PRISON PROGRAMMING – IS IT A PANACEA?

By Donna R. Gore, M.A. 

I suppose you could call me a state government junkie…as well as an information junkie. As a state employee, I feel it is my duty to keep informed. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I downgraded my cable service long ago to “basic” to save about $600 a year. Therefore, I watch a lot of political affairs shows interspersed with my Netflix DVDs of choice.

It is a minimalist life, but a fine compromise for me in my considerable quest to change careers and offer my talents and services to the Southern California or San Diego community. (Hopefully, in the near future).

Given the above, I was perfectly content to watch a series of parole hearings sponsored by the State of Connecticut Department of Corrections during a recent Saturday night dinner in front of the TV.

(Author’s Note- There is approximately 3.5 million residents in Connecticut, 19 state prisons and 1 federal prison (not counting county jails).

The hearing consisted of three officers, two male, one female and a parole officer. (Male) As I viewed the parade of offenders, I noted many things of interest to a survivor of violent crime.

Each offender looked similar, and presented similar crimes. However, there was a wide array of articulateness, perceived intelligence or lack thereof, aptitude for verbal expression and motivation. This should come as no surprise when one thinks of the make up of the general population.

The hearing officers, who were doing their job to the best of their ability, went through the procedures in a rather bland and rote manner. They were perfect in their social etiquette, saying “Good morning” to each offender, wishing them a Happy New Year, addressing each by their Sir Name etc.

Questions involved prison behavior, how many infractions they received and why, who was in their life as a support system; inquiring as to their plans for the future, whether they had acquired a GED; what programs they attended and liked best. Occasionally, they asked if “Mr. Offender” had any remorse for their victims.

Time after time, when asked about the programming the offender had participated in, the majority would name one or two programs, followed by:

“I signed up for “X program” but they don’t offer it here” or (more typically) “There is a waiting list of at least a year.”

This author recalls watching many legislative hearings in the past and learning that our state has an excessive number of programs on the books for Connecticut offenders, both within the confines of the cement walls and as part of a non-profit re-entry program into civilized society.

***In fact, the Department of Corrections currently offers an alphabetical compendium of programs listed as “Offender Programs and Victim Services Unit.” Consisting of 264 pages of offerings! Upon close examination, almost without exception they are meant for prisoners and not for the benefit of victims. Granted, not every program is continuously offered…. But still…

Although my allegiance is always for the survivor of crime first and foremost....

What is wrong with the picture I have painted thus far? Plenty! 264 pages and inmates are on waiting lists for a year or more… Why is this so?

At considerable expense, we are supposed to mold offenders into responsible citizens. We clothe, feed, educate, skill train, provide parenting classes, assist in ridding substance abuse and other addictions, provide role models, domestic violence and other forms of counseling, AIDS treatment, mental health remediation, and all other forms of medical, social and emotional treatment necessary.

Why is the wait to rehabilitate so long? I can think of a few reasons…

1) Lack of instructors – A chosen few pursues the calling to work with offenders in these oppressive environments. Most do not;

2) Bottlenecks in the system- You can only re-arrange the deck chairs so many ways. Let’s say a class or training has the capacity for 30 student inmates. Perhaps, for whatever reason, those who qualify withdraw or are de-selected for tickets/infractions. The process may be held up further for approving the next candidates who are waiting because of the actions of others before them. If inmates require these classes for re-entry, another year in prison waiting for a program is indeed a long wait.

3) Supply and Demand- The demand for specific programs is so great in a particular geographic area, that the supply is always far less than the need.

4) Warehousing- Those who would otherwise be in the mainstream of society are taking up prison space and using resources needlessly as they wait for in-house programs, or housing on the outside.

Highly respected and retired DOC Commissioner, Theresa C. Lanz established a priority of supporting offender re-integration when she changed the model from strict confinement to community re-entry under supervision in the mid and late 1990’s. The transitional services overview on the DOC website states, “Since more than 95 percent of offenders (19,000+ currently) will eventually be released from prison, the department already offers extensive educational/vocational, substance abuse, parenting and other programs that will aid in supporting that transition….

A key component is stakeholders-including other state agencies such as the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, the Department of Social Services. the Department of Labor and the Department of Veteran Affairs as well as community based advocacy groups.”

As of January 2009 when the information was updated, those stakeholders contracted just 1,299 halfway house beds and supervised more than 3,500 additional “low risk offenders” in the community. Connecticut has increased its use of mental health professionals in the courts and created increased funding for its diversionary programs.

