Reception and Orientation

Today, being Tuesday, means it is the day for R&O otherwise known as Reception and Orientation. This is not a ‘meet and greet’ event, but rather a series of presentations by institution staff to the inmates that are new arrivals during the previous week. Staff presentations from all areas of the institution happen in 15 to 30 to 60 minute sessions, depending on the area and the information that needs to be provided about the area. Health Services and Clinical Services provide information about how to get an appointment with medical and psychological personnel for chronic, urgent or emergency situations. The Treatment Program presents on the various options they have available. A social worker presents on the Social Services department which is a very significant area, including getting an appointment with the assigned social worker, future program needs or parole board hearings. The Chaplain presents on the various religious events and service schedules that will take place in the Chapel. The Work Release coordinator speaks about the variety of jobs that are available and how an inmate may go about applying for one. The Pre-release coordinator describes the Pre-release curriculum and how to get into the groups. Various Support groups are described and their weekly schedules are communicated. Of course the Education programs are described including the opportunities, schedules, and waiting lists that are in place. Recreation schedules and facilities are described. The Inmate Identification Program provides information on how to obtain Social Security Number cards, birth certificates and the all-important and extremely necessary ID card or driver license. Inmates sit patiently while the staff presents information about the programs in their areas. The presentations are all geared toward what happens at the local prison. The presentations begin around 8:30 am and run through midafternoon. Attendance by newly arrived inmates is mandatory. The day is a long one for inmates. Some of them are serving life sentences and are new to minimum security, so some of the opportunities that are being presented are ones they have looked forward to for a long time. Other inmates are new to prison, and this is the first institution they have been assigned to after their initial Assessment and Evaluation process. Lots of information, some welcome, some not so much. Either way, it’s just another day on the hill.

Power Failure

I arrived at the prison today, and was informed there had been a power failure. This was not looking like just another day on the hill. And it was not. The power failure was most likely caused by the road construction that was going on nearby. I am not within the chain of command to whom the facts are provided. I reported to my office and was happy the air conditioning had been off for only a short period of time. I considered the variety of activities I could pursue this morning. There was no electricity, therefore no lights and no computers. It is hard to do much with no computers operating. We are all very dependent on computers to do our work. I reminisced about a few years ago when the electricity had been out. I’d done a major task that did not require a computer or lights that morning, only to learn I had neither for the afternoon! So, what to do? My clerk had not reported to work, which made sense as the prison was in the middle of an emergency count. Count is where you actually count inmates. One by one. Count each body. Count happens in prisons and hospitals. It is important in a prison to know that everyone is counted. In a hospital you need to know how many beds you may have available for additional patients. Either way, count needs to be correct. In prison, of course, if the count is not correct, you count again. That is the point. Fortunately, count was correct this morning with no electricity. The emergency generators were operating, this morning. I was able to clear and I entered the prison. I pass through a sally port to enter the prison every morning. A sally port is where you have a double door. Only one door is opened and you must pass through before the other is opened. Also fortunate, was that the electricity came on before too long, and the day got on its way before too much time had passed. HSED testing was scheduled today. There were 6 inmates scheduled to test. Each was excited to be testing. Most had studied and were well prepared. Hopefully, they all had a good night’s sleep and would do well on the test. As I said, today was not just another day on the hill.

