdale Canyon Fire in Colorado was reported on by The Canon City Daily Record on July 10, 

2010. SWIFT is a Colorado Correctional Industries program. 

• Ohio Penal Industries’ (OPI) Flag Line was highlighted in a recent article on July 4th in The 

Columbus Dispatch. Titled, “Prison Patriots,” the article relays the personal stories of the inmate 

workers on OPI’s Flag Line who are responsible for producing the nearly 3,000 national 

and Ohio flags that are used by the state. 

• The Hendricks County Flyer in Avon, Indiana covered the recent U.S Department of Labor Apprenticeship 

Certificate graduation ceremonies held at the Plainfield Correctional Facilities. 

The Apprenticeship Certificate program is offered through PEN Products — for a complete 

rundown of all the reentry programs offered by PEN Products, please see the feature article 

on page 8. 

• Utah Correctional Industries was the star in two television news stories: 

• KSL Channel 5’s “Inmate program helps family get new home,” highlighted a new home 

built by inmate workers through a joint project between Utah Correctional Industries 

and Habitat for Humanity. 

• KSTU Fox 13 News featured the inmate worker run ‘Hard Times Café’ located at the 

Olympus Minimum Security Facility in Salt Lake City, Utah. The café is a Utah 

Correctional Industries program. 

• A story on the proposed Wyoming Department of Corrections Braille Materials Production 

Program was published by The Torrington Telegram on May 7, 2010. 

Links to all these news stories and videos are available at www.nationalcia.org. 

PAGE 36 


NCIA NEWS 


In Maryland, Restorative Justice Includes 

Restoring a Piece of American History 

By The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services Communications’ Office 


When most people think of restorative justice, 

the practice of paying back victims of crime is 

the first thing that comes to mind. In Maryland, 

the Department of Public Safety and Correctional 

Services and the National Park Service recently 

highlighted the dual role restoration is playing in 

an innovative Maryland Correctional Enterprises’ 

(MCE) partnership with Antietam National Battlefield. 

Offenders, while also giving back to the 

society they once victimized, are helping to restore 

a piece of American history. 

In a pre-Independence Day event on July 1, Antietam 

Superintendent John Howard, a veteran of 

the National Park Service, says he has never seen 

quite this kind of help from a prison system. Their 

masterplan to restore the location of the bloodiest 

single-day battle on American soil to its original 

state included the replanting of the 12-acre Piper 

Orchard, which was trampled by the troops during 

the nearby Bloody Lane siege. With shrinking 

budgets this task may have once seemed daunting 

— until they formed a partnership with MCE a 

little over three years ago. 

Maryland Correctional Enterprises CEO Stephen M. Shiloh 

speaks about the restorative justice project that is helping 

to restore Antietam National Battlefield. The Piper 

Orchard lies in the background with an offender crew 

maintaining the apple trees that were planted there in 

2007. 

Apples flourish in the spot that was once the site of the 

bloodiest single-day battle on American soil. Thanks to 

an innovative partnership with Maryland’s Correctional 

Enterprises, Antietam National Battlefield is in the process 

of restoring the location to its original state prior to 

the battle. 

Maryland Correctional Enterprises’ planted 170 

apple trees in that orchard in 2007, and have 

since added 3,700 trees across the battlefield in 

other locations that were intended for restoration. 

Inmate crews have maintained the orchard 

over the years, and routinely help with trimming 

and roadwork around the park. MCE management 

and civilian employees have also provided 

support though their willingness to step outside 

the box to bring about and continue this partnership. 

The Department of Public Safety and Correctional 

Services has stressed time and again that 

Public Safety Works, our name for inmate work 

projects that are provided as a courtesy to the 

community, isn’t just about giving inmates jobs 

and skills; it’s about meaningful projects, paying 

society back in the restorative justice model that 

gives inmates and communities alike something 

truly invaluable. “This is the latest in a series of 

efforts to connect inmates with our history,” said 

Division of Correction Commissioner, J. Michael 

Stouffer. “It puts them in a position to learn and 

appreciate something invaluable, all the while 

learning skills and working for one of the nation’s 

top prison industries.” 


NCIA NEWS 


NCIA Board of Directors Gets Busy in Chicago 

NCIA President-Elect, Denny Fracassi and Executive Director, 

Gina Honeycutt present outgoing NCIA President, 

Don Guillory with a custom golf bag signed by every 

member of the NCIA Board of Directors. 

