From Building Prisons to Building Bridges. Greg Gaertner, Penn State University Kristin Sayers, PA...

From Building Prisons to

Building Bridges

Greg Gaertner, Penn State UniversityKristin Sayers, PA Department of CorrectionsKrista Griffith, PA Board of Probation & Parole

Traci Jacobson, Bureau of Community CorrectionsValarie Kusiak, PA DOC, SCI MercerJason Gines, Penn State UniversityVladimir Beaufils, Firm Foundation

Randy Loss, Office of Vocational RehabilitationLynn Zale, Office of Vocational Rehabilitation

Team PATraining Plan

Current Priorities

Funding

Overcrowding/Bed Space

Recidivism

Collaborations

Public Safety

Current Situation

Administration and Level of Support Changes

Recent Change of Department Structures

Legislators/Pending Legislation

Prison Overcrowding

Our Over-Arching Goal

To foster partnerships with agencies through centralized training that supports ex-offender

employment and job retention within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Objectives

Provide initial group instruction

Use curriculum developed by National Institute of Corrections and Department of Justice

Identify individuals from each training session that will extend training to additional partners

Target Training Population

Key Corrections Staff Administration Employment Vocational Coordinators Educational

Community Corrections Counselors

Key Parole Agents Assessment Sanctioning Community Resource Agents

(ASCRA) Institutional Parole

Department of Labor & Industry Office of Vocational Rehabilitation Workforce Investment Board

Program Delivery

Regional Training

Modified Offender Employment Specialist (OES) Training Modules

Impacts on Program Delivery

Staff morale

Timing

Logistics

Funding

Community Support

Positive Outcomes

Partnerships Enhanced Communication Shared Resources

Increased Staff Skill Sets

Increased Offender Employability Skill Sets