Daily Notes

March 29, 2008

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Energy, enthusiasm and experience: Commissioner Keith Coulter

Commissioner Keith Coulter addressed attendees of the Citizens’ Advisory Committees Conference on March 29 and praised their “energy, enthusiasm and experience.”

He called them “valued partners” in implementing the recommendations of the Independent Review Panel on Correctional Services. The Panel, appointed by the Honourable Stockwell Day, visited institutions and spoke with staff, offenders, families and stakeholders. Its report makes 109 recommendations on most aspects of Correctional Services, including drug use, employment and increasing recidivism. Budget 2008 provides the stable base and targeted funding necessary to ensure the Federal Corrections system is “firmly on track to respond to the recommendations of the Independent Panel.”

The Report respects the two fundamental principles of Correctional Services: offenders are “sent to prison as punishment, not for punishment,” and the continued belief in their gradual, supervised reintegration into society. However, major changes will occur, leading to fundamental transformation, including cultural transformation. Coulter asked conference attendees to help “engage Canadians in a new agenda” to revitalize the Correctional Services system.

Following his presentation, Coulter took questions. One attendee commented favourably on the Report but asked how the recommended change from statutory release to earned parole would improve outcomes.

Commissioner Keith Coulter
presented former National Chair
Sean Taylor with a painting in
appreciation of his past service.

Coulter said the recommendation came from a concern about the few offenders who must be released when it’s clear they will re-offend soon. Changes are in their first phase.

Another questioner stressed the importance of increasing literacy, as 65 per cent of inside offenders have a low literacy rate, and scanning staff and visitors to counteract the problem of drug use within institutions.

New money, staff shift transformation into high gear

With new funding in the 2008 federal budget and new staff coming onboard, Senior Deputy Commissioner Don Head said “the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) is poised for quick action on the transformation agenda.”

By definition, transformation is about “going from something to something, having been something and becoming something else,” Head told conference attendees. CSC is looking ahead to greater consistency in basic practices across the organization, combined with increased scope for frontline staff to exercise their professional judgment where appropriate. Head said airports worldwide have developed a consistent routine for searches.

“I know those steps inside out,” he said. Across Canada’s 58 correctional institutions, “I may even get 62 different responses.”

But in the same facilities, where every visitor and staff member must be subjected to a consistent search procedure, greater flexibility is needed in certain areas.

“If we’re going to be a leadingedge organization, we need to make sure our people understand where they can exercise professional judgment and discretion,” he said. “That means we need to define the parameters, put the fence up, as to where that can be exercised.” Head also identified communication and service integration as areas for improvement.

“People are working very hard, but working in a manner that you would almost call isolationist,” he said. “We need to find the level of integration that delivers the public safety results Canadians expect.”

The transformation team is in place for two years, and Budget 2008 contains substantial increases for:

• Literacy, learning disabilities, and ethnocultural programming
• Management of statutory release with residency and long-term supervision orders
• In-house human resource management and labour relations to ensure transformation is introduced in a more positive workplace environment
• Staff recruitment and training, with emphasis on frontline staff and their ability to deal with drug abuse, gangs and offenders with mental health disorders
• Drug detection and security intelligence functions
• Perimeter security measures, which are already leading to dramatic reductions in drug throw-overs
• Routine searches of exercise yards before recreation periods

Head identified the future of statutory release as an issue that will receive continuing attention over the next couple of years.

There is still a strong belief that gradual release “is the way to do business, is the way that contributes to public safety in this country,” he said. CSC is interpreting initiatives for statutory release as a catalyst for “enhancing our community corrections capacity.”

The winds of change

Forward movement and growth for Citizens’ Advisory Committees (CAC) were the keywords in Saturday’s opening remarks.

“It doesn’t make sense to keep doing the same things and expect different results,” said Ursula Morris, incoming CAC National Chair, regarding the National Executive Committees (NEC) current evaluation process. “We’ll be advancing the three Cs: consistency, communication, and compliance,” which will move CACs and their work forward.

“The number of new faces in the room meant an infusion of new energy and thought into the organization,” said Sean Taylor, former CAC National Chair. Pointing to the significant linkages between NEC and CAC members, he was confident both organizations would continue to grow.