However, this author’s opinion is that the lack of sufficient beds in the community and the “not in my neighborhood” stance when it comes to group homes and halfway houses often places ex- prisoners in overcrowded homeless shelters.

So, are they left to languish in prison waiting for their required programs to become available, thus getting into further altercations? Or do they hope to transfer to another DOC facility where the program is available so that they can meet the parole rule minimum of 50% incarceration and then into the community with “whatever supports are available” ensuring public safety?

For the blog reader, ‘Just a Sampling of the 264 page program offerings:

Action Drama – A highly acclaimed outreach drama program;

Addiction Services- Tiers I-IV

Administrative Segregation- A Better Way- Video series on life changing behaviors

Career Exploration Fair;

Aids Awareness Group;

Alternatives to Violence- basic, intermediate and advanced

Bicycle and Wheelchair Repair;

Braille Program- Enables inmates in protective custody to be trained as a qualified pool of Braille writers assisting blind people in CT (Overseen by staff at this author’s agency);

Cage your Rage for Women;

Circle of Strength Dual Diagnosis Program;

Cosmetology/Barbering;

Default- Monthly education and therapy group for cancer survivors;

DUI Program;

Empowerment Book Club;

Family Matters- Designed for young men with estranged family relations;

Gambling- The Better Choice Program;

Girl Scouts Behind Bars- Volunteers from the Girl Scouts bring daughters of inmates to the facility for creative activities;

Grief and Adjustment;

Health Lecture Series;

Hospitality Operations Technology- Student preparation work in the hospitality industry;

Incarcerated Veteran’s Program;

Intramural Sports- participants must be ticket free;

Juman- Weekly Islamic worship;

Marker Plate Manufacturing- (Author’s Note- Yes, Virginia, they still make license plates in prison)

Mindful Living Meditation;

Resume Builder-Computer Skills;

V.O.I.C.E.S- Victim- Offender Institutional Correctional Educational Services-

Volunteer supported group to “broaden inmates understanding and sensitivity to the impact of their crime on others.

Wouldn’t it be a wonderful society if, at birth, we had a 264 page list of “programs for life” offered to new parents rather than those for incarcerated people? All of these programs and resources could be put to good use “in preparation for life in the community” from the baby’s and parent’s first coo. The A through Z menu could be used starting with “P” for parenting classes and choosing others along the way as needed, thus virtually eliminating the need for prisons. What a concept!


Donna R. Gore, M. A. "Lady Justice"

Homicide Survivor in Connecticut

Sexual Assault:Is it Not a Crime When Our Government is the Perpetrator?

By Pamela Chapman

“Stop touching me, stop touching me,” the tiny little girl with long blond hair screamed and cried jumping up and down, reaching for her father as he stood by helplessly. A toddler boy being stripped of his shirt stands innocently and helplessly as complete strangers, in uniform, feel around the waistband of his tiny blue jeans. A middle-aged gentleman whose inner thighs and legs are being groped and rubbed while a TSA agent, with his head between the man’s legs, ambitiously searches for dangerous and threatening items that may impede the safety of airline passengers.

These images on the nightly news are all too fresh in my memory. Stories of innocent American citizens being fondled and groped were being reported. I watched and listened, enraged. Many questions arose. “Was this happening in America? In what airport did the incidents occur? You’ve got to be kidding me; we’re doing all this in the name of protection?”

As I began to realize what was happening right before my very eyes, I was reminded of the humiliating procedure the States use when child abuse is reported. I am a mandated reporter. I believe in the protection of our children. But, I do not believe in the process. When abuse is suspected, social workers burst into homes with their official titles, and children are made to disrobe right down to their underwear. They are then stared at, probed and examined by complete strangers.

I began to think about how vulnerable those children are and how traumatic the experience. Imagine, a child who is harmed either sexually or physically and then made defenseless all over again in the name of protection. We tell these children the “good” people are helping them and it is okay to let the “good” people disrobe, stare and touch. But, how does a child decipher between the “good” person and the “evil” person? Sometimes, a crime isn’t committed but some disgruntled, jerk-of-a parent will use the system to get at their intimate partner. It doesn’t matter. An investigation must be conducted, and rightfully so. However, a better process is long overdue.

How do we teach our children to not speak to strangers, tell them is it wrong for strangers to touch them, and teach them strangers should “ask permission,” but then say it’s okay if it’s a government official? How can we make exceptions for TSA agents and child protection workers? Does anyone see the hypocrisy in our system?  How can we demand laws to lock away pedophiles and sexual perverts yet stand by and allow our government to grope, fondle and assault us?