Going Home

Tuesday is release day. Inmates may get released on other days of the week, but are usually released on Tuesdays. Most inmates will be going home. That is, most inmates will be released from prison to return to the community they came from. I assist inmates with obtaining their identity documents prior to their release. They often express their concerns about the address that will be put on their ID cards or driver licenses. Many are releasing to half way houses, as they are not able to stay with family members. Many have gotten divorced during their incarcerations. Many of their parents have died. Many inmates struggle with going home to the same neighborhoods where they got into trouble in the first place. Going home to neighborhoods where drugs are being openly sold and consumed, where guns are readily available and sex is for sale. Going home to neighborhoods where jobs are not available, where most people don’t vote and literacy is not promoted. Some are going home to neighborhoods they do not recognize, where the schools and churches they remember no longer exist, where the factories have closed, where the homes they grew up in are now parking lots or shopping malls. Most inmates have taken advantage of the pre-release programs that have been offered. The State has put a great deal of effort into the Reentry program and curriculum. But inmates still have concerns. And they are not unfounded concerns. They are being realistic about their chances for success. Many have expressed their concern about the fact that they have no job lined up, and no money to tide them over till they get one. In the days before release they stop by my office to get their release paperwork signed. Most of them take the opportunity to thank me for having done a good job and it is nice to know that they have observed my strong work ethic and that they have an appreciation for my hard work. I always wish them the best of luck, always encourage their success and discourage them from returning to prison. You know it’s not even that much fun working there and I sometimes mention that it’s not much fun to live there either. Every year 500-600 inmates are released from the institution where I work. Tomorrow the bus will bring some more. And so today was just another day on the hill.

Paperwork

Today I did paperwork. There was a lot of mail received in my office today. Monday usually brings lots of mail. Inmates have had the weekend to write, and so it arrives. Requests for information about driver licenses dominated, with requests for applications for Social Security Number cards coming in 2nd. Some inmates wanted to come to my office to discuss the reasons they do not want to or need to be enrolled in school. Others were making strong requests to be moved up the wait list and allowed to enroll earlier. Several inmate’s Social Security Number cards arrived, or their birth certificates or other identity paperwork. All documents had to be logged into databases and receipts issued prior to them being placed into the inmate’s secure Property. Regardless, paperwork is time consuming. But that is what goes on in prison-lots of paperwork, consuming time. I recall that back when I was in high school we spoke of people who had “records”. What we meant were police records. “Records” meant paper. Today we still speak of offenders being released from prison, but remaining “on paper”, meaning that they continue to serve their sentence, but now on extended supervision or parole. Even in today’s computer age, we do everything on paper and on the computer. It seems like doing double work sometimes. I do a lot of my work face to face. I have a window in my office through which I conduct business over a counter, much like at the DMV or Social Security Administration offices. Doing business in person allows a more direct question/answer scenario. It is the way normal, everyday business gets conducted outside of prison, but it is unusual for inmates to have that opportunity in prison. In most cases the questions get asked and answered in the same meeting. I had a steady stream of questions at the window today as I do every day. Most inmates filled out applications for Birth Certificates, SSN cards, driver licenses or ID cards. Others requested transcripts from the high schools they had previously attended. Practically all of the encounters resulted in paperwork. I enrolled 13 inmates in our GED level classes today. Six will start tomorrow and the remaining seven will start next Monday. Enrollments mean lots of paperwork. Practically all the staff in the prison gets notified, and of course the teachers get rosters and attendance lists. Paperwork. Today like so many other Mondays was just another day on the hill.

Training Day

Today was Training Day. One day a month is reserved for staff training. Inmate movement is restricted for the day and all staff members are scheduled to attend whatever training has been scheduled. I attended training on a new computer system known as COMPAS. The COMPAS system is a state-of-the-art risk and needs assessment tool for the Reentry population. COMPAS provides scales for both the male and female populations in assessing the risks and needs of offenders preparing to leave prison and transition back into the community. Other staff members were scheduled to attend CPR training. CPR recertification is required every 2 years for all staff. The morale was pretty upbeat today, even with the restricted movement after days of restricted movement. I attributed it to the rain and the cooler temperatures that came with it. Today was just another day on the hill.