Community engagement: a win-win situation

In her address to conference attendees, the Acting Assistant Commissioner emphasized the value of community engagement and praised Citizens’Advisory Committees' (CAC) community liaison work.

“As we head into a new era, the engagement and involvement of citizens is more important than ever,” said Lori MacDonald, Acting Assistant Commissioner, Communications and Citizen Engagement Sector. CACs’ key role—acting as impartial observers and furthering the understanding of Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) in local communities—has a direct impact on public safety.

Commenting on the continued growth of CACs, MacDonald said CSC has benefited from and been tremendously encouraged by CACs’ determination to liaise with the community. “You are being diligent with CSC’s legislative mandate.”

The recent independent panel review report lays out an exciting new vision for CSC that emphasizes community engagement. Outlining elements of CSC’s citizen engagement strategy, MacDonald said, “We have developed and co-developed a number of collaborative tools.” The strategy includes areas of common interest, notably consistency, enhanced communication and compliance.

Moreover, this new era includes a “first in the history of the CAC National Executive Committee”: a woman elected as the CAC National Chair.

The work of CSC is constantly evolving and must adapt to changing realities, such as the challenge of workforce turnover. The organization is looking to CACs to raise public awareness of CSC’s mission and mandate. A prepared statement by Nancy Stableforth, Ontario Regional Deputy Commissioner, applauded Ontario CACs’ work and innovative thinking. “We thank you for dedicating your time and energy to contribute to the safety and health of your community.”

Correctional Interventions: Motivating offenders to achieve successful outcomes

Employment and motivation were identified as key issues during the sessions on Correctional Interventions within the transformational agenda.

“The correctional interventions portfolio encompasses programs, education, employment, offender intake assessment, structured leisure time and case management,” said facilitator Julie Blasko, a member of the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) Transformation Team. CSC’s transformational agenda will focus initially on some “quick wins.” Major priorities lie in the areas of employment, motivation, intake, transition to a 12-hour work day and definition of offenders’ basic rights.

Building links with the community is necessary to better prepare inmates for release, and employment is one way to make the link, Blasko said. In the early 1990s, the balance among education, programs and employment became “unbalanced,” and many vocational shops were closed. The review report recommended improving this balance.

One participant said basic vocational assessment should be provided to inmates to determine their strengths, weakness and attributes. Another suggested consideration of students’ learning styles, including those with learning disabilities, basic education and literacy needs, or mental health or addiction issues.

To better connect inmates to job market opportunities, participants suggested tapping into the knowledge of demographers and international recruiters, but also finding ways to work with community partners. This could be achieved by holding employment symposiums with potential employers, ensuring training programs evolve with the needs of the job market, circulating job postings to parole officers and seeking employers willing to provide work placements for inmates outside the penitentiary. “Overcoming space and infrastructure limitations is a challenge,” Blasko said, as is changing societal attitudes.

Participants expressed optimism that offenders can be motivated to participate in their correctional plan, upgrade their education and learn job skills. One suggested having former inmates who have successfully reintegrated into society return as credible teachers to show their achievements. Another noted the importance of training all CSC staff in motivational interviewing and dealing with resistant clients. Local school boards can provide expertise in motivating difficult students, preventing violence and providing special education.

A participant said success stories are based on relationships, and emphasized that inmates must be allowed to cultivate meaningful relationships. Access to professional counselling is also critical: most offenders have suffered psychological trauma. Another participant suggested providing employment counselling to help inmates find their passion and to learn how to set goals.

Two suggestions requiring legislative change were broadening the criteria for “detention,” and moving from the statutory release program to having prisoners earn their parole. A participant also noted that inmates could be surveyed for their opinion on what motivates them.

Blasko described streamlining and shortening the 70-day offender intake assessment process as another “quick win” priority. This would allow offenders to move to their parent institution more quickly to start their programming. Part of this effort would include implementing a computerized mental health assessment tool at intake, as well as offering “primer programs” to address themes such as problem solving and motivation that run among all programs.

Another priority is to move toward a 12-hour structured work day that includes education as well as programming, and is linked to structured leisure time. This move would require consideration regarding an increase in inmates’ pay, modification of the shifts of existing staff, and allowance for differences based on security level.