NCIA President, Don Guillory and Executive Director, 

Gina Honeycutt present outgoing Board Member, John 

Miller with a plaque recognizing his service on the NCIA 

Board of Directors. 

ACA’s Congress of Correction was held from July 30 – August 4, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago, 

IL, and members of NCIA’s Executive Committee and Board of Directors were busy attending 

multiple meetings to represent the interests of Correctional Industries as well as participating in a 

productive day-long slate of NCIA meetings. 

NCIA members participated in a full day of meetings on Sunday, August 1st. Highlights from the 

Board and Business Meetings include: 

• Board of Directors election results were announced (see page 40 for the election results). 

• The 2011 Budget was approved. 

• The Ways and Means Committee was re-activated. Karen Brown, Jerry Campbell, Gayle Lambert 

and Paul Laird will serve on the committee. 

• The Vice President of Program Development, Gayle Lambert will continue to work with the 

Regional Appointees and develop a pilot e-training webinar to be held in the fall. 

• Patricia Taylor from the National Institute of Corrections gave an update on NIC Initiatives and 

announced the NIC will begin a roll-out of OWDS regional training, starting with a pilot training 

program to be held in Nashville, TN on October 14 – 16, 2010 (see page 34 for more details). 

Future training sites include Las Vegas, NV and Columbus, OH. 

PAGE 38 


NCIA NEWS 



Gina Honeycutt present outgoing Board Member, Jerry 

Campbell with a plaque recognizing his service on the 

NCIA Board of Directors. 


Gina Honeycutt present outgoing Board Member, Joe 

Sommerville with a plaque recognizing his service on the 

NCIA Board of Directors. 

• A report on NCIA’s exhibit booth at the American Jail Association’s annual conference in May 

was given (see page 41 for the full story). 

Several Board members were recognized for their service: 

• Don Guillory was presented with a custom golf bag, signed by every member of the Board of 

Directors for his four years of service as President. Don will remain on the Board of Directors 

as Chairman of the Board for the 2011/2012 term. 

• Jerry Campbell, John Miller and Joe Sommerville were all recognized for their service on the 

Board of Directors. All three Board members finish their terms at the end of this year. 

The Enterprise 2011 Planning Committee and the NCIA Reentry Task Force also held meetings on 

Sunday afternoon. 


NCIA NEWS 


NCIA Announces Board of Directors 

Election Results 

NCIA is proud to announce the results of the recent Board of Directors Election. Below is the full slate 

of officers and Board members for the 2011-2012 NCIA Board of Directors and includes the newly 

elected officers and Board members. 

Board members listed in BOLD are the newly elected, re-elected or appointed Board members. Others 

on the list retain their seats to fulfill their unexpired terms. 

Officers: Two-Year Term 2011-2012 

Board Chair: 

President: 

President-Elect: 

Vice President of Marketing: 

Vice President of Program Development: 

Treasurer: 

At-Large Board Members: 

Two-Year Term 2011-2012 

Brenda Chandler (MN) 

JD Colbert (OK) 

Mike Herron (IN) 

Steve Smith (CO) 

Don Guillory (VA) 

Denny Fracassi (ND) 

Brian Connett (NV) 

Susan Cunningham (TN) 

Gayle Lambert (MT) 

Karen Brown (NC) 

At-Large Board Members: 

Two-Year Term 2010-2011 

Paul Laird (FPI) 

Tony Miller (PA) 

Chuck Pattillo (CA) 

Carol Tortarelli (FL) 

Regional Appointees to the Board 

Central Region: 

Northeast Region: 

South Central Region: 

Southeast Region: 

Western Region: 

To be determined via regional election 

Joe Flaherty (RI) 

Steve Edwards (AR) 

Andy Farquhar (AL) 

Marty Thomas (ID) 

Corporate Relations Committee Representative: (Term runs 2010-2011) 

Tom Grissom, MTJ American 

Jail Industries Representative: (Term runs 2010-2011) 

Dean Mason, Washington State Jail Industries Board (WA) 

ACA Representative: 

Mark Saunders, Nakamoto Group 

PAGE 40 


NCIA NEWS 


Conference Collaborations 

Associations Partner to Save Money in a Tight Budget Year 

By Dean Mason, Executive Director, Washington State Jail Industries Board 

The American Jail 

Association (AJA) 

held its widely acclaimed 

Annual 

Training Conference 

& Jail Expo in 

Portland, OR from 

May 23 – 27, 2010. 