Unless we are violated in airports—unless we strip down, are felt up, and endure highly radioactive exposure put out by Advanced Imaging Technology, body scanners, we will be killed. How can a country so sophisticated be so unaware and uninformed?

You may argue that it is in the best interest of our society. You may believe the “pat downs, feel ups, and outright sexual assaults are all worth it. But, the reality is our government’s actions are reactive not proactive. They are reactive in child-abuse allegations as well as Homeland Security attacks. State and Federal policies DO NOT STOP extremists, perverts, or abusers. Is it possible that a nation that is responsible for the world’s greatest advancements in science, aerospace, medicine, and technology cannot find a proactive system to protect its citizens—little ones and grown ones? The only way is Sexual assault? Really?

Here is the definition of sexual assault according to The National Center for Victims of Crime. Sexual assault takes many forms including attacks such as rape or attempted rape, as well as any unwanted sexual contact or threats. Usually a sexual assault occurs when someone touches any part of another person's body in a sexual way, even through clothes, without that person's consent. Some types of sexual acts which fall under the category of sexual assault include forced sexual intercourse (rape), sodomy (oral or anal sexual acts), child molestation, incest, fondling and attempted rape. The definition goes on to read sexual assault in any form is often a devastating crime.

Are we not further contributing to the fear-based psyche so prevalent in our culture? Are there not psychological tests that can be given to suspected child abusers as well as behavioral-pattern observations that may be learned and used by TSA agents? Heck, you can barely get a minimum-wage job today without receiving some type of personality/behavioral test.

The Israeli government has offered the United States its anti-terrorism policies and standards. They don’t feel up their citizens, they do not purposely expose them to high doses of radiation, nor do they profile ethnically. They profile behavior.

Our collective, universal fear of our world being unsafe is causing us to panic, act irrationally, and to accept anything in the name of protection. Sexual abuse is what it is. It is intrusive, it violates human rights and it is devastating. Whether it is performed by an individual citizen or a collective government it is wrong, should not be tolerated under any name or any cause for any purpose not in these United States or any other nation for that matter.

           

Rape on the Reservation

(Watch the video to get a better understanding of what is really going on for Native women, and the attitudes of the men, living on reservations located in the United States of America.)

Many of us who live in cities or metropolitan areas probably don’t give much thought to Indian reservations, or Native Americans, except to think in terms of western movies, casinos, and turquoise jewelry or kuchina dolls. What we have failed to do is to take notice of how far this population has come in terms of being “westernized.”

Once a proud and free people, many of the youth have lost the culture and the old ways taught to each upcoming generation. The old ways of the ancients have been lost, giving way to a totally new mindset and culture, and instead of having the ability to live freely and govern themselves, Natives are hampered by boundaries and laws set by our government.  

Many reservations are like a free for all for crime, in which reporting and prosecution has been handled, not by the tribe itself, but by the federal government, the FBI, and is historically given very low priority, therefore seeing justice running rampantly out of control. Violent crime towards women, in particular, rape, sexual assault and domestic violence has been virtually ignored and seldom prosecuted, especially when perpetrated by someone from outside the reservation.


After filming the documentary, Vanguard (http://current.com/shows/vanguard/blog/92465106_where-rape-on-the-reservation-started.htm) questioned the statistics and what they found was quite different than what was earlier reported, citing an error in the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the blog post linked corrects those statistics as well as states:

So with the 86 percent stat debunked, we had to ask ourselves, “Is this a dead story? Should we move on?" But this is what I value the most about working with Vanguard—instead of dismissing the story, we said to ourselves, “OK, well this doesn’t change the fact that Indian women are being raped at a rate 2.5 times the national average. So let’s forget about trying to tell the story of 'who' and focus on how we can tell the story of why.” 

On July 29, 2010 The Tribal Law and Order Act was enacted which will allow tribal jurisdiction over non-Natives and offenders for the crimes of sexual violence.  It also allows tribal police access to the government’s database, NCIC, as well as funding and programs to help those who are affected by sexual and domestic violence.

This is only a beginning, a small step, but one long awaited, and probably taken for granted by those of us who don’t think too much about victims outside of our own small piece of the world.  Yes, abuse is everywhere, and yes, many victims fall short in finding justice, and it's going to take everyone who comes in contact with either the victims or the perpetrators to enforce this law, use the resources wisely, and make sure that another treaty isn't broken.

Above and Beyond Closure

By Charles Moncrief

It ain't over 'til it's over.
Yogi Berra (1925-)


When we look at an outline that approximates a shape, our minds tend to fill in any gaps and complete the shape. For instance, if we see what looks like a circle with a missing arc segment of, say, 30 degrees, we likely “see” a complete circle. This tendency to “close up” a shape by mentally filling in the gaps is known as “closure.”

