Offender Employment : Eastern District of Missouri

2009 Defendant/Offender Workforce Development Conference

Scott — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 21:21:00 GMT

Go here for information about the 2009 Defendant/Offender Workforce Development Conference which will occur on April 5-8, 2009 in Pittsburgh, PA. See you there!

Improving the Employment Rates of Ex-Prisoners Under Parole

Scott — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 21:03:00 GMT

This article, written by John Rakis, reviews and analyzes the methods that are currently being used by parole agencies to assist former prisoners in their search for employment.

OES Training Report

Scott — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:25:00 GMT

The following was contributed by guest blogger Karlton Miller:

On August 18-19, 2008, and September 2-3, 2008, the U.S. Probation Office for the Eastern District of Missouri hosted OES training for probation staff, as well as officers with the Missouri Board of Probation and Parole and community partners from St. Louis and Cape Girardeau. Trainers included Francina Carter and John Rakis with NIC, Cynthia Mendiola with U.S. Probation in the Western District of Texas, and Jimmy Tyree with U.S. Probation in the Northern District of Ohio. The trainers worked through the OES curriculum in two days in order to accommodate several schedules. The goal of the training was to raise awareness of the importance of employment for offenders under supervision, to better assist them as they transition from prison to the community, and to give all supervision officers an individual exposure to the challenges of offender employment. Overall the training was well received. We look forward to seeing the results of the training as officers find new and creative ways to help our population become successful while under our supervision.

OWDS National Partnership Training Update

Scott — Wed, 28 May 2008 13:10:00 GMT

This information was contributed by guest blogger Patricia Doherty who is a Supervising U.S. Probation Officer with the Eastern District of Missouri.

On March 14, 2008, Offender Workforce Development Specialist (OWDS) training was completed in Dublin, California. This training was a national partnership training hosted by the Northern District of California and FCI, Dublin. The 22 participants included staff from the Northern District of California - probation; Central District of California - pretrial; District of Hawaii - pretrial; District of Nevada - pretrial; local residential reentry centers; local one stops; Bureau of Prisons staff from the Western Regional Office, FCI, Dublin and FCI, Atwater; and Santa Clara County Probation Officers. Trainers included Pat Doherty, Scott Anders, and Dean Miller who are all from the ED/MO; Melinda Clark and Matt Elvin form the Bureau of Prisons and John Rakis from the National Institute of Corrections. Congratulations to all of the participants.

On April 18, 2008, Master Trainers Pat Doherty and Dean Miller provided OWDS Instructor Training to the following participants:

Elaine Kost, N.Y.S. Department of Labor; Cynthia O. Mendiola, U. S. Probation, Western District of Texas; Janis R. Lasswell, U.S. Probation, Eastern District of Missouri ; Belinda Marie Ashley, U.S. Probation, Eastern District of Missouri; Zaneta Carol Vaughn, Federal Bureau of Prisons - Federal Medical Center, Butner, North Carolina; Evey Wooten, U. S. Probation Office, Middle District of North Carolina; Benjie Pittman, Federal Bureau of Prisons/ Federal Correctional Center, Yazoo City, Mississippi; Mona Horton, Federal Bureau of Prisons/ Mid-Atlantic Regional Office, Federal Correctional Center, Butner, North Carolina; Tracy Longacre, Federal Bureau of Prisons/ Federal Correctional Institution, Otisville, New York. Congratulations to these new instructors who will now join the national training team.

On May 9, 2008, OWDS training was completed in New York, New York. This training was hosted by the New York Southern District probation and pretrial offices and the Eastern District pretrial office. The 19 participants included staff from the Southern District of New York's probation and pretrial offices, the Eastern District of New York's pretrial office, Western District of New York, District of New Jersey - pretrial, Bureau of Prisons - MCC New York; and the CASH and Hope programs. Trainers included Pat Doherty, Ryan Wilke, Quincy Fountain, all from the Eastern District of Missouri; Scott Albert from Western District of Pennsylvania; Kathy Oakar from the Northern District of Ohio and Pamella Harris and Robert Walsh from the Southern District of New York. Congratulations to all of the participants.

To date, Federal Probation's Eastern District of Missouri has completed 13 OWDS trainings. 214 participants have completed the training and 134 of those were federal probation officers, probation officer assistants, or pretrial officers. The 14th training will be held in St. Louis in June and September.