Despite tight budgets, 

a number of 

Washington State 

jail administrators 

and staff could 

not pass up the opportunity to attend a national 

conference held in the Pacific Northwest. Some 

were able to attend the entire conference and 

others drove to Portland just for the day. One 

administrator, commenting on recent cuts in jail 

staffing due to mandated budget decreases, explained 

that he was sending a number of his staff 

because training was even more critical if staff 

were expected to be successful doing more with 

less. Those lucky enough to attend were excited 

about the training opportunity and understood 

how fortunate they were. 

With budgetary restrictions a common theme 

across the nation, the Jail Industries Board (JIB) 

and the National Jail Work and Industries Center 

agreed to assist in staffing a booth for NCIA, 

which found this conference difficult to justify 

within its own travel budget. The location would 

have required NCIA staff to travel over 2,800 miles 

from the association’s headquarters in Baltimore, 

MD. AJA graciously provided booth space at no 

cost, so the collaboration between several agencies 

allowed NCIA to provide information to conference 

attendees for just the cost of shipping 

the booth display and materials. The partnership 

also allowed the JIB to provide the Washington 

State attendees with information about available 

programming, technical assistance services, and 

current projects in our local jails. Staffing for the 

booth was provided by Dean Mason, JIB Executive 

Director, Rod Miller, Director of the National 

Jail Work and Industries Center, Marilyn Allen, Director 

of Jail Industries – Strafford County (New 

Hampshire) Department of Corrections, and Curt 

Lutz, Lieutenant – City of Kent (Washington) Corrections 

Facility. 

Because AJA specifically serves the needs of jails 

and jail staff, NCIA created new signage and brochures 

to better serve conference attendees. The 

new signage informed attendees on the benefits 

of jail work programs (industries): 

Jail Work Programs 

Turning Idleness Into Productivity 

• Reduce Idleness 

• Improve Inmate Behavior 

• Save Money for Your Agency 

• Create New Revenue Streams 

• Increase Post-Release Community 

Success 

A new brochure advertised the Jail Industries and 

Correctional Institution membership category recently 

adopted by the NCIA. This new option for 

membership is designed to provide jails a value 

priced opportunity to join NCIA as an agency, 

which covers twenty-five (25) individual staff for 

$500. This represents a $625 savings over purchasing 

25 individual (practitioner) memberships. 

See www.nationalcia.org for more information on 

becoming an NCIA Jail Industries and Correctional 

Institution member. 

The booth received steady traffic during the 

scheduled exhibit hall hours. Staff from jails all 

over the country stopped by and learned that 

there was an organization available to answer 

their questions about implementing or expanding 

inmate work programs. For some, the concept 

of jail industries was completely new. Others 

were able to give us a few pointers on what 

they were doing in their own jurisdictions. Some 



NCIA NEWS 



stopped just to grab a piece of candy and found 

themselves deep in the conversation fifteen minutes 

later. They left with information, ideas, and 

a new-found excitement. Thanks to Philacor, the 

jail industries division of the Philadelphia Prison 

System, many of the visitors left with a catalog 

and a unique keychain. Others picked up a DVD 

copy of the JIB video, Working Inside-Out, or a 

past issue of NCIA News. 

a collaborative effort that widened the network 

and information sharing of everyone involved 

while saving money and resources. Hopefully, we 

can all do it again in the future. 

For excellent recaps of some of the AJA Annual 

Training Conference & Jail Expo workshops go to: 

www.correctionsone.com/aja-report-2010 

This was an excellent example of different groups 

working on the same issues coming together in 

NCIA Welcomes New Director – Michael Hurt 

“The challenge is to operate CI in a more businesslike 

fashion” says Hurt. “In order to accomplish 

this, we will need to set clear objectives and 

implement sound marketing, sales, and customer 

service methods that provide quality products. In 

addition, the key principles of innovative reentry 

programs must be fully integrated into a performance 

model that meets the need of inmates and 

our customers.” 