Participants also reviewed what elements should be “basic rights” for offenders. Offender accountability is part of the correctional interventions portfolio, they said. Basic rights beyond those guaranteed under Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms should depend on the individual situation, be balanced with the staff and institutional security and be formulated around preparing inmates for successful reintegration into society.

Community Corrections: Support for successful community reintegration

The construction of a strong community corrections component to improve public safety results, including lower recidivism, is the vision of the Report of the Independent Review Panel, Morris Zbar said. Zbar was the Community Corrections session’s facilitator and a member of the Transformation Team.

Approximately 25 of the Report’s recommendations relate to community corrections and follow five key themes:

• Staff and community safety
• Traditional (with police and nongovernmental organizations) and emerging (trade union movement) partnerships to ensure offenders’ employability
• Changing and diverse populations, such as the increasing number of offenders given short sentences, female offenders, Aboriginal offenders and the mentally ill
• Accountability for both offenders and the system
• Integration into the community

Zbar challenged participants to look at their roles “through the prism of the Report” and invited them to provide their assessment of any perceived barriers, as well as to share best practices in their area.

Several participants expressed disappointment with the Report’s failure to consider the use of preventive measures before an offender enters the correctional system. They referred to pre-existing problems related to literacy and drug addiction. Zbar said that while it would be easier to deal with an issue before it became a problem, the Panel’s mandate is restricted to Correctional Service Canada. These two issues fall within the jurisdiction of other agencies, such as education.

A participant commended the Report for its comments about statutory release, noting that it is unreasonable to expect offenders who have spent most of their time in solitary confinement to make a sudden, successful transition to the outside world.

Participants discussed halfway houses and one noted that there are none for the Inuit offenders in his Northern facility. “It is fine to release a polar bear into the North,” he said, “but releasing a polar bear into a well-populated area in southern Canada will result in problems.”

Another participant identified as a best practice a reintegration committee composed of inmates, community representatives and women who had been released, but later returned to the facility. The latter were able to provide information on what worked and what did not.With a smooth transition, the participant said, the possibility of recidivism is reduced; community support workers and circles of support help provide transitioning assistance.

Several participants said it is difficult to recruit members, and one identified the need to be selective to get good volunteers. She recommended that the federal government provide one advertisement each year. Another noted that it is difficult to encourage volunteerism in visible minority communities, because it is expensive and no incentive is offered.

Another participant said of the Transformation Team that changing thought demands great deal of time and effort, as well as cultural change.

Zbar said stronger partnerships with Citizens’ Advisory Committees (CACs) are vital, and asked participants to hold the Transformation Team accountable for the Report’s implementation. “We have to communicate,” he said, “but you have to create the opportunity for us to do so.”

Safety and Security: Making changes from the outside in

Drugs—how to stem the tide while respecting individuals’ rights? The solution, according to Safety and Security session participants, is as complex as the drug problem and needs to address the physical dimension as well as the legal and behavioural ones.

As the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) Transformation Team member Jim Laplante explained, CSC is first tackling the physical aspects, changing procedures at the perimeter and at the principal entrance. The organization is also looking at new technologies to increase security and has received funding for drug dogs and manning of towers.

An additional 10 dogs will go to institutions where drug use is already being measured, while another 80 will be trained and delivered over the next two years. Participants discussed the use, availability and training of drug dogs. Although dogs represent an important step, LaPlante reminded participants they are just one part of a broad approach.

The Transformation Team is also considering providing staff with better criteria to determine the presence of a drug and improving inmate intervention programs. One delegate said that while Citizens’ Advisory Committees (CACs) have a role to play in safety and security, so do inmates themselves. “Those who have had the courage to come clean also have a responsibility to challenge their fellow inmates.”

Participants also raised the important psychological aspect of drug searches, noting the need for sensitivity training.Will there be a program for guards to engage people appropriately? LaPlante confirmed this and said money has been earmarked for training.

Participants supported the reversal of the minimal tower-manning policy. With the infusion of new funding, a number of towers are now manned, with positive results. Scheduled visits, changing drive-around routines and the appearance of drug dogs have also been effective. The Leclerc Institution closes the yard when inmates are too turbulent.

