Impact Georgia July 2012 Newsletter 8th Annual Awards Ceremony Selena English receives the Tiffany Bishop Horizon Award On May 29th, the Department recognized GDC staff who have shown profound dedication and service in 2011 at the 8th Annual Awards ceremony. Speakers of the 8th Annual Awards ceremony included guest speaker, State Representative Jay Neal and Board of Corrections secretary, Rose Williams. The 8th Annual Awards ceremony marked the introduction of the Tiffany Bishop Horizon Award. This award was created to honor the memory of Probation Officer Tiffany Bishop of the Rome Probation Office. Officer Bishop was beginning her career with the Department when she was tragically taken from us on August 31, 2011. The award sets out to honor her dedication to her job and her community, and the lasting effect her bright spirit and determination had on those around her in always going above and beyond the call of duty, and always inspiring others to be the best they can be. Selena English of the Warner Robins Probation Office received this award. The nominees were all submitted by correctional staff. Recognition from one's peers is the greatest honor one can receive. The nominees' hard work and diligence was clearly recognized. privileged to honor the men and women of the Department as well as our loyal partners for their dedi-cation," said Commissioner Brian Owens. The awards were presented by Commissioner Owens, Assistant Commissioner Timothy Ward, Representative Neal, and Board of Corrections member, Williams. "More than 12,000 dedicated public servants work diligently to ensure our mission of protecting the public is carried out responsibly. Through their efforts, the Department is successful in achieving its goal on a daily basis. The Department is Representative Neal speaks at the GDC Annual Awards Did You Know...The Department will be opening three new Residential Substance Abuse Treatment centers this month. Georgia DOC Vision & Mission Statements MISSION The Department of Corrections creates a safer Georgia by effectively managing offenders and providing opportunities for positive change VISION To be recognized as the best corrections organization in the nation. Reducing Recidivism: Georgia Programs Assessment Inventory On June 5th, the Georgia Programs Assessment Inventory (GPAI) held its training at State Offices South at Tift College in Roberts Chapel. This program is administered out of the Corrections Institute at the University of Cincinnati under the guidance of Dr. Pat Van Voorhis. The GPAI is a three step process. The first step begins with a site visit to collect extensive data that will be combined with SCRIBE data in 13 areas that have been Contributed by Manager Robert Kiedinger, READ Unit known to impact recidivism, such as leadership, case management, mental health services, substance abuse services, and workforce development services. The second step in the GPAI process is scoring the data and writing a report for the sites. In the final step, action planning and training is given in attempts to improve the programs and scores over the course of the next year. According to Dr. Van Voorhis, GPAI puts the Department on the cutting edge in terms of moving from standard practices to best practices for reducing recidivism. Over the course of the project, innumerable partnerships with local religious organizations, civic groups, and other governmental entities have been developed. At every site visit that receives an annual GPAI, support, innovations and advancements have been made across all program areas. GPAI plays a large part in the lives of local communities and families associated with each site. These individuals are more aware, involved, and supportive of what they are doing to reduce recidivism. The GPAI is an adaptation of the Corrections Programs Assessment Inventory (CPAI). The Department has adopted many CPAI practices and still stand firmly on the extensive research that shows that the higher an employee scores on the GPAI, the better they are at reducing recidivism. Now, there are approximately 60 sites that receive GPAI training annually. Each time new recidivism reduction programs are started or expanded, they are brought into the GPAI process. GPAI has and will continue to be a win-win for offenders, stakeholders, the Department and the state of Georgia. Commissioner Brian Owens addresses the GPAI Conference Asst. Commissioner Timothy Ward presents Phillips Transitional Center with a GPAI Award Timothy Ward, Assistant Commissioner, addresses the GPAI Conference Asst. Commissioner Timothy Ward presents Athens Day Reportng Center with the highest score GPAI Award 2 Impact Georgia Bainbridge Probation Substance Abuse Treatment Center Contributed by Superintendent Moses P. James, Jr. Calendar of Events Wednesday, July 4 Independance Day HOLIDAY Tuesday, July 10 Metro Atlanta DRC Graduation Tuesday, July 17 West Central Intergrated Treatment Facility Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Wednesday, July 18 Turner RSAT Ribbon Cutting Ceremony BPSATC Staff winding down from a very successful Family Day On June 14th, the Bainbridge Probation Substance Abuse Treatment Center (BPSATC) in Bainbridge, Georgia held its most highly attended Family Day event with over 130 family members, 40 BPSATC detainees and approximately 40 BPSATC staff members in attendance. Family and friends gathered with loved ones for the opportunity to learn effective ways of assisting their incarcerated family members on how to discover resources available to them upon their return into society. Additionally, family members were introduced to Team BPSATC and afforded the opportunity to meet with counseling staff for family sessions. A thorough review of services offered to family members was provided during the event. The Family Day event began with Superintendent Moses James, Jr. welcoming the families to the facility and stressing the need for families to become involved in their loved ones recovery. Addiction to drugs and other substances not only affects the individual using the drug, but also the entire family unit which makes it absolutely necessary for the entire family unit to develop a clear understanding of the processes of this illness. The chances of treatment succeeding are greatly increased when family and significant figures in the addict's family unit become educated about the predictable changes that will occur in their relationship as recovery moves forward. It is for this reason