Hurt feels his greatest challenge is changing the 

culture of “OK is good enough.” 

Michael Hurt, Director, New York Correctional Industries 

Michael Hurt was appointed Director of New York 

Correctional Industries on April 1, 2010. Hurt completed 

his higher education at Buffalo State College 

in Buffalo, New York. He began his career 

working first for the New York State Department 

of Mental Health, and then the New York State 

Division for Youth. Hurt then spent the next 28 

years in private sector business with the last 12 as 

a senior manager in customer service and sales. 

“We must raise the level of what we expect from 

ourselves,” Hurt continues. “Exceeding expectations 

and setting objectives that promote change 

and excellence are extremely important in these 

challenging times.” Hurt’s diverse background 

in business and government make him uniquely 

qualified to lead New York Correctional Industries 

forward. 

Hurt and his wife reside in Delmar, New York, and 

have one son. 

PAGE 42 


NCIA NEWS 


Goodwill Industries International and Prison Fellowship 

Join Forces to Help Reduce Criminal Recidivism 

Goodwill Industries International and Prison Fellowship 

signed an agreement in June 2010 to collaborate 

on job training and mentoring services 

for people who spent time in prison and at-risk 

youth, and to influence public policy initiatives. 

The partnership aims to help these populations 

make a successful return to their communities 

upon release, support the children of formerly 

incarcerated individuals and reduce the rate of 

criminal recidivism. 

Goodwill and Prison Fellowship will work together 

to engage their respective staff members nationwide 

and encourage local community partners — 

including businesses, social agencies, nonprofits 

and faith-based organizations — to assist with 

the efforts. 

“Goodwill has demonstrated excellence in its services 

and programs that connect people from 

all backgrounds to achieve economic and social 

success,” said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO 

of Goodwill Industries International. “The partnership 

with Prison Fellowship will help ensure that 

people with a criminal history have the tools they 

need to become productive and independent 

members of society so that they can support 

themselves and their families.” 

“The goal of the Prison Fellowship/Goodwill collaboration 

is to provide greater opportunity for 

ex-prisoners, their families and the systems that 

support them. These skills will help ex-prisoners 

succeed on the outside and increase the likelihood 

they will stay out … making communities 

safer for all of us,” said Curt Kemp, chief operating 

officer for Prison Fellowship. “The partnership 

will include vocational training, life skills, education 

and other comprehensive services.” 


NCIA NEWS 


People on the Move 

WCI can help small businesses by providing them 

with quality products that are locally made and 

may also assist them with hard-to-fill labor needs. 

Inmates who participate in WCI work programs 

make major contributions from their wages for 

taxes, room and board, family support, victims’ 

compensation, restitution, and the costs of their 

programming. By returning law-abiding, trained 

and productive citizens to the community, WCI 

also dramatically contributes to an overall reduction 

in recidivism, thereby saving Wyoming taxpayers 

millions of dollars in future incarceration 

costs. 

Chris Lansford 

Lansford Named Marketing and Sales 

Manager for Wyoming Correctional 

Industries 

Chris Lansford has been named Marketing and 

Sales Manager for Wyoming Correctional Industries 

(WCI) at the Wyoming Department of Corrections. 

She assumed her duties on June 28, 

2010. WCI is a collection of manufacturing enterprises 

owned and operated by the Wyoming Department 

of Corrections that provide job training 

for inmates and locally made products for Wyoming 

businesses and government agencies. 

“My purpose and challenge is to help WCI become 

a fiscally self-sufficient division of government, 

which it currently is not,” said Lansford. 

“WCI should function entirely on revenues generated 

from its industries, without any financial 

support from taxpayers. We aim to reach that 

goal by June 2012.” 

In making the announcement, WCI Manager, Lynn 

McAuley, said, “Chris brings us experience we 

need. As a member of our Correctional Industries 

management team, she will develop and implement 

the strategic marketing plan that will be incorporated 

into the Correctional Industries business 

plan for this biennium.” 

Lansford came from Arizona, where she started 

her career in Corrections as the warden’s secretary 

in a super-max prison. She later worked in 

sales, administration, and operations in Arizona 

Correctional Industries (ACI) for nine years. ACI 

is a model correctional industries program that 

achieved record revenues of nearly $33 million in 

FY10. In addition to being entirely self-sufficient, 

ACI makes substantial financial contributions to 

the state’s general fund, and to the Arizona Department 

of Corrections’ work based education 

programs. 

