Previous: First Amend This!: An IDOC Newsletter, Jan 2021
WELCOME to the February issue of First Amend This!
Brought to you by The Captive Perspective and made available at bookofirving82431.com. This publication provides an insider’s look at issues affecting the Idaho Department of Correction community.
If you wish to assist this effort, share the link, cut and paste, or print and send a copy to another.
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GET INVOLVED
IDOC will be holding monthly Townhall With Leadership meetings all through 2021. Submit your questions to brightideas@idoc.idaho.gov using the subject line “Qs for leadership,” and be sure to attend the meetings to keep the conversation going.
Offender friends and families interested in networking concerns are encouraged to join the Idaho Inmate Family Support Group (IIFSG) on Facebook.
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EDITOR’S NOTE
IDOC did good this month. It’s possible, in fact, that IDOC does some good every month, and that I, much like the rest of society, spend too much effort equating their existence to the worst that they’ve done when positive reinforcement might encourage more of the good stuff.
Call me crazy, but along those lines I decided to piece together an issue with the assistance of staff*, and present a state department comprised of individuals, who, at the end of the day, are (mostly) just less criminal versions of ourselves. Versions that get to leave prison every day and go home to their families, only to have muster the will to voluntarily come back. This alone conveys some kind of commitment–and not the kind you’d expect from your typical sadist.
Many of you may not know that, to his lawyers, this editor commonly expresses something like gratitude, for aside from some shadiness aired in the past, the Department has done well to tolerate his freedom of speech, however inappropriate at times he may be. Considering the stressors and horrors reported by others who’ve publicly dissented from their own DOCs, kudos are owed to the staff I see daily for having have never given me reason to think that I’m treated unfairly.
Of course, I can’t say that without saying this: F*ck you, GEO! We know what YOU did.
With that out of my system, this month of thunder belongs to IDOC, and I’m privileged to be the guy that no one asked to bring it to you.
So, without further ado, let’s First Amend This!
*In no way has this presentation been sanctioned. The editor simply has an understanding of Fair Use and copyright law. Meaning this issue’s staff articles came courtesy of idoc.Idaho.gov. (A site we recommend to our correctional community.)
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FOLLOWING LAST MONTH’S ISSUE
Solutions were implemented at IMSI to allow RHU residents daily use of the outdoor rec modules. Due to issues related to COVID, access prior to this change was restricted to every other day. This resident credits the change with improvements to his mental- and physical health.
Lunch portions at IMSI were addressed. It was noted that COVID played a factor in the menu change. With distributors unable to meet product demands, staff said they adapted to the best of their ability.
Our requests for public records have been returned with helpful instructions to expedite the process. We look forward to making those records available as soon as we get them.
A series of confiscated mail mishaps have been addressed, and extra staff has been assigned to prevent the issue from recurring in the future.
We thank IDOC for their efforts, and we are hopeful to report more positive changes soon.
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TVCRC RESIDENTS DONATE GIFTS TO ST. LUKE’S CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
by TVCRC Manager Amy Welsh
Residents at the Treasure Valley Community Reentry Center participated in a fundraiser organized by Corporal Mike Dorris, ultimately raising more than $1,000 and providing 171 gifts to Santa’s Toy Box at the St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital.
Santa’s Toy Box is an annual event at St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital, which aims to minimize holiday pressures for families of sick children by allowing parents of patients to “shop” free of charge and select a gift for each child in the family.
Due to the quarantine status of TVCRC’s residents, toy donations were delivered by Cpl. Dorris, Sgt. Davina Lau, Case Manager Christopher Contreras and Case Manager Shelbie Webb, who report that St. Luke’s staff greatly appreciated these generous donations from our residents.
The willingness of TVCRC’s residents to give to those in need will help provide a much happier Christmas to our community, whose families are experiencing very difficult circumstances.
We took great pride in wishing a very Merry Christmas from everyone at our TVCRC.
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IDOC BUDGET INCREASE
IDOC is poised to see a budget increase of just .7% for the next fiscal year, the smallest increase, according to legislative budget documents, in over a decade. Under Governor Brad Little’s proposal, just $1.8M will be added to the budget from last year, making the total to be appropriated from state and general funds $283.1M.
With last year’s increase a whopping 12.6%, and a ten-year average of 6.7%, legislative budget analyst Jared Hoskins is cautious to point out that this year’s diminutive budget boost may not hold if the $8.3M saved from Medicaid expansion has to be added back to departmental expenses should the expansion be repealed.
Additionally, while facility populations have decreased from 9,027 at IDOC’s fiscal start of 2019 to 8,775 at that of 2020’s, the decrease correlates with courts delaying trials to avoid the spread of COVID. According to Director Tewalt, compared with last year, the number of people waiting in county facilites for transport to IDOC has seen a substantial drop. But once people are able to be sentenced and processed, those Department numbers will effectively change.
