Offender Employment : Training

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.

Albany, NY class completes Offender Workforce Development Specialist (OWDS) training

Scott — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:10:00 GMT

On June 19, 2008 at the headquarters of the New York State Department of Labor in Albany, New York, 24 participants received certificates for completing the Offender Workforce Development Specialist Partnership Training. The participants included representatives for community-based agencies along probation officers from counties throughout the state. We extend our congratulations to the class graduates!

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Podcast with Kansas Secretary of Corrections Roger Werholtz

Scott — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:10:00 GMT

In this three part podcast, John Rakis speaks with the Offender Workforce Development Specialist (OWDS) Program Manager for Kansas, Jim Chastain, and Kansas Secretary of Corrections Roger Werholtz. You can access the podcast by going to www.nicic.gov/owdpodcasts.

Jim Chastain and Secretary Werholtz discuss the impact of OWDS training on recidivism and the prison population, and a unique partnership with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.

Information about the upcoming Defendant/Offender Workforce Development (DOWD) Conference

Scott — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 12:55:00 GMT

The 2008 Defendant/Offender Workforce Development (DOWD) Conference will take place April 13 - 16 in Cleveland, OH. The National Career Development Association (NCDA) will partner with the US Probation Office - Northern District of Ohio, the National Institute of Corrections, Federal Bureau of Prisons, US Probation Office of Eastern District of Missouri, Offices of Probation and Pre-Trial Services; and the Administrative Office of the US Courts, to host the conference.

Click here for the 2008 DOWD Conference program.

Please visit NCDA's DOWD Conference Webpage for hotel and registration information.

CONFERENCE AT A GLANCE

Sunday, April 13, 2008:
3:00 - 6:00 pm Registration Open & Exhibitor Set Up
4:00 - 6:00 pm OWDS Master Trainers/Instructors Meeting
5:00 - 6:00 pm First timers Session
7:00 - 8:30 pm OWDS Reunion Reception

Monday, April 14, 2008:
8:00 am - 5:00 pm Registration Open & Exhibits Open
9:00 - 11:30 am NIC Sponsored Pre-Conference Workshops (no cost)
12:00 - 2:00 pm Opening Luncheon/Keynote
2:30 - 4:00 pm Presentations Series A
4:20 - 5:50 pm Presentations Series B
6:30 - 8:00 pm Opening Reception

Tuesday, April 15, 2008:
7:30 - 8:30 am Continental Breakfast
7:30 - 5:00 pm Registration Open & Exhibits Open
8:30 - 10:00 am Second Plenary/Keynote
10:30 - 12:00 pm Presentations Series C
12:30 - 2:00 pm Awards Luncheon
2:30 - 4:00 pm Presentations Series D
2:30 - 4:00 pm Tours of Federal Facility
4:00 - 6:00 pm Exhibits Tear Down
6:00 pm Group Night Out (additional cost required)

Wednesday, April 16, 2008:
8:00 - 9:00 am Continental Breakfast
8:00 am - 2:00 pm Registration Open
9:00 - 10:30 am Closing Plenary/Keynote
10:30 am - 12:30 pm Regional Roundtables
1:00 - 5:00 pm Inmate Skills Development System Training for BOP Coordinators

New Webpage Launched in Support of the Offender Employment Specialist (OES) Training.

Scott — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 18:01:00 GMT

A new webpage has been created to support facilitators and participants of the Offender Employment Specialist (OES) training. Please point your browser to www.nicic.org/oes to view the page. Additional resources will be uploaded to the site in the future.

Offender Workforce Development in the United States Probation and Pretrial Services Office, Western District of Texas

Scott — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 16:26:00 GMT

Cynthia Mendiola is a supervising U. S. Probation Officer with the United States Probation and Pretrial Services Office in the Western District of Texas. She graduated from NIC's Offender Workforce Development Specialist (OWDS) training held in New Mexico during the Spring of 2007. NIC asked Cynthia to tell us about what her and the Western District of Texas are doing in the area of offender workforce development. Cynthia writes:

"As the point of contact, I have trained a core group of officers on the concepts learned in the OWDS class. Then I and my team have trained all the Probation and Pretrial officers and support staff about the Defendant/Offender Workforce Development Initiative and how their roles fit into this program.

We have scheduled Offender Employment Specialist (OES) training in every division in the Western District of Texas starting with San Antonio, Texas, last week, Austin, Texas in partnership with Travis County Community Corrections this week, Temple, Texas 2nd week in September and Del Rio, Texas third week in September.

El Paso, Texas has partnered with the District of NM and will hold the class in Las Cruces, NM in Oct. 2007. The last OES training will be in Midland, Texas also in October2007.

We are very excited to have made some very productive partnerships as a result of this training. There are so many agencies excited about participating and have complimented us in a job well done.

Thanks to Francina Carter who helped us with the training; as well as Ann Felts out of Bastrop FCI. I have a feeling this is going to be a very important movement in the near
future.

Thanks as always to NIC's programs, research development, and excellent
consultants. I am not a stranger to your work. I have utilized the
programs in the past and they have been excellent and beneficial to the
field."

Cynthia Mendiola
Supervising U. S. Probation Officer

Thanks Cynthia!

For a limited time only, view the taped broadcast of NIC's Building Bridges to Safer Communities Through Offender Employment

Scott — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 17:45:00 GMT

A big thank you goes out to all of those that watched and participated in yesterday's Building Bridges broadcast. Over 3000 viewers from across the country tuned in!

For those that missed it, you can view the taped broadcast by going to http://nicic.org/Training/SIB072507 and clicking on "Click here for Satellite/Internet viewing instructions" in the yellow box. On the right hand side of the page you should see a video box. Click play and wait for the program to load to view the taped broadcast. Double click on the video box for a full screen view.

We'll have the broadcast on the site for about 2 days. DVD's of the broadcast should be ready for shipment from NIC's Information Center in approximately two weeks.