Lansford has a Bachelor of Science degree in 

Business Management and is pursuing a Master 

of Arts degree in Public Administration. Prior to 

her corrections experience, she spent 12 years 

working in the private business sector. 

PAGE 44 


NCIA NEWS 


VENDOR CORNER 

Access Corrections MP3 and Media Program Reaches Over One Million Downloads 

In just over a year, the Access Corrections MP3 and Media Program has reached the one million downloads 

milestone! Since launching in April 2009, the program has been implemented in six state-wide 

Departments of Corrections, including Michigan, Arkansas, Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Ohio. 

More than 140,000 inmates are now using the MP3 and Media service. 

With any handheld technology, improving the user experience is always important. That’s why Access 

Corrections has made numerous enhancements to its MP3 player and program. The player and our 

exclusive music kiosk technology now feature our second generation software, which has a proven 

track record of safely delivering music and other content to the corrections industry. Inmates can 

perform 99 percent of all functions directly through the MP3 player, minimizing kiosk interaction to 

an average of two-and-a-half minutes. 

Time savings is just one benefit of the Access Corrections MP3 and Media Program. The need for 

fewer kiosks is another. Because the unit was designed to accommodate as many as four users at one 

time, most facilities need only one or two kiosks, depending on movement. Additionally, inmates can 

use the system without any supervision and review their full transaction history of downloads and 

music funds, thereby eliminating questions/information requests. 

By offering more than five million song selections, electronic message correspondence and picture 

downloads, the Access Corrections MP3 and Media Program has safely and efficiently achieved over 

one million downloads. Serving the corrections market exclusively, Access Corrections will continue 

to lead the way in secure technology services by providing cutting-edge programs to correctional 

facilities nationwide. 

The Razorback Chair and Barracuda Property Storage Box from CortechUSA 

The Razorback all plastic stacking chair is a new hot item for CortechUSA. If you have an area where 

safety is the top priority this chair will meet and exceed the requirements. The Razorback Chair can 

withstand a static load of over 1500lbs, it passes CAL 133 (flammability test) and passes ASTM 1561- 

03 (drop test). All testing is available for review. The Razorback chair comes in 7 standard colors, 

but it is also available in custom colors. 

The Barracuda Property Storage box has been popular among the industries programs. This all plastic 

locking storage box has many uses. It has been used for commissary transport, inmate storage, 

records/file storage along with dozens other uses. The Barracuda Box as the ability to stack with or 

without a lid and can be rotated 180 degrees to nest inside of another box to save on shipping and 

storage costs. The Barracuda box is the strongest storage box available and will stand up to years 

of abuse. 


NCIA NEWS 


CORPORATE AND CORPORATE PLUS 

MEMBERS 

2/90 Sign Systems 

616-656-4310 

www.290signs.com 

Bob Barker Co. 

919-552-3431, x704 

www.bobbarker.com 

Comade, Inc 

949-474-0160 x705 

www.comade.com 

G.A. Braun, Inc. 

315-475-3123 

www.gabraun.com 

3M 

651-737-7167 

www.mmm.com 

Bodek and Rhodes 

215-783-4790 

www.BodekandRhodes.com 

Cortech 

630-455-0811 

www.cortechusa.com 

Gerber Coburn 

860-648-6708 

www.gerbercoburn.com 

A.C. Furniture Co. Inc. 

276-650-8531 

www.acfurniture.com 

A+ Career Apparel by SAI 

801-771-0794 

www.apluscareerapparel. 

com 

Abner Henry Fine Furniture 

330-674-0836 

www.abnerhenry.com 

All State Distributors N.E. 

Inc. 

845-692-7130 x10941 

www.allstatedistributors. 

com 

Aptan Corporation 

213-748-5271 

www.aptancorp.com 

ARAMARK 

630-271-2907 

www.aramark.com 

ATD-American Company 

215-576-1000, x2218 

www.atd.com 

Avery Dennison 

440-358-3906 

www.averydennison.com 

Bay Product Development 

920-469-1972 

Beau-Fab Inc. 