Rain

The day started with rain. Rain, glorious rain, fell on ground that is cracked and dry, after weeks of drought. There was a feeling of rejuvenation in the air when I arrived at the prison today. The temperature had fallen during the night, and even though the forecast was for another day with temperatures in the low 90s, the rain had brought a short relief. There was another graduation at the prison today. Seven men completed their AODA program. I was scheduled to attend the event to take individual photos of the men. The four month long program they had just completed has a pretty good success rate. Each of the men stood at the podium and spoke to the group. Most read from a prepared script. Though they read their statements, they were no less sincere. They had written the pages themselves in longhand. The men described their pained pasts, described the thefts from their families, their wild and dangerous experiences driving under the influence, their trips to the hospital, their multiple court cases and incarcerations. They spoke of wasted lives, lost jobs and failed relationships. They bared their souls to themselves, to the members of their group, to their families and to the families of the other members of the group. Their voices cracked as they fought back tears, as the memories flooded back into mind, memories of their horrible behaviors. And they promised themselves as much as they promised their families that this time they have learned something new, that this time they have moved forward, that this time they have changed and that they have created new selves inside their old shells, new selves with new tools to help them move forward. And their stories were heart wrenching, powerful stories. You could see the hope on the faces of their families, the hope that what they were hearing would hold true. But you could also see that shadow of fear in the graduates’ eyes that maybe they would not be strong enough. The fear caused by the many past events when they were not. As I snapped the photos, as I handed each photo to the man whose image had been caught by the camera, I encouraged them to remember this day whenever they had a weak moment, to remember this day and the confidence they have in themselves today. Good luck to them all. Today was special. Today was not just another day on the hill.

Heat Wave

The air conditioner in my office was not able to keep up with the heat today. It was 100oF. It was challenging not to complain about the heat, as most areas at the prison are not air conditioned. It is like playing that tiny violin. Nobody wanted to hear how hot it was. Not inmates, not correctional officers. My mother thinks air conditioning is as important as heat is. It is true that more people suffer heat related health issues than cold related. Still, there is no political will for air conditioning prisons. Many activities were restricted once again today. Inmates seem to take the restrictions in stride. Maybe it is too hot to complain! The truth is that complaining does no good. We have already had the air conditioning conversation. Inmates lost that one. So did correctional staff. So, this afternoon there was no running, no volleyball, no handball, no basketball, no weights and no horseshoes. No library, no career center, no family center, no hobby. Today was another day with restricted activities due to the heat. The institution took the position of moderation where recreational activities were concerned. We were encouraged to drink lots of fluids and to look out for each other’s wellbeing. Of course the work had to be done, so workers did it in the heat; inmates and staff as well. The work was done a little slower in the heat, and there were a few extra water breaks. Yesterday was a quiet day. Today was another. Another day on the hill.

A Quiet Day

Today was a quiet day at the prison. Recreational activities were restricted this afternoon because of the heat. Things were pretty quiet anyway, as many of the teachers are on vacation. The days after graduation are usually pretty quiet, just as the days after any big event are quiet. Clean up time, you know. Many inmates came to my office to pick up their photos that had been taken on Friday at the graduation event. Others came to pick up books for the creative writing groups or to get their release papers signed. Some came to obtain forms for requesting education transcripts. A quiet day. And that is really the kind of day you want to have in prison. Quiet. Nobody wants much excitement in prison. And so it was another day on the hill.

Congratulations Mr. Jones

Congratulations Mr. Jones Party On! The visiting room was beautiful today and though it was hot, lacking air conditioning, the room was full of excitement. At my direction the chairs had been coordinated by color. The graduates were seated in red chairs for academic diplomas and maroon chairs for vocational certificates. The inmate guests sat in green, to the graduates’ left facing the podium. These guests are current students, each struggling with their own studies, hoping that they will be seated in the center at the next graduation event in November. The graduates’ families sat in green chairs to the right. Inmates’ mothers and brothers, their wives, their girlfriends and their babies, all came to celebrate this achievement. Most of the family members that were invited actually came today. Inmates are often disappointed and have to celebrate by themselves. Each chair held a program neatly printed and folded, listing the names of the graduates. The keynote speaker was the executive director of a local non-profit organization that had been the beneficiary of a pizza fundraiser last month. His speech was very encouraging and real. Special music was performed by the chapel choir, followed by a solo performance and then the Native American drummers. An inmate introduced me to his mother. I congratulated her on her son’s successful completion of his HSED, and expressed that I was sorry he had come to prison to get it. But that is how it came to happen for this man and now he and the others are on their way to new opportunities. Most of the graduates had their photos taken today, a red letter day, and a day to be remembered. There were oatmeal cookies and lemonade and punch. Several inmates thanked me for the work I do, for the positive impact I had on their experience, for the encouragement I had offered as they studied and tested. 30 inmates were honored today for their accomplishments. Each was dressed in a blue robe and even though they wore their everyday green uniforms underneath, for just a few minutes today they were men, graduates, rather than inmates. And so it was today, a little out of the ordinary and not just another day on the hill.