that you are here today and it is for this reason that BPSATC has developed the Family Integration Program (FIP) which will allow visiting families the chance to receive additional education on addictions and recovery. The Family Integration Program (FIP) is Bainbridge PSATC's version of an Alcohol and Drug Education Program for offenders and their families that utilize drug and alcohol. The Family Unit module of The Matrix Model Program presents information intended to empower family members to actively participate in every stage of their loved ones' recovery. The guest speaker of the event was Georgia Department of Labor Career Center Supervisor, Sylvia Washington of Grady County. Supervisor Washington encouraged the BPSATC detainees to take full advantage of the services that are offered in the local Career Center as they prepare to return to their communities. "Work experience earned here while you're in Bainbridge is just as valuable as paid work experience back at home. This is valuable information that should not be left off of your employment application and resume," stated Supervisor Washington. The Georgia Department of Labor collaborates with the Georgia Department of Corrections to ensure that career and employment needs are addressed both while the individual is incarcerated and upon release. The Bainbridge Probation Substance Abuse Treatment Center is a highly structured, six-month, 384 bed center located in Bainbridge, Georgia. It serves male state probationers with chronic substance abuse/ dependence issues and chronic recidivistic tendencies. The Bainbridge PSATC program first opened it doors in 2001 with a 192-bed facility located on the 250 acre grounds of what was previously known as Bainbridge State Hospital. In August 2007, the Bainbridge PSATC program opened a new dormitory doubling its capacity to its present day capacity of 384 detainees. Superintendent Moses P. James and Officer Melody Donalson 3 Impact Georgia Tuesday, July 24 GDC Quarterly Awards Wednesday, July 25 Appling Integrated Treatment Facility Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Stay Connected to GDC facebook.com/georgiacorrections youtube.com/user/ GACorrections GDC Employees Attend Project 2000 XXIII in DC Contributed by Julie Harnage, GDC Statewide Employee Assistance Program Coordinator Adam Jones, Correctional Officer from Valdosta SP received recognition from CPOF The Bishops receive a plaque and encased Georgia flag given in memory of their daughter, Tiffany Bishop Four Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) employees recently attended Project 2000 XXIII in Washington, D.C. The GDC employees who attended the conference were Director of Probation Operations, Stan Cooper; Rome Chief Probation Officer Chad Dabbs; Valdosta Correctional Officer Adam Jones; and Statewide EAP Coordinator Julie Harnage. Project 2000 is a yearly conference held by the Correctional Peace Officer Foundation (CPOF) in various sites throughout the United States. During the four day confer- ence, participants attended a variety of ceremonies, training classes and memorials. The morning of June 7th began with a police escort through the streets of Washington, D.C. to the National Law Enforcement Memorial (NLEM). The NLEM was the site of the memorial ceremony which was held to remember 15 fallen officers fromacross the nation, which included Probation Officer Tiffany Bishop from Rome Probation Office. PO Bishop's family was in attendance at the ceremony and throughout the conference. They were presented with an honorary plaque, an encased Georgia flag, a monetary check, and shell casings from a 21 gun salute conducted in honor of the fallen officer. On June 8th, 16 correctional staff members who had been assaulted in the line of duty, as well as six correctional staff members who had recently undergone catastrophic situations outside of the workplace, were recognized and presented with a monetary check and commemorative clock. The conference ended on Sunday with a heart-felt presentation by the children of the recognized fallen officers, assault victims and victims of catastrophic situations. CPOF is a non-profit charitable organization which supports employees of city, county, state, and federal correctional facilities and probation offices. The mission of CPOF is to operate and maintain a general fund for the perpetuation of the memory of those Correctional Peace Officers killed in the line of duty, to provide for their spouses, children or other beneficiaries; and to promote and project a positive image of the Corrections profession, both internally and externally. Over the last two years, CPOF has helped over 100 Georgia Department of Corrections' employees and has provided thousands of dollars in assistance. CPOF helps non-members as well as members. As a GDC employee, you can become a member for as little as 17 cents a day through payroll deduction. If you would like more information, please visit: www.cpof.org "Rescued" Program Update Recently, we featured an article where the Colwell Probation Detention Center and FAMA had joined together to create a dog rescue program called Rescued. Rescued is the first statewide dog rescue program within the Georgia Department of Corrections. Its mission is to save dogs from being euthanized at Fannin and Gilmer County Animal Shelters. Detainees who train and groom the dogs are benefited with job skills that will help them Contributed by Superintendent Diane M. Hassett in the future. vaccinations, microchiping, and flea and heartworm pre- Due to the program's grow- ventative. ing popularity, Rescued has now expanded their outreach These dogs are well man- into the community by allow- nered and trained thanks to ing dog adoption. Jan Eaton the hard work of dutiful de- of Tri-State Pet Rescue, Inc. tainees. explained that the adoption process is open to the pub- Adopting a dog from Res- lic; however, not all appli- cued will not only benefit the cants will be approved due dogs, but will give detainees of the mandatory screening skills they can utilize when process. An adoption fee of released. $200 to $250 per dog is also required. This fee covers spay/neutering, all Rescued dog, Dolly Commissioner Brian Owens Public Affairs Director, Joan Heath; Managing Editor, Gwendolyn Hogan; Public Relations & Information Specialists, Joycelyn Lucas & Dabney Weems We welcome all submissions. Please submit articles and photos to: Gwendolyn Hogan by July 16th E-mail: hogang00@dcor.state.ga.us