Delegates raised the problem of enforcing safety and security policies consistently, as well as the general lack of disciplinary actions for staff not following procedure, and consistent sanctions for inmates. Asked about urine and blood analysis, LaPlante said these tests require a re-examination of the legal framework— something the Tranformation Team is considering for the future.

The group turned to a discussion of the community beyond the perimeter road.How do CSC and CACs communicate effectively with the community? A recent drug throw-over at the Stony Mountain Institution highlighted the fact that the community needed more information about the role of police and CSC jurisdiction. Such events raise questions about an institution’s relationship with the police and prosecutor.

Many delegates agreed they need more time to respond to issues, as well as better lines of communication at all levels to increase the flow of timely information. “If this is done well, we can be useful.” They noted a need for a roadmap to strengthen CACs and “to elevate them to a position that puts them in tune with the transformation within CSC.”

One participant recommended long-term funding for CAC transformation and for enhanced communication. “As CACs go out into the community, we need to be equipped with results,” added another delegate. The public not only wants the statistics, but the story behind them as well. One CAC member said, “CSC is a hard sell. If we say the community is safe, we must be able to say it so that everyone can understand it, and back it up with measures that are in place.”

Employability and Employment: Breaking down the walls

Participants in the Employability and Employment session discussed employability, training and ways to break down the walls between offenders and employers.

Employability is a lingering issue for offenders, but the participants heard some success stories about ex-offenders who are able to find work. One participant said she knew of an ex-offender with promotions and public relations experience who had difficulty finding a job. “We found someone locally who was putting on an event and asked how they would like it all done for them. He did it all, he did a wonderful job, and he’s now building a positive resume.”

Security is an issue for many employers. Participants heard that, for example, a trucking firm doing business across the Canada-United States border can face difficulties with Homeland Security if the company employs even one ex-offender. Some employers are willing to hire certain offenders, but not others (sex offenders, for example). It isn’t a human rights issue that employers are allowed to deny employment to anyone with a criminal record, regardless of the crime, and the participants discussed this in some detail.

Transformation Team member Brenda LePage, a former warden with the Saskatchewan Penitentiary system, asked the participants for questions or comments related to Don Head’s earlier overview presentation on employment and employability, and some took the opportunity to ask questions. LePage said the consultations will be ongoing throughout the transformation process and the Transformation Team wants to meet with stakeholders as much as possible. The report, she said, will be the road map.

Employment training was another major topic of discussion; one participant said, “The prison employment agenda was significantly reduced when Corrections Canada took over.” Some programs were cut because they were considered “inequitable programs.” This all-ornothing approach isn’t reasonable, the participant said, because not everyone is equally able to be trained.

LePage spoke about the specific types of training employers are seeking. Employers told LePage they would prefer the programs teach offenders “to get up in the morning and go to work, to be respectful and responsible. If he’s a good employee, I’ll invest in him and send him for training.” Proper identification was a barrier to employment that arose frequently in the discussion. LePage said parole officers ask offenders whether they have the necessary identification cards (Health Card, Social Insurance Card, Treaty Card) and they may say yes, even if they don’t. Without proper ID and the ability to open a bank account, they can’t receive direct deposit, a favoured payment system for many employers. This in itself can be a barrier to employment.

She also said that working with employers who are open to hiring ex-offenders removes the decision of whether to disclose the criminal past to a new employer. The ex-offender is also able to openly address the need for time off every week to visit a parole officer, instead of crafting excuses. “It’s really a question of building bridges.”

One participant said he was able to make this human connection in person more easily than over the phone. Another participant put it this way: “Getting the pre-training for apprenticeships is one thing; getting the apprenticeship is another. A lot of employers won’t hire them.We need to break down that wall.”

CSC/CAC Appreciation Awards

Rita Carrier,
La Macaza CAC

Ursula Morris, Pacific Region
CAC In absentia:
Wayne McKay,
Sydney Parole CAC

Lyle Cathcart,
Beaver Creek CAC

Tom Huffman,
Stony Mountain CAC

 

NEC Recognition Awards

Dorthe Flauer, Prairie Region CCC In absentia: Sonya Cardinal, CSC employee

National Executive Committee (NEC), Marie-Lynn Bériau, Project Officer, CSC, Jim Murphy, Director, CSC

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