Preparing For The Party

Preparing for the Party It was very busy at the office today. Not much time to talk. Graduation Day is tomorrow! I work in a school. I know, yesterday I told you that I work in a secure minimum adult male correctional institution. Well both are true. The school is in the middle of the prison, and it is a very important place. Many inmates do not have their high school diploma when they are incarcerated. The State of Wisconsin has placed a strong emphasis on inmate education. We know that education is the ticket to success after release, the single activity that will prevent inmates from returning to prison. Inmates that do not already have this most basic academic credential are required to attend school. Students are enrolled in academic programming as a part time assignment. A stipend of $ 0.15 is paid for each hour they attend. Some students who begin with only a 1st or 2nd grade reading or math level take several years to successfully complete the program. Others zip through the tests with great speed, and complete the High School Equivalency Diploma in a couple of months. You see, it isn’t that they couldn’t have graduated before, but that they were not motivated to achieve this goal, they had been distracted by something else that they once thought was more important. There are some very motivated students who live where I work; some others who refuse to participate either out of stubbornness or a fear of failure after years of failure. There are some very dedicated teachers and recreation leaders who work where I work, succeeding in spite of the difficulties and roadblocks and budget cuts. The school houses an exceptional library with access to the South Central Wisconsin interlibrary loan system. We also offer some excellent vocational programs associated with certificates from the technical college in our area. These programs teach new skills that will translate into new jobs and new careers after release. Tonight inmates and their families are awaiting tomorrow’s ceremony, as have so many other graduates before them. Tomorrow 30 men will don blue graduation robes and mortarboards. The gowns and tassels were all steamed today. They were hung neatly and are waiting for the ceremony tomorrow. Programs have been printed, guest lists have been prepared, seating charts were created, attendance lists distributed. And so it was, today as yesterday, another day on the hill.

One Generation

I work in a secure minimum adult male institution in the State of Wisconsin.  It is secure because there is an electric fence that prevents the inmates from walking away from the institution.  I supervise an inmate that works as a clerk in my office.  Today we were speaking about fresh produce being grown on the rooftops of urban buildings in America. He had seen this activity on PBS, his window to a world outside the electric fence, a world he remembers from a long time ago.   He thinks that most Americans eat food that comes out of a cardboard box.  He is right.  He thought of his grandmother who used to grow vegetables in her garden.  We spoke about the fact that in only one generation in America, the culture of growing our own food has disappeared and been replaced by purchasing processed food, high in sodium, fat and cost.  We continued to speak about the other cultural changes that have happened in just that one generation.  He wondered about the people who no longer know their native languages, who hadn’t passed that knowledge to the younger generation.  We spoke about the knowledge that used to be transferred orally from generation to generation… the knowledge of how to build ships that could cross the oceans or the knowledge of the stars that could guide those same ships…He wondered about the new technologies, and the practice of the younger generations who know only about depending on that technology, who know nothing of the skills that previous generations knew, those same people who developed those technologies and think nothing of depending on them for their futures, for their survivals.  We spoke of this younger generation as though we were so much older, so far removed from them, so unfamiliar with their experience.  My clerk is not an old man and neither am I.  He is only 40 years old.   I am 57.  We spoke of so many different topics today.  Life is short.  And so it was another day on the hill.