Georgia parole review [Summer 1997]

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Dr. Betty Ann Cook joins Board

Board's new member was a teacher, remains a learner

oth as an educator and a

student Dr. Betty Ann Cook

relishes methodical study,

but by temperament she

thrives on challenge. It's a winning

combination that has propelled her

through leadership roles in academia

and government, including her new

position as Parole Board member.

After Gov. Miller appointed the

former director of the Governor's

Office of Highway Safety to the five-

member panel in January, she

immersed herself in the workings of

parole. But while the procedures are

new, the issues she is dealing with

are familiar and close to her heart.

Dr. Cook was a professor of sociolo-

gy, criminal justice, public policy,

urban planning, research, and-busi-

ness. "My ideology has always been

pragmatic." she says.

She says she studies people as

much as

processes and a recurring life theme has been recognizing role

"You must have success and failure to learn to adapt posi-

models and tively to life."

emulating

their most

- Dr. Cook

admirable

traits. "You can't take in all those

qualities," she says, "but you incor-

porate what you can to balance your

own personality."

Rfter graduating from Howard University and quickly becoming bored with graduate school in Texas, the disenchanted student packed her bags and bought a oneway ticket to Atlanta. Here she enrolled in graduate study at Atlanta University and worked at the Fairlie Voter Education Project. The executive director was John Lewis, now a U. S. Representative, and one of her most important teachers.
"From him I learned more about compassion and the importance of giving a voice to everyone," she says. "It helped balance the business-like approach I have toward social concerns." Inspired, she campaigned for and won a delegate position to the 1972 Democratic National Convention.

DR. BETTY ANN COOK was appointed to the Board in January.
SAVANNAH PAROLE OFFICER DEMETRA BUSH checks on an electronically monitored parolee. In addition to 1400 standard units in use statewide, parole officers may use drive-by units to quickly confirm a parolee's presence at approved appointments, such as counseling.

Soon after receiving her master's

degree from Atlanta University, Dr.

Cook received a Ford Foundation

teaching fellowship and taught in the

criminal justice program at Morris

Brown College (part of the Atlanta

University Center) for two years.

She left to pursue her

" .. .1 identify

doctorate at with the con-

Emory University and then in 1978 joined

cerns of neighborhoods and communities. "

the faculty of the Atlanta

- Dr. Cook

University

Graduate School of Social Work.

After a semester Dr. Cook became

chair of Academic Research, a posi-

tion she held for 10 years. She spe-

cialized as much as she could in

gerontology and women's concerns

as a tribute to two other role models:

a steadfast, hard-working aunt from

whom she learned diligence, and her

mother, who taught her to remain

open to people and new experiences.

Dr. Cook's interests in social work, urban studies, energy issues, and women's econom-

ic concerns merged in her next posi-

tion as director of Institutional

Research and Planning for Morris

Brown College. She subsequently

received sev-

eral major "-You can't win

grants from sources such

by yourseIf- "

as the Department of

_ Dr. Cook

the Interior,

and her innovative work in the ener-

gy field eventually led her to the

position of deputy commissioner of

the Department of Natural

Resources.

It was there that she worked

closely with then-Commissioner Joe

Tanner, whom she admired because

he could "conceptualize and pull

people together to accomplish things

others thought impossible." From

that observation came her renewed

commitment to her personal operat-

ing credo -"you can't win by your-

self"- which led to success in her

next position as the Highway Safety

director and which provides the

framework for how she views

her current role in the criminal jus-

tice system.

