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Inmates in CORCAN job training programs work
under the supervision of CSC trainers and security staff.

Offender Accountability and Employment and Employability:
Inside and Outside the Walls

BY Djamila Amellal, Ph.D, Acting Manager, Internal Communications

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Offender accountability and employment and employability are two of the main themes of the Report’s recommendations. Julie Blasko, Brenda LePage and Denise Mainville-Vantour are the leads on the Transformation Team for these interrelated areas, which also include a variety of programs and activities that can be grouped under “correctional interventions.” Each brings a range of experience and a hearty dose of enthusiasm and energy to the task of moving the long-term transformation agenda forward.

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Close collaboration between CSC and the NPB is key

Brenda LePage, former Warden of Saskatchewan Penitentiary in Prince Albert, Prairie Region, says, “I have worked for CSC for close to 24 years, and much of my experience is related to operations. This has prepared me well for my job on the Team, which is to take a close look, with other members, at the vast area of correctional intervention and at the issue of offender accountability.”

“The recommendations will affect the way CSC does business for years to come,” says Julie Blasko, former Warden of Pittsburgh Institution, Ontario Region, adding: “I am excited to be part of the Team to assist in implementing the transformation.”

As for Denise Mainville-Vantour, former Senior Program Policy Analyst with the National Parole Board (NPB), she feels her input will ensure a continued active liaison between CSC and the NPB. “I’m very pleased to be involved in the transformation effort, given the close collaboration that exists between CSC and the Board and our shared responsibilities for public safety. Of the 109 recommendations in the Report, 59 will affect the work of the NPB.”

As a member of the Transformation Team, Mainville-Vantour will be providing an NPB lens to the changes made by CSC and how these will affect the Board’s decision-making processes. Offender rehabilitation starts in the institution and continues in the community. Any changes made in this process are of high importance to the NPB.

Progress to date: Accountability and employment

Julie, Brenda and Denise are focused on two areas: offender accountability and correctional interventions (which include employment and employability). LePage notes, “Concerning the first, the Report found that accountability shared between CSC and the offender is essential to sustained rehabilitation. In the past, CSC has carried much of the responsibility for accountability. So together we must come up with interventions that will help motivate offenders to be more accountable.”

“We will look at ways of helping them to do things as they are done in the community at large, how to work out their problems responsibly, etc. We are also looking to strike a balance between the basic programs dealing with issues that cause crime, such as drug addiction, violence and anger, and their actual experience, skills, education and preparation for employment.”

Implementing a revitalized employment and employability strategy for offenders is a key element of improving public safety results. CSC will be pursuing several initiatives to increase the number of opportunities to enhance employment opportunities for offenders when they are released in the community. This includes an employment skills assessment tool for offenders, which will coincide with the development of an integrated education program and employment model as part of the correctional planning process.

CSC and CORCAN are also looking at developing three regional pilots to enhance the entry-level employment skills of offenders and developing an Aboriginal employment strategy. The Service is working closely with community colleges, manufacturing and construction sector employers and trade unions to make progress on enhancing employment and employability for offenders.

Mainville-Vantour says that in addition to programs, CSC’s overall interaction with offenders must be considered in order to bring them to a place where they will be able to demonstrate their readiness for parole without presenting an undue risk to the community.

Correctional interventions include correctional services in the community, notes Mainville-Vantour. “You can’t have one without the other. The connection is very important. It’s no good if you’re doing everything in the institution and there is nothing in the community for support. A correctional plan is part of a process that begins with the initial assessment and continues in the community.”

The extensive round of meetings and consultations held in early 2008 provided a useful sounding board regarding accountability and employment. One shared concern was how to improve employment opportunities for offenders, in particular with Aboriginal offenders, women offenders and members of ethnocultural groups. “The feedback that we receive through these consultations will assist us in determining what changes need to be be made to improve offender accountability, intake assessments, programming, and employment opportunities,” says Blasko. “We may be able to expand on current initiatives already underway as well as think creatively about new strategies to help us improve our results.”

The near future

The scope of work in these overlapping areas is certainly extensive, so the Team members are carefully considering the information they have gathered to establish next steps and the first set of “quick wins” in these areas. For example, CSC plans to hold regional symposiums on employment issues in fall 2008, which will move the yardstick forward in this important area, particularly with an eye to making real improvements in employment for Aboriginal offenders. The next step is to work to translate everything into a program of transformation that will demonstrate Canadians, CSC staff and offenders that CSC is very serious about transforming corrections in Canada to improve public safety through specific improvements in offender accountability and employment.  ♦