During a January 19 budget hearing, held by the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee meeting, Idaho Senator Steve Blair of Blackfoot agreed: the Department’s projections have yet to account for COVID’s judicial stand-still.
In the same meeting, State Representatives Caroline Nilsson Troy of Genesee and Colin Nash of Boise voiced concerns that county property taxes were seeing indirect raises to accommodate the ever increasing Correctional budget. They also noted that it costs local facilities more to maintain when their capacities increase with holds destined for State.
The planned budget increase will allow IDOC to conclude the multi-million dollar replacement of their Offender Management System. The cost of adding 130 beds added to the St. Anthony’s work camp is also included in the proposal.
Source: Betsy Z. Russell, “Idaho Prisons Could See Smallest Budget Increase In a Decade,” idahopress.com.
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D-5 STAFF HELP SANTA DELIVER DESPITE COVID
by Employee Unknown
During a home visit, SPPO Nikkia Liles was speaking with one of LPPO Taylor’s client’s child. The child mentioned that Santa could not make it due to COVID this year, though he might try and mail something to them. SPPO Liles advised her TAC Officer LPPO Julie Taylor of what she was told and they encouraged and rallied P & P employees in D-5 to “make Christmas happen for these kids,” writes D-5’s Marie Hoffmier.
Marie says the children’s father was overcome with emotion when he learned of the generosity of the D-5 staff.
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FAT! BOOK DRIVE
ATTN: Institutions of higher education. If you’re no longer using your outdated materials, please consider sending them our way.
And to everyone else: We’re currently seeking books, preferably therapeutic or cerebral, to be reviewed by our editor and donated to the IMSI library. Contributions must be sent from a retailer or publisher to the address below in accordance with IDOC Mail Policy.
Patrick Irving 82431
c/o FAT! Book Drive
IMSI
PO Box 51
Boise, ID 83707
Last month we received the following contributions from Diamond Guitar-Judd of the Idaho Inmate Family Support Group, the Asheville Poetry Review, and our beloved editor’s ingrate family. To all those who’ve taken an interest in our development and emotional well-being, we very sincerely thank you!
Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradbury and Jean Greaves
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
The PTSD Workbook by Mary Beth Williams Ph.D., LCSW, CTS and Soila Poijula Ph.D.
Wife After Prison by Sheila Bruno
Asheville Poetry Review by Various Authors
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu
The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman by Hunter S. Thompson
2018/19 Prison Lives Almanac–Prisoner Resource Guide Edition
How To Invent Everything: A Survival Guide For The Stranded Time Traveler by Ryan North
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DISTRICT 7 STAFF SERVE MEALS AT THE IDAHO FALLS SOUP KICHEN
by District 7 Probation & Parole Manager Glenda Thomson
Lead PO Joyce Cumpton, PO Natalie Lloyd, PO Kasey Champion, Section Supervisor Dan Ziegler, Section Supervisor Lanny Taylor and District Manager Glenda Thomson prepared, packaged and served spaghetti lunch to the community and to the residents at the Community Crisis Center.
The Idaho Falls Soup Kitchen recently posted on Facebook that they were in need of volunteers, and this team stepped up without hesitation.
Not only did they serve food [for the day], but they signed up to do a few more days in the new year to keep the Soup Kitchen functioning.
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SIX RECEIVE YEARS OF SERVICE CERTIFICATES AT ICIO
by ICIO Lt. Greg Heun
Corporal Larry Jones received his 20-year certificate. Larry has worked numerous duties at Idaho Correctional Institution-Orofino. In the past he spent some time at Special Projects and was an original member of the North Region Honor Guard (recently retired from the team).
Deputy Warden Kent Shriver received his 25-year certificate. Over the past 25 years, Kent performed many duties for the department. Prior to his promotion to deputy warden, Kent was on the North Region Correctional Emergency Response Team (CERT), serving just short of 20 years. He finished his duty as the CERT commander.
Food Service Supervisor Margaret Hight received her 10-year certificate. Margaret started out as an officer and, with her talents, moved into the FSS position at ICIO. Margaret is also a member of the North Region Crisis Negotiation Team and has been on the team over four years.
Sergeant Sergio Medrano received his 5-year certificate. Sergio has worked most positions at ICIO and has been on the North Region Correctional Emergency Response Team (CERT) for most of his time in the department. He currently is the Assistant Shift Commander, A-Nights.
Corporal Cheri Mozley received her 10-year certificate. Cheri is a past member of the North Region Honor Guard team and currently is the ICIO Special Projects Corporal and oversees maintenance of the ICIO/Projects vehicle fleet. Her mother, Jeanne Moss, after 20 years retired this month from SICI Special Projects.
Corporal Candie Burgess received her 15-year certificate. Candie has worked most positions at ICIO and is a past member of the North Region Honor Guard team. She is currently the Response and Escort Corporal on A-Nights.