COOK, continued on page 4

SAFE
In A New Land

Agency bridges communication gap between law enforcement and immigrants

H' I ow do we define an intema, ' tional city? Most picture a desI i tination spot for foreign tourists or a mecca for international trade; few think of internationalism spawned by refugees. Bosnians escaping war, Vietnamese ex-political prisoners, and Laotians fleeing persecution are just some of the people whose lives have been altered by extreme political or social conditions and who must begin life anew. Nevertheless, their adopted countries can seem indifferent or even incensed by their presence. And, sadly, those to whom they should turn for help may be perceived as foes.
Because many refugees and other immigrants suffered at the hands of police or other government "protectors" in their native lands, they are often too frightened to report crimes or behavior that exploits them in their new homeland. They may not even realize they're being victimized.
Agency promotes personal communication
The mission of one Atlanta organization is to overcome that problem by improving communication between new Americans and law enforcement agencies. The Bridging the Gap Project(BTG) is a collaboration of five agencies, including the Multicultural Crime Task Force, under the umbrella of the non-profit Sullivan Center, Inc. It is a partner agency of the Immigration and Refugee Services of America and has recently signed an affiliation agreement with the U. S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.
BTG's Director Gail Hoffman explains that the "bridge" comprises a network of services, such as translation and cultural conflict resolution and law enforcement training, as well as products, such as multi-language booklets and videos, designed to overcome cultural barriers. One of the most powerful aids in building trust with police is the bilingual community meeting where law enforcement personnel meet personally with immigrants to answer questions about their safety.
Mostly men attend the community meetings, according to Hoffman, although once several Vietnamese women came to what turned out to be a particularly important gathering. She says the women were silent until one timidly spoke up about a man who was molesting Vietnamese women as they walked the path from their apartment to a nearby grocery store.
"Because the sexual connotations are so negative in their culture, they were afraid to report it," Hoffman says. "You could tell the law enforcement representatives were touched by their appeal. They told the women
2 GEORGIA PAROLE REVIEW

that they would put an end to it, and they did."
Centers serve immigrant neighborboods
In the five-county Atlanta metropolitan area Bridging the Gap has opened four community centers to serve targeted apartment complexes where there are large immigrant clusters. Although intended for Latinos, Koreans, Haitians,Vietnamese, Laotians, and Chinese, the centers are open to all who need assistance. Regular meetings and activities address the needs of residents in each location.
Within the centers are telephone lines where callers may give or receive information about non-emergency crimes in Vietnamese, Chinese, Lao, Haitian-Creole, Khmer, or Spanish. "We'll pass that information on to the appropriate authorities so we can build intelligence," says Hoffman. "We're hoping to get information on gangs, which can really terrorize a vulnerable immigrant population."
Project depends on citizen support, volunteerism
The Bridging the Gap Project receives grants for certain operating expenses but they must be matched by an ever-rising percentage of private funds yearly. With 23 staff members (who combined speak 16 languages) the agency stretches to respond to the growing needs of Atlanta's immigrant and criminal justice communities. Their passionate dedication has already been recognized: Director Hoffman was judged the 1996 Crime Prevention Practitioner of the Year, an honor bestowed by the Georgia Crime Prevention Association.
Dedicated work comes from the community too. Parole Officer Louis Tsang is one of many volunteers who provide on-call translation services. Recently he completed BTG's course "Survival Vietnamese for Law Enforcement." Parole employee Jack Holliday gives technical assistance on gang activity. Such contributions, multiplied by hundreds, is the lifeblood of the organization. Hoffman encourages all law enforcement personnel to reach out to refugees or immigrants in their hometowns either with an organization such as Bridging the Gap, or independently.
"Sometimes it's hard for Americans to realize the reign of fear that immigrants bring with them and may live under even in our culture, which seems so open and democratic," she says. "Just recognizing a face in the law enforcement community can be tremendously reassuring to a person who is bewildered by a new society." I

SMYRNA POLICE OFFICER HALEY ALLISON arrives at a Cobb County apartment complex to attend a Bridging the Gap community meeting with the mostly Latino residents. Although the speaker for the evening is from Immigration and Naturalization Services, Allison and fellow officer, R.L.

Harvey, are regulars at BTG meetings. Their steady attendance demonstrates to often wary immigrants that police are concerned about their safety. Here Officer Allison transcends the language barrier by allowing children to inspect a police car while their parents assemble for the meeting.