514-731-6477 

www.beaufab.com 

Blind Industries and Services 

of Maryland 

410-737-2600 

www.bism.org 

Bone Safety Signs 

770-333-1635 

www.bonesafety.com 

Brodart Company 

570-769-7412 x361 

www.brodartfurniture.com 

Brother International 

908-252-3279 

www.brother-usa.com 

Bruin Plastics Company, 

Inc. 

800-556-7764 

www.bruinplastics.com 

Brulin Corporation 

317-923-3211 

www.brulin.com 

C.F. Stinson, Inc. 

800-841-6279 

www.cfstinson.com 

CAPRI Optics/Welling 

Eyewear 

800-221-2544 

www.caprioptics.com 

ChemTick Coated Fabrics, 

Inc. 

516-997-0900 

Chestnut Ridge Foam, Inc. 

724-537-9000 x265 

www.chestnutridgefoam. 

com 

Coast to Coast Leather & 

Vinyl 

888-409-4433 

www.coast2coastleather. 

com 

CP Bourg Inc 

508-998-2171 

www.cpbourg.com 

CTA Acoustics dba Corbin 

Fiber Products 

606-258-2620 

www.corbinfiberproducts. 

com 

Custom Ingredients 

803-377-1213 

www.custom-ingredients. 

com 

DAF Products, Inc. 

800-228-9837 

www.dafproducts.com 

Dauphin 

303-908-2476 

www.dauphin.com 

Douglass Industries, Inc. 

609-965-6030 

www.dougind.com 

Dunlap Industries, Inc. 

800-251-7214 

www.dunlapii.com 

Ecolab, Inc. 

651-293-2185 

www.ecolab.com 

Epicor Software 

949-585-4580 

www.epicor.com 

Fiberesin Industries, Inc. 

262-567-4427 x473 

www.fiberesin.com 

Fulterer USA, Inc. 

410-551-1102 

www.fultererusa.com 

Global Shop Solutions 

281-681-1959 

www.globalshopsolutions. 

com 

Groz-Beckert USA, Inc. 

800-438-4567 

www.groz-beckert.com 

Hart Specialties, Inc. 

800-221-6966 

www.newyorkeye.net 

Henderson Sewing Machine 

Co., Inc. 

800-824-5113 

www.hendersonsewing.com 

Herculite Products, Inc. 

800-772-0036 

www.herculite.com 

High Point Furniture Industries 

336-431-7101 

www.hpfi.com 

Hi-Tech Narrow Fabrics 

877-874-4400 

www.hitechnarrowfabrics. 

com 

HMU, LLC 

804-523-8110 

www.hmullc.com 

Human Potential Consultants, 

LLC 

310-756-1560 

www.hpcemployment.org 

Indiana Chair Frame 

574-825-9355 x241 

www.icfnet.com 

PAGE 46 


NCIA NEWS 


Integrated Strategies 

517-381-4800 x219 

www.sourcing.com 

Kurz Transfer Products, L.P. 

704-927-3848 

www.kurzusa.com 

Novavision Ltd. 

419-354-1427 x6377 

www.novavisioninc.com 

The Shoe Sale, LLC 

877-599-7463 

www.njshoe.com 

International Consulting 

Services LLC 

804-347-3325 

www.icsllconline.com 

Ivars USA 

920-459-0704 

www.ivarsusa.com 

J. Tech Sales, L.L.C. 

561-995-0070 

www.jTechsales.com 

JAVS 

502-244-8788 

www.javs.com 

Jenny Corporation 

941-966-5684 

Jenny Service Company 

775-358-8585 

www.jennyservicecompany. 

com 

Jensen USA 

850-271-5959 

www.jensen-group.com 

John R. Wald Company 

814-643-3908 

www.jrwald.com 

Jupiter Aluminum Corporation 

219-933-2712 

www.jupiteraluminum.com 

Keefe Group 

800-325-8998 

www.keefegroup.com 

KFI Seating 

800-457-5073 

www.kfiseating.com 

King America Textile Group 

773-523-8361 

www.westex.com 

Light Corporation 

616-844-3124 

www.lightcorp.com 

Masterfoods, USA 

757-258-0980 

www.masterfoods.com 

Mayer Fabrics, Inc. 

317-267-2626 

www.mayerfabrics.com 

Mid-States Services, Inc. 

817-838-8600 

www.buyjail.com 

ModuForm, Inc. 