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by Administrative Assistant LeeAnn Cochems
Correctional Officer Jeannie Moss’s retirement was celebrated December 9, 2020, at the Southern Idaho Correctional Institution, honoring twenty years of dedicated service.
Warden Noel Barlow-Hust and her leadership team expressed a deep appreciation for Moss who, at one point, was one of very few female correctional officers at IMSI and a trailblazer for women in corrections.
Moss spent much of her IDOC career as a member of the SICI Vocational Work Projects Team.
Lieutenant Stephen Grill and the projects team recognize her incredible dependability, work ethic and demonstration of great leadership.
Moss’s family, who are also IDOC employees, were standing by as Warden Barlow-Hust and Lt. Grill presented her recognition of service awards for a job well done.
Best wishes, Jeannie, you will be missed!
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WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU
The librarian at ISCC was charged last month for having felonious sexual contact with an inmate.
A 63-year-old sergeant was charged last month with first degree stalking. Hired by the department in 2001, the sergeant has since been placed on administrative leave and is temporarily relieved of his duties in Boise.
An IMSI resident found hanging in their cell January 10 passed away January 12, despite life-saving efforts. The thirty-seven-year-old’s death was investigated as a suicide.
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COVID NEWS
Over 21,500 tests have been administered to IDOC residents in three states. More than 4,000 have identified positive, and six inmate deaths have been reported as COVID-related.
ACLU Idaho and the law firm Shearman & Sterling remain in close contact with IDOC while monitoring all forms of COVID-related issues. Correctional clients with concerns are invited to participate in the dialogue by forwarding their COVID experiences to:
ACLU Idaho
PO Box 1987
Boise, ID 83701
IDOC’s SCC population hasn’t seen any more testing since they first arrived to the Arizona facility with a large number of infected cohorting among them. Other DOCs sharing the facility reported an explosion in cases following Idaho’s arrival.
IDOC staff have been sharing their vaccine experiences over social media to help promote the safety of the vaccine prior to the Department receiving their allotment.
View IDOC’s COVID numbers here.
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CONTRACTS
According to the Clearwater Tribune, the Board of Clearwater County Commissioners entered into a Work and Financial Plan Agreement with the IDOC Vocational Work Project and the Idaho Correctional Institution in Orofino on January 4.
Details of the contract are currently unknown.
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RENICK ON THE RADIO
With over 100 episodes available for streaming, Mark Renick hosts Victory Over Sin, on KBXL 94.1FM, Saturdays at 12:30 pm.
This month, Renick hosted a clinical social worker and a representative of the Veterans Justice Outreach Services to discuss the challenges people face with incarceration, and to share resources available to Veterans through the VA. Working with community partners, the VA’s Justice Outreach Program has much to offer in the way of housing-, mental health- and employment services.
According to VA.gov: “The mission of the Veterans Justice Programs is to identify justice-involved Veterans and contact them through outreach, in order to facilitate access to VA services at the earliest possible point . . . [this is accomplished] by building and maintaining partnerships between VA and the key elements of the criminal justice system.”
In a January 16 interview, author and Gonzaga School of Law Professor George Critchlow discussed topics related to his book “The Lifer and the Lawyer: A Story of Punishment, Penitence, and Privilege.” Written in collaboration with Michael Anderson, and described in one review as “an aging Black man who grew up poor and abused on Chicago’s South Side,” the book is said to read like a memoir, detailing Anderson’s neglected youth, crime spree, trials and life imprisonment.
Critchlow can be reached to contribute to the ongoing discussion of sentencing, rehabilitation, and the racially disparate treatment of minorities at georgecritchlow.com.
On January 23, Reentry Specialist Stephanie Silva and District 7 Manager Glenda Thomson joined Mark to discuss the annual Idaho Falls Recover Out Loud event. Supported by District 7 Probation & Parole, and multiple community partners, the January 29 event, held as a drive-thru in lieu of COVID, was touted by Renick as “a model for community partnerships.”
Thomson and Silva, who is a model of recovery in her own right, together expressed their appreciation for IDOC’s current administration and their willingness to think outside-of-the-box when assisting folks with a successful reentry. It’s noticeable, both agreed, that there has been a person-centered- vs. agenda-centered change.
“People’s chances increase by the amount of support you put around them,” shared Thomson, excited by the amount of support established going into the 3rd annual Recover Out Loud Event.
Learn more about Renick and his efforts @ Systemic Change Of Idaho and imsihopecommunityphaseii.com.
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A BOOK REVIEW
Previous: First Amend This!: An IDOC Newsletter, Jan 2021
Authored by Sheila Bruno
“Desperate for support to help her resolve the psychological disorders that had crept into her marriage, Sheila looked for support groups that dealt with the after-effects of incarceration. To her dismay, their weren’t any. So, she created one: the Wife After Prison Support Group. Sheila has reached over 40,000 people in her quest to raise awareness of Post-Incarceration Syndrome. She has made it her mission to provide education about the devastating effects prison has on their loved ones.”