JEFFERSON PAROLE OFFICER GARNETT TATE (above, left) checks on his parolee who emigrated from Cuba years ago. Tate has no parolees from recent immigrations and even in areas which attract large numbers of immigrants, such as Gainesville, few show up on caseloads. Dahlonega Parole Officer lV.:R. Berry notes, however, that children of these immigrants are forced into quick assimilation and adult responsibilities, like acting as family translator, and future crime statistics may reflect the stress encountered during these formative years.
The Board salutes agencies such as Bridging the Gap which provide critical, specialized services for the law enforcement community. For further information contact Gail Hoffman at:
The Bridging the Gap Project, Inc. 1615 Peachtree Street, NE, Suite 120
Atlanta, Georgia 30309 Tel: 404-872-9400

MONICA tends to her herbs, an interest she developed in a prison class.

Rome parolee creates context for new start

W hen Monica got out of prison she moved to the only place . she could afford-a run-down

able to do anything with it." The neighbors scared her at first,
Monica says, mostly at night when she

duplex apartment with no appliances.

turned off her lights. "Part of that is just

After a year of scrubbing mildew from

because I was incarcerated for so long.

sweaty cinderblock walls, hanging wall-

When you're in prison you're locked in

paper, stitching curtains,

but you know everything

and relentlessly scouring old linoleum floors, her apartment looks bright and inviting, if still bare.

"When you're in prison you're locked in but you

else is locked out, so you feel safe. Out here, alone, I was terrified at first, particularly before I got a tele-

Meanwhile her neighbors know everything

phone.

pile garbage on the shared front porch and conduct

else is locked out,

"Little by little I saved and got a telephone, stove,

marathon drinking sessions. so you feel safe." refrigerator and by the end

Frequently furniture or bodies slam against their com-

of '96 I had all the basics."
- Monica She gleans her decorating

mon wall. "I've seen

ideas from studying old

worse," Monica says flatly.

house and garden magazines and watch-

Parolees generally have a difficult

ing television home improvement shows.

time locating affordable housing; most

Monica is the unofficial street mom

are at the bottom of the employment

for a group of neighborhood children.

scale with no savings for apartment or

They stop by to admire her latest deco-

utility deposits. Many return to their

rating schemes and to study with fascina-

families or board with friends, but oth-

tion the unfurling sprouts of her herb

ers, whether by nature or from the stress

garden, perilously close to the neighbors'

of prison, want the solitude and privacy

growing trash pile.

of their own place. Either way parolees

Because she displays such an opti-

are often thrown back into a bleak emo-

mistic attitude, it's difficult to believe

tional and visual environment that offers

that Monica has been diagnosed as HIV-

little encouragement for betterment. To

positive. Her nurturing attitude, whether

rise above it takes an extra measure of

for children or seedlings or a dank apart-

determination.

ment, affirms health and life. "I just don't

In a recently completed Parole Board

dwell on the diagnosis," she says, "even

video Rome Parole Officer Katrina

though I take a lot of medication. "

Green is shown visiting Monica, who

Glancing around the sparkling bright

leans on a broom as they talk.

room, Monica admits she's proud of

"There's nothing posed about that,"

what she's accomplished with so little

says Officer Green. "Generally I find her

money or encouragement. "I can't control

washing down the walls with disinfec-

what's out there, she says, waving her

tant, painting, or hanging wallpaper.

arm toward her neighboring apartment

When she moved into this place I was

and beyond, "but I can control this. I've

shocked; I couldn't imagine her being

learned I can create what I need." I

3 GEORGIA PAROLE REVIEW

BRUNSWICK PAROLE OFFICER ROBERT EADY talks to Glynn County Victim Assistance Director Bobbie Pickett about local cases. Because parole officers live in the areas they serve, they have personal as well as professional interest in improving services to victims. For example, the Valdosta parole office staff help coordinate the annual Victims Rights Week in that city and are working with other community and criminaljustice leaders to establish the Child Advocacy Center. (Officer Eady is now a field services officer in the Board's Atlanta headquarters.)

