Offender Trauma Study Proves Useful - Pennsylvania

Around 1914, possibly later, Prison Warden Thomas Mott Osborne tried an experiment ("democratizing the prison"), and putting inmates in a position to maturely and responsibly discipline their peers, practice participating in a democratic process, and a number of other initiatives. After removing the high fence around the prison, and just having a three foot high chickenwire fence---he had No (Zero) escapes (that may have been during his tenure at the Naval Disciplinary Barracks at Portsmouth, NH; he was also warden at Auburn and SingSing prisons in New York). One inmate who had sent an inappropriate letter to a judge's wife; his fellow inmates on the disciplinary committee agreed to read all his outgoing letters for "appropriateness" ....

Here's the information on International Men's Day on November 19th and the project to go behind the prison walls to talk about helping the men inside to change their thinking - to become PART of the society they'll be returning to (all credit to Rick Belden - @rickbelden on Twitter)!

https://www.facebook.com/notes/insearchof-fatherhood/international-mens-day-goes-behind-the-wall/10151475394532703

Sure, feel free to post the link Brenda!

Oops - International Men's Day is November 19th - sorry.

There's a link to an International Men's Day (November 16th) event where they will be talking about men in prison and helping them to become better family, community and societal members once they leave their incarceration.  It's on @rickbelden 's Twitter Feed.  Want me to post the link here?  There seems to be a movement at work here--hopefully a good one!

Change has to start with strong leadership. Leadership needs to embrace, own, and walk their talk. Sounds like they need to have trainings to start. I see postings for these trainings sometimes in my research travels. They are for specific govt depts. to become trauma-informed.

Bob, thanks for posting the bench cards. It's a good reminder for me to point folks to the Criminal Justice section of our Resource Center. We have those 'bench cards' and other resources posted.

I hope that this study will wake corrections people and legislators up. I found abuse and neglect a common issue among inmates and could never understand why it was never addressed. Maybe because they had done something bad it did not matter anymore ?? When you look at treatment programs in corrections they address addiction but not as in depth as they should. Most DOC's have a failure rate of 40%+ and no one ever questions why ... must be the inmates fault .. how can you take traumatized individuals .. put them away in what is very stressful and often horrific places and then expect them to walk out into the world with a scarlet letter on their foreheads and expect them to function properly !! I have a collections of childhood stories that I am getting typed into word so I can share some of the experiences that these "victims"  went through before they created their own victims. As a corrections employee I was considered a "thug-hugger" because I tried to develop programs and had ideas that would motivate and change the mindset of inmates ... What is interesting is that a lot of the people I worked with have gotten out and even though they struggle and some have slipped .. they have not gone back ... (fingers and toes crossed) .. so many other corrections staff want to do things different but are afraid of the retaliation and even loosing their jobs because they speak out about the lack of programs and understanding !! I had a DOC Secretary tell me one day that we have to change the mindset from the "boot to the throat attitude" but how do you change what is considered "acceptable practices" in a department of over 8000 staff ?? 

Hi Chris, I'd wager that Loren isn't the only one who likes this article. It was just posted on the SPSCOT (State Personnel Systems Coalition On Trauma) listserve. I certainly like it. Perhaps the Pennsylvania Corrections administrator will compare notes with the California [Trauma-Informed] Honor Prison administrator, and share at Correctional conferences. Kudos to Rutgers University. I ran into an old [mental health] colleague who now works in our state Corrections Department, and she said she'd be anxious to see it, too. The "Bench Cards for Judges to Use When Gathering Information to Make Decisions About Children At Risk of Traumatic Stress Disorders" can be found at: http://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/assets/pdfs/judge_bench_cards_final.pdf

hehehe... super!  :)

This was the cherry on the top of my banana split today .. : )

I'll bet it is the start, Loren! It's an exciting time! Thanks for sharing your enthusiasm! I'm feeling it in a-Dan Siegel sort of way; would we say -- interpersonal-neurobiologically? :-) These are the moments we live for!

I have read this 3 times already ... I am so excited that a DOC administrator acknowledges that unresolved trauma from childhood is so prevalent among what is a very small number of incarcerated individuals. In all the assessments done both prior to and after sentencing ACEs are never addressed properly .. Hopefully this is just the start of research that is so needed among incarcerated individuals !!!

You're welcome! I thought you'd like it. :-)

THANK YOU CHRIS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hallelujah !!!