TLC was founded in 1987 to assist female offenders in their re-entry into the community from State Correctional Institutions. The programs offered by TLC are cognitive restructuring and behavior modification. The two primary programs are Women Recover (relapse prevention for female offenders) and Moving Again (modification addressing criminogenic needs). A gender responsive program, supportive community that enables incarcerated women to make a positive impact into society. TLC partners with professional counseling services, provide AOD Treatment, Mental Health Services, (including sex offender treatment and diagnosis) and domestic abuse counseling.


 

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HARMONY BEYOND BOUNDARIES

APFO - A NATIONAL VOICE

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TEACHER OF THE YEAR

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We are on- the Web!

www.dpscs.state.md.us

MARYLAND CORRECTIONAL
INSTITUTION FOR WOMEN

 

BRENDA SHELL, WARDEN

7943 BROCK BRIDGE ROAD

P.O. BOX 535

Jessup, MD  20794

JESSUP, MARYLAND 20794

 

Phone: 410-379-3864
Fax: 410-799-6146
E-mail: bshell@dpscs.state.md.us
 


          
 

 

Apfo ~ a national voice?
APFO has done an excellent job of promoting and monitoring gender responsive training through the biannual AJFO Conference (the next one is in 2009 in Jackson, MS) and the ACA conferences. It may be time to promote APFO as a voice to educate and inform legislative policy on the national and state level.

This realization came through a conversation with the legislative assistant for Congressman Chris Carney (D-PA) who wanted to know what organization spoke about national issues facing women offenders. In other words who represented this “special interest”?

There are a number of women’s advocacy groups. For example, in PA, the Women’s Law Project (www.womenslawproject.org) has a website. However, a quick search of their website reviewed little that was specific to women offenders. Another website I found was Women and Prison (www.womenandprison.org). However, its tag-line of “A Site for Resistance” makes it an improbable vehicle to win over legislators.

By now, you may see where I’m heading. It may be time for APFO to become an advocate for women offenders’ successful re-entry into the community. The adoption of recommendations concerning Social Security Supplemental Income (SSI) would benefit incarcerated women who are disabled. Currently, women in Community Corrections may not receive Social Security Supplemental Income (SSI) would SSI because shelter and food are provided. However, they need a home plan to be paroled from community corrections. To establish a home plan, they need rent and a security deposit. Without disability payments, they cannot save the money necessary for stable housing. In rural areas of the country, there may be no shelters for homeless women on Parole Authorities may not approve a shelter as a home plan. And, the reality is that some shelter programs are reluctant to accept women with drug and crime histories or mental health and physical problems.

Let me know (greg@tlcwilliamsport.org) if you are aware of other national advocacy groups for women offenders.

Finally, let me know if you think APFO should be a national advocate for women offenders as they transition into the community.

Be sure to renew your membership in APFO and if you represent an Agency, see if you can find $25 in your budget to sponsor one of your board members, co-workers, or a local legislator.

Gregory Smith
Transitional Living Centers, Inc.
Williamsport, PA

Inmates’ Teacher at Women’s Correctional Institution Named Teacher of the Year - South Carolina

“I TRY TO SET AN EXAMPLE FOR THEM”
By: Lee Higgins/South Carolina

 
Caren Rose considers it a mission to give women at the maximum security Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution a chance to succeed on the outside. Rose, a vocational skills instructor at the prison’s Sara A. Babb High school said she doesn't judge inmates or ask about their crimes they committed. My goal is to teach them skills so they can have a career when they’re released. They need to be rehabilitated even if they made mistakes. If they don't learn a skill, what will they do when they get released? We need to at least give it a try.

Rose, who taught behind a fence for 22 years, has been selected as the Palmetto Unified School District’s 2008 Teacher of the Year. Rose had outstanding credentials, said Michael Truesdale, a staff office, who was on the committee that reviewed nominations. “The recommendations that she received from both attorney in the Department of Correction’s general counsel office, who was on the committee that reviewed nominations. The recommendations that she received from both staff and inmates expressing the positive impact she had in their lives was touching ,” he said. Rose is expected to discuss her career today at the district’s annual board of trustees meeting at the state Department of Corrections Training Academy.

State Superintendent of Education, Jim Rex, will speak and is expected to share his vision for education and discuss the impact of budget cuts, education officials said.
Palmetto Unified was created in 1981 and provides educational opportunities for the state’s inmates. Rose earned a bachelor’s degree in business education and a master’s degree in secondary education from USC and teaches keyboarding and computer applications. Prior to teaching at the prison, she taught business education classes for two years at the Furman High School in Sumter 2.

“I enjoy seeing my students light up when they’ve gotten something right or they figure it out on their own.” As part of the award, Rose will I enjoy seeing my students light up when they’ve gotten something right or they figure it out on their own. As part of the reward, Rose will receive: *A wooden rocking chair built by students in Palmetto Unified’s vocational carpentry class at Walden Correctional Institution, *A wooden “Teacher of the Year” plaque constructed by students in Palmetto Unified’s vocational carpentry class at Ridgeland Correctional Institution, a medium security male facility. *A reserved parking space with “Teacher of the Year” sign near the entrance of Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution in Columbia. *$1,000 cash prize from the State Department of Education. Rose knows her students will have a tough time getting jobs because they have criminal records; but she urges them to be honest with employers about their records and to be patient for an opportunity.

She tries to be a role model. “I try to set an example for them for how you should act and how you should think critically. I try to give them a little bit more than just office skills.”