An easy, enlightening read, to include discussions of faith and lessons learned from rushing into a marriage with a partner who’s spent 30 years in prison. An experience that allows Sheila help others understand the effects prison has on personal development. One of the very few books to be found in the IMSI library that helps to realize how the stunting of one’s interpersonal- and emotional growth in prison can affect others for years following their release.
For more on Sheila’s nonprofit organization and support network, visit wifeafterprison.com.
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INMATE SERVICES AT WORK
1-26-21
Dear Program Manager Jeff Kirkman:
Greetings! My quest to uncover programs and resources has destined our entanglement.
Yes, I did ask my case manager. She gave me a printout for the IDOC One Stop Reentry Center and a few short paragraphs summarizing the Department’s in-facility cognitive offerings and pre-release programs. Frankly, I was hoping for more.
So I wrote the IDOC One Stop Reentry Center requesting information on their partnerships and service. I was less than delighted to receive no response.
Not to be dissuaded, I directed my attention towards the Restoring Promise Initiative. An initiative my case manager was not aware of, despite Director Tewalt’s recent mention to our inmate population (in partnership with the Vera Institute and MILPA). “What the hell are you doing in Idaho?” was the topic of the letters I sent to New York and California. “Is it something our facility residents might make use of?”
Nothing.
And then–somewhere along the way I was spotted for ambition. Though I can’t say exactly what behavior they’re rewarding, becoming a shaman for the Cult of Sexual Anarchy is now somehow running unopposed for The-Things-One-Can-Do-In-Max-Prison.
Supposing I might convince you that literature detailing correctional enrichment opportunities has its benefits, and supposing you’d be inspired to include correctional partnerships and resources in some kind of JPay presentation, or, possibly, pamphlet, I ask that you not hold against me an assist in dissemination. For if one were to base their assumptions strictly on the evidence, lending a hand is just something I do.
Many thanks.
In friendship and incarceration,
Patrick Irving 82431
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A MESSAGE TO RESIDENTS
by Director Josh Tewalt
What a year 2020 was. I’m not going to dwell on all the challenges we faced this year. We experienced it, and honestly, going through it once was more than enough. But I want to take a moment to give thanks, and maybe even offer a bit of hope for what lies ahead in 2021.
First of all, the pandemic required everyone to behave in new ways and I express my deep appreciation to those of you who jumped into action to make more than 55,000 masks to help keep everyone at IDOC safe. You produced enough masks that we were able to donate thousands to local community agencies too. We also had people stepping up to learn how to use new sanitizing foggers and take on additional cleaning duties. Everyone rolled with the punches, including moves that allowed us to create dedicated housing units to better manage the pandemic. I know it’s been especially hard to have movement in the facilities limited and to not have in-person visitation, and I thank you for cooperation. We’re currently working with the state epidemiologists to plan for the COVID-19 vaccine to rollout in the first quarter of 2021.
While COVID-19 has taken front and center, I assure you, a lot of activity has been going on behind the scenes, which will move us forward by leaps and bounds in 2021. This year, IDOC committed to a new vision for our agency that aims to create a safer Idaho while having fewer people in its correctional system. Why am I telling you this? Because it means we see our job as helping each of you learn the skills you will need to be successful when you leave our jurisdiction: We are all safer when more people are living crime-free in the community.
To help meet this goal, we have invested in infrastructure to bring wifi and tablets to each facility for resident education and programming. We have been working with Boise State University to create a degree-granting track for students (and the feds just reinstated Pell grants to help pay for college for people who are in prisons!). We have partnered with the Vera Institute and MILPA to participate in the Restoring Promise Initiative, which seeks to overhaul the correctional experience for young adults through the use of a peer community. We are currently assessing our practices for incarcerated women so that we can provide help and support that is more targeted to the unique needs of women. We have invested $4.5M in Connection and Intervention Stations in the community, which offer supportive services for people on supervision to help prevent revocation.
This is just a sampling of what you’ll see rolling out in 2021. And, you have an important role to play in all of this: it’s imperative that you tell us what’s working, what’s not hitting the mark, and how we can continue to improve (preferably in a constructive way). We’ll be rolling out more ways to involve you and your loved ones in these conversations in 2021.
There’s a lot more to come in 2021. In the meantime, I wish you all a Happy New Year!
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SUGGESTION BOX
It is suggested that, in recognition of Black History Month, IDOC commit to incorporating Juneteenth into their list of holiday meal celebrations, the way that Idaho Correctional Center used to when it was privately operated by then-Corporate Corrections of America.
That is all.
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We agree. All Americans deserve meal celebrations.
What did you say to me, February!?