Project's goal is more victim input

Since April victims have had more input into the parole decision process because their comments are now routinely solicited for inclusion in pre-parole reports. In a pilot program in DeKalb, Fulton, Douglas, Paulding, and Haralson counties, parole staff investigating the circumstances of an inmate's crime by letter invite victims of the most serious crimes to telephone the investigator for an interview. The interview is typically conducted by phone but may be in person.
"This is just one more step in building our services to victims," says Victim Services Director Silas Moore. "For several years the Board

has encouraged parole staff to con-

outlining the Board's services for

tact victims for their comments; this

victims. Victims will learn when and

new policy shows the

how to contact the

commitment of the Board " ...this new policy Board and what infor-

to get that information

shows the com-

mation they can expect

uniformly. " The investigator may
forgo sending an invitation if, during the investi-

mitment of the Board to get that information

from the agency, such as notification about parole decisions.
"Although this

gation, the parole officer [victim input]

determines that the victim has already contacted the

uniformly."

investigative procedure is for victims of serious crimes only, the Board

Board's victim services

- Silas Moore recognizes that a vic-

office. In that case the victim's view would already have been obtained.

Director tim of any crime feels Victim Services violated and angry, "
Moore says. "Any vic-

With the invitation letter victims

tim may write to us about a case and

also receive a victim impact state-

ask for and receive notification of

ment form and an information sheet

any planned parole." I

COOK, from page 1

American Association, Research

Atlanta, and Georgians for Children.

Dr. Cook has developed her pri-

She has been honored as one of

mary goals as a new Board member.

Atlanta's "Most Devoted Women."

High on the list is attending to the

Another goal is to improve and

needs of victims. One of her first appointments as a Board member was to

"I'm not only open

expand the Board's relations with other criminal justice organizations.

speak at a MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) meeting.
"I'm a very community-

to critique: I expect it. Life is an

Mostly she wants to demonstrate to the public that their safety is the Parole Board's

oriented person and I iden- ongoing re-

foremost concern.

tify with the concerns of neighborhoods and com-

assessment. "

By all accounts Dr. Cook can be called a

munities," she says. Her

_ Dr. Cook scholar. Shes has pub-

civic involvement is

lished extensively in the

reflected by her leadership roles

areas of institutional effectiveness,

with TEAM GA, the Coalition of

strategic planning, and women's

100 Black Women, the National

issues. She has received fellowships

Council of Social Work, the Latin

from the Danforth, Ford, and

Rockefeller Foundations, to name a few, and as a Fulbright International Scholar she studied in India. But she still considers herself practical.
"Even with our very tough sentencing laws, offenders will eventually be released," she says. "They need a parole period for transition. As an educator, I know that changing behavior is a long, protracted business. You must have success and failure to learn to adapt positively to life."
Also as an educator she knows the public will scrutinize and evaluate her work on the Parole Board. She welcomes it. "I'm not only open to critique: I expect it," she says. "Life is an ongoing reassessment. I never want to think I have all the answers." I

4 GEORGIA PAROLE REVIEW

GEORGIA PAROLE REVIEW is published by the
State Board of Pardons and Paroles Fourth Floor, East Tower
Floyd Veterans Memorial Building 2 M.L. King, Jr., Drive, S.E. Atlanta, Georgia 30334
Walter Ray Chairman
Jim Wetherington Vice Chairman
Bobby Whitworth Member
Garfield Hammonds, Jr. Member
Dr. Betty Ann Cook Member
Charles J. Topetzes Director of Parole
Scheree Lipscomb Director of Public Information
Marsha Bailey Editor
Copyright 1997 by State Board of Pardons and Paroles. Permission is granted to reproduce text from GEORGIA PAROLE REVIEW provided attribution is given, with the exception that this permission does not extend to any material copyrighted by others. Photographs may not be reproduced except by permission. The editor welcomes suggestions and comments.