978-345-7942 

www.moduform.com 

Momentum Group 

949-833-8886 

www.memosamples.com 

MTJ American 

330-674-0836 

www.mtjamerican.com 

Nassau Vision Group 

201-767-8033 x1232 

www.avaloneyewear.com 

Nightingale, Inc. 

800-363-8954 

www.nightingalechairs.com 

Nippon Carbide 

Industries (USA) Inc. 

800-395-2528 

www.nikkalite.com 

NORIX Group, Inc. 

630-231-1331 

www.norix.com 

Northwest Woolen Mills 

401-769-0189 

www.northwestwoolen.com 

OEI 

920-468-2788 

www.oei-inc.com 

Office Star Products 

843-324-7719 

www.officestar.net 

Plascon Inc. 

231-935-1580 

www.plascongroup.com 

PortionPac Chemical Corporation 

800-289-7725/312-226- 

0400 

www.portionpaccorp.com 

Power Commissary, Inc. 

631-563-7878 

www.powercommissary.com 

Quality Metals, Inc. 

651-645-5875 

www.qualitymetalsinc.com 

Raytex Fabrics, Inc. 

516-584-1111 

www.raytexindustries.com 

Simplex Textiles Inc 

514-270-2597 

www.simplextextiles.ca 

Solo Slide Fasteners, Inc. 

508-698-0303 

www.soloslide.com 

SpecialMade Goods & 

Services, Inc. 

540-868-7550 

www.specialmade.com 

Spec-Tex, Inc. 

954-796-7641 

www.spectexinc.com 

The Fox Company 

704-399-4581 

www.thefoxcompany.com 

The Wolf Machine Company 

513-791-5194 

www.wolfmachine.com 

Top Supplies, Inc. div. of 

Richelieu Hardware 

336-841-5100 x223 

www.richelieu.com 

Union Supply Company, 

Inc. 

310-603-8899 

www.unionsupply.com 

United Fabrics, Inc. 

856-665-2040 

www.unitedfabrics.com 

Unitex International, Inc. 

770-232-0060 

www.unitexonline.com 

University Loft Company 

317-866-5638 

www.universityloft.com 

UTSCH 

440-358-9488 

www.utsch.com 

VIA Inc 

800-433-6614 

www.viaseating.com 

Vulcan Inc 

251-943-2645 

www.vulcaninc.com 

Xerox Corporation 

804-938-0300 

www.xerox.com 


NCIA NEWS 


CALL FOR ARTICLES – 

THE TECHNOLOGY ISSUE 

NCIA is currently seeking articles for the next issue 

of NCIA News. This issue (the Winter 2010 Issue) 

will be the annual Technology Issue. NCIA is looking 

for stories that focus on how technology is being 

used by Correctional Industries to become more efficient, 

more profitable and help further our overall 

mission. 

Stories from vendors who provide technology products 

and services are welcome … just make sure you 

get a copy of the NCIA author guidelines first (contact 

Wil Heslop at NCIA for a copy of the NCIA author 

guidelines). 

An e-mail will be sent out to the NCIA membership 

with the full issue description in late September. In 

the meantime, you may contact Wil Heslop at NCIA 

(410-230-3972 or wil@nationalcia.org) to discuss an 

article idea you may have or to obtain the NCIA author 

guidelines. 

AD INDEX 

3M ..............................................Inside Front Cover 

AC Furniture ............................................................25 

Brother International Corporation ...........7, 43 

Capri Optics................................................................3 

Dauphin........................................................................11 

Global Shop Solutions..........................................17 

Indiana Chair Frame Co.......................................19 

Ivars USA............................................... Back Cover 

John R. Wald Co. ...................................................14 

MARKING OUR PAST – PREPARING FOR OUR FUTURE 

CORRECTIONAL INDUSTRIES 

2011 NTC 

DON’T MISS OUT 

THIS YEAR! 

NCIA ENTERPRISE 2011 

National Training Conference 

Baltimore, Maryland 

March 25 – 28, 2011 

www.nationalcia.org 

Keefe Group.............................................................. 5 

Missouri Vocational Enterprises ....................23 

OEI................................................................................34 

PLASCON..................................................................35 

Union Supply Company... Inside Back Cover 

PAGE 48

Board of Directors - National Correctional Industries Association

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