Impact Georgia, Dec. 2007

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DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

"Faster. Friendlier. Easier."
Mission
The Georgia Department of Corrections protects and serves the public as a professional organiza-
tion by effectively managing offenders while helping to provide a safe and secure environment for the citizens of Georgia.
Vision
The Georgia Department of Corrections is the best
corrections system in the nation at protecting
the citizens from convicted offenders and at providing effective opportunities for offenders to achieve positive change. We are a leader and partner in making Georgia a safer, healthier, better educated, growing and
best managed state.

News and Facts to Keep You Informed - December 2007

The Augusta/Richmond County Ministerial

Forum was held on Monday, December 3rd at

the Boathouse Community Center in Augusta.

The luncheon was a continuation of efforts of

Georgia on the Move-Augusta and provided

an opportunity to engage and leverage com-

munity stakeholders, faith based leaders and

government agencies in reentering

ex-offenders into Story contributed by Mallie McCord

the community.

Photos courtesy of Risk Reduction Services

Ministerial Forum Luncheon 2007

The theme of the forum was "Bridging the Gap: Redeeming Prodigal Sons and Daughters." In FY 07, over 700 inmates were released and returned home in the Augusta/ Richmond County area. One of the important aims of the forum is to develop a local Faith and Community Advisory Board. The Board will be a catalyst for creating; sustaining and promoting programs that will help make a safer, healthier, better-educated Georgia.

Over 150 guests were in attendance. Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver attended as well as State Representative's Wayne Howard, Quincy Murphy and Augusta area judges. Representative Howard addressed the crowd on his concerns regarding recidivism and the city of Augusta. The luncheon also provided an opportunity for leadership to discuss creating a program similar to the Savannah Impact Program for the city of Augusta. With the help of the Interfaith Community, state and local leadership, GDC and the city of Augusta can make a significant difference in the lives of returning offenders, either families or friends.
A commitment of Sharing!

Core Goal A Safer, Healthier, Better Educated Growing, and Best Managed Georgia

GDC takes a hands-on approach to ensuring no stocking is empty for needy children. Probation and Corrections professionals took up the challenge of collecting new and unwrapped toys beginning well beyond the start of the holiday season. Not only benefiting the holiday toy drive effort but beyond as the mission of calming a distraught child when addressing a domestic or family violence call is answered.

Core Organizational
Principles
Value Based: Stewards of the Public
Trust
Embrace Change: Change, Transformation is
inevitable
Business Acumen: Better Business Practice

Teaming with the Lee Arrendale State Prison the Mountain Judicial Circuit Task Force on Family Violence kicked off its toy drive in observance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Donated toys will be sorted and presented to local law enforcement agencies to be distributed to children by officers who respond to domestic violence calls.
Rallying to the call for assistance during November Probation and Correction Officer Training classes took up a friendly rivalry. More than 200 graduates collected enough toys to bring smiles to children in more than 30 households.
Central office teammates can also donate to the Toys-for-Tots cause by filling the collection bin located on the Plaza Level of the "Sloppy" Floyd building. The need is great but the request is simple:
A New, Safe Unwrapped Toy.

A Learning Organization:

People are the Centerpiece

Donations are being accepted through December 14. If more info is needed contact your charitable donations floor representative or visit

the Toys-for-Tots location finder on the web at http://www.toysfortots.org/donate/toys.asp

Continuation . . .

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SPECIAL KUDOS

News and Facts to Keep You Informed - December 2007
WilkesChPooRseCFreSeduopmeCraimnptaeignnd"SetneptsUUpp"dOauttreeaschCthoromugmh unity Community Partnerships

PRISON RAPE ELIMINATION ACT

Article appeared November 29, 2007 on the news-reporter.com http://www.news-reporter.com/news/2007/1129/News/031.html

Sexual misconduct gets Zero Tolerance!
Education and awareness!
Congratulations to Angela Grant and the Corrections Division staff!

The two day, 1hour sessions educated staff on proper unsupervised interaction with inmates in accordance with new PREA policy
Guidelines (IIA21-0001).

If you missed the sessions, Central Office staff can take the mandatory course at the Metro State Prison In-Service.
Contact Angela Grant , PREA Coordinator, via email: granta00@dcor.state.ga.us or call 404.-651-6042.
Visit our website at www.dcor.state.ga.us

GDC is taking a hard-line approach to making the realities of meth use and its effect on Georgia's rise in the crime rate and subsequent increase in our prison population.

Ricky Cobb (center), superintendent of the Wilkes Pre-release Center, Georgia Department of Corrections, was the guest speaker at the Washington Kiwanis Club's regular meeting on Tuesday, November 20. Cobb discussed the organization, operation, and goals of the facility and told that the Wilkes center is one of seven such facilities in the State and the only one designated as a "Pilot Facility." The facility teaches structure and discipline and makes every effort to foster a sense of hope for inmates upon release. Currently, the center employs 50 and has 119 inmates. Cobb reported that in the last year-and-a-half, 11 inmates have earned their GED certificates and 59 have earned technical school credits. Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Donna Hardy introduced Cobb. Bob Simmons (right) was the program host for the day.

Commissioner: James E. Donald
Public Affairs Director:
Susan Phillips
Managing Editor:
Tracy J. Smith
Photographers/contributors:
Paul Czachowski Mallie McCord Tracy J. Smith
Please direct comments or questions to:

"Our Choose Freedom Campaign is effective as our young adults, at this influential stage in their development, meet face to face with those who have committed crimes and are now faced with doing the hard time as a result of those actions," said Commissioner James Donald. "What we are facing now is a scourge of drug related crimes that are directly attributed to drug use and is increasingly been identified as metham-
phetamine. Now is the time to use every resource at our disposal to halt this monster."

Office of Public Affairs 2 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. East Tower, Suite 864 Atlanta, Georgia 30334
Phone: 404-656-9772 Fax: 404-656-6434 Email: GDCinfo@dcor.state.ga.us

Those resources led to a shocking partnership with the Montana Meth Project's Not Even Once series directly linked in the GDC homepage by Meth Mouth. A disturbing image of decayed tooth loss resulting from prolonged use of meth is displayed. This image serves as a direct link to a series of poignant videos and information that describes the drug's lethal effects on the body and the mind's ability to make the Right Choices.
Have a look for yourself and pass this potentially lifesaving information on:
http://www.dcor.state.ga.us/NewsRoom/PublicInformation/ChooseFreedom_meth.html