Closure works at the car wash as well. I remember the workers waving their towels to let me know they’ve completed drying and cleaning my car, only to come out and discover dirt all over the wheels. To them, closure apparently came when they had spent 90 seconds wiping down my vehicle.

Closure in a tax audit is when the taxing agent says “I really can’t find anything wrong, but I need to show my manager something for my time. Would you just sign this consent for a hundred dollars additional tax and we’ll call it even?” and the speed with which the consent form is signed just to get out of that office (from a lecture by tax expert Dan Pilla).

Closure in a traffic stop is when the officer quits badgering the driver who did nothing wrong and walks away saying “Drive carefully.” (This was a personal experience when an officer stopped me for driving on the left side of a street, and accused me of arguing when I said it had been one way for several weeks. OK, OK, I’m not over it, but I hold onto it because it makes for a good story after more than 30 years.)

Closure in a trauma is when the stitches are removed, the assailant is in prison, or the victim escapes from an attacker.

One definition of closure is “the often comforting sense of finality, such as with victims needing closure, or a satisfying ending that provides such a sense.” (Merriam-Webster online dictionary)

So in our modern society the accepted psychological model of mental health is to put our injuries behind us and get on with our lives. Far be it from me to encroach on psychology’s sacred ground by offering a superior definition of the word. Instead, permit me to offer a better way: to reach beyond mere closure.

Consider “The Bridge Builder” by Will Allen Dromgoole (1860-1934).

An old man, going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening, cold and gray,
To a chasm, vast, and deep, and wide,
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.

The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
The sullen stream had no fear for him;
But he turned, when safe on the other side,
And built a bridge to span the tide.

"Old man," said a fellow pilgrim, near,
"You are wasting strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day;
You never again will pass this way;
You've crossed the chasm, deep and wide-
Why build you this bridge at the evening tide?"

The builder lifted his old gray head:
"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said,
"There followeth after me today,
A youth, whose feet must pass this way.

This chasm, that has been naught to me,
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him."

I think this poem is the author’s way of saying “Yogi, it ain’t over even when it’s over!”

How does this poem apply to closure, abuse, assault, or injustice? I want to give just one example from a recent article (Born to Run by Anny Jacoby)

A woman on a jogging path is attacked by someone who jumps out from behind a bush. She struggles and frees herself. She gets treatment at the local hospital, then goes home, dresses her wounds, maybe cries tears of relief, and perhaps collapses in exhaustion. That’s closure.

But then she gathers her thoughts. She goes to the police with the assailant’s DNA under her fingernails and a vivid description of him. Now, if the assailant doesn’t skip town and the police and courts do their job, one less danger is present in this jogging park.

Look forward. This woman’s action helps to prevent the next person from being assaulted, raped, robbed, or possibly killed. She wasn’t content to cross over the chasm. She built a bridge for the next jogger.

Look backward. Suppose this woman was not the first jogger assaulted by this man. Her predecessor, if still alive, may have escaped with some of her life and possessions. But did the previous jogger, content with finding closure for herself, have some accountability for not reporting as much as she could to get this despicable person off the streets and out of the parks?

I know this is a complex situation. I won’t suggest in any way that a person should be condemned or even criticized for remaining silent. My only position is to applaud those who act to prevent recurrence, not to criticize those who don’t.

Who knows whether this man had ever attacked anyone else? And who knows why nobody before was able to get the man put away? But such questions can go on indefinitely and paralyze us. I’ll counter with the accepted reality that of all the parks in this country, the incidence of repeat violence is enough to make the case for bridge-building. At the same time, I’ll caution that in our analysis of cause-and-effect we never want to condemn the previous jogger, if any, for failing to prevent this assault.

I do hope that it will make at least some sense to hold accountable those who fail to reign in their actions. Every time we allow someone to get away with misbehavior, whether in domestic violence, criminal assault, or bad-faith representation in the halls of government, we make it easier for the assailants to hurt our children and grandchildren. Once a bad behavior is tolerated, regaining control becomes increasingly difficult.

Don’t your children and grandchildren deserve your vigilance, to hold accountable those who teach, govern, and live in community with them? We at least ought to consider the advantages of not making them struggle to cross the same old chasms we ourselves have already crossed.

Grace and Peace,
Charles+

BTW, I chose “The Bridge Builder” for a reason. While it has a lot of masculine language in it, please note that Will Allen Dromgoole was a woman.