Updates

The media provider for Idaho prisoners has no problem ripping them off to celebrate Jesus’s birthday. Following the release of a promotion for upcoming discounts, JPay rescinded their offer after funds were already transferred from prisoner trust accounts into the JPay media system.

From the miniscule wages they make by the hour to the funds from their loved ones that keep them in contact, JPay took their consumers for a still unknown sum on the heels of being fined by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to tune of $6,000,000 for consumer abuse of apostate proportions.

ACTUAL COMPLAINT TO JPAY CUSTOMER SERVICE

12-24-21

You recently sent an email to your entire consumer base encouraging them to prepare for a “humongous” 10% discount on [email] stamps.

It was for no other reason than your sending this email that myself and many others who are currently incarcerated transferred what limited funds we have to our JPay accounts to prepare for purchasing discounted stamps. Unsurprisingly, another email showed up this very morning, informing us all you will not honor this discount unless it’s redeemed by our friends and our families. Which means the money we transferred is now gone to waste. That you were recently fined over $6M dollars for abusing your consumers and managed to learn nothing suggests that your company deserves to sit where I sit: in a systemically dysfunctional, backwoods Idaho prison.

In complement to this most recent scheme of fraudulent advertising, I will soon be presenting to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau communications from your company acknowledging that prepaid replies are not being redeemed past 30 days. A caveat your consumers have never been advised of.

Make no mistake, your raping and pillaging of vulnerable populations has me sharpening my pitchfork and praying you burn in hell.

This communique has been selected for publishing in the Idaho Department of Correction monthly newsletter. [sic]
—

JPAY’S RESPONSE

Hello Patrick. Thank you for contacting JPay Support. Our customer’s thoughts and suggestions are always welcomed and appreciated. Please understand that grievances are handled by staff members at your correctional facility and we encourage you to reach out [to] the proper channels at your disposal to ensure your issue receives the appropriate level of attention.

Kind Regards,
Jpay Support
—

FOLLOW UP

Dear Jesus Almighty,

As if their swindling consumers on your birthday wasn’t enough, this prison profiteer is now directing those affected to seek refunds from this Department as though it were involved in their scam. I kindly ask that you consider smiting these sodomite bastards and imploding whatever reality has allowed them to so brazenly sin.

Thank you for allowing me to reach you through this channel. I trust Your Holiness will ensure this complaint receives “the appropriate level of attention” when I send 100 copies to the friends that I’ve made in the press.

Amen.

Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Patrick Irving, “JPay Support Ticket, Ref #CCI-IMSI342870.” Patrick Irving, “JPay Support Ticket, Ref #CCI-IMSI339627.”

See also:

• • • New Complaints Filed Against JPay Prison Service Provider: Three Abusive Practices You Probably Ought to Know
    • Patrick Irving Sits With Employees of JPay, Showcases How the Company Sh*ts On Its Consumers (Round 1)

Previous: First Amend This!: An IDOC Newsletter, Nov. ’21

WELCOME to the December edition of First Amend This!

This publication provides an insider look at issues affecting the Idaho Department of Correction community. If you wish to assist this effort, share the link, copy and paste, or print and send this issue to another.

Friends and families are encouraged to join the  Idaho Inmate Family Support Group (IIFSG) on Facebook or contact them at idahoinmate@gmail.com.
…

EDITOR’S NOTE

This month we celebrate our two-year anniversary with the very first issue to be presented from population.

No longer broadcasting from that ornery orifice once optioned in Ad-Seg, we’ll now be able to more easily collect the experiences of others and promote civic engagement while expanding our auditing crew–or so we’d like to think.

Not to be limited to those serving sentences, we’re hoping to offer a bit more from our staff and the families and friends that serve our time with us.

Those looking to get involved are encouraged to contact our recorders or other friendly organizers, like the Idaho Justice Project.
…

CELEBRATING TWO YEARS WITH AN ANNIVERSARY RECAP

In 2007, I was one of many who participated in a private prison program under the purview of IDOC. Every day for nine months they drilled into my head that the purpose of life is to hold others accountable. The program, called Lifeline, worked better than it should; I felt myself transformed into a hybrid auditing cyborg who’d go on to commit more crimes and then come back to continue his passion.

Eleven years later, outsourced to a corporate confinement center located on the Mexican border, I found myself battling with capitalist killers in a cell that went dark after someone pulled the power. Double-dipping in the darkness that week in segregation, I fashioned a foot that was fated for ass by crafting new gospel in the form of the Book of Irving.

It was around the same time that I heard they killed Kim Taylor, that those hired to handle our medical emergencies knew not how to use their life-saving equipment and Warden Waymon Barry couldn’t care less about an autopsy. Surrounded by negligence, I took it upon myself to begin auditing from the inside and prepare some presentations for media and oversight.

But mine was a behavior that was not to be tolerated; it quickly became apparent that holding others to account was no longer an exercise then-Department heads found welcome.

Flown back from Texas on inflated punitive charges, I watched as those responsible for my retaliatory transfer investigated themselves for misconduct and then ruled in their own favor. My legal work was pilfered, my property was accosted, and I was told that I could sue if I had not yet learned of caution.

So I tried; and from that process I developed an intimate understanding: in order for a prisoner to file a claim in the courts, they must first convince their prison staff to see their claim gets mailed.

Twice I discovered that my claims had not. Still in my possession–my twice-sent claims unopened; they sat in my facility on somebody’s desk for weeks before returning to my cell in what I presume was an accident.

Hundreds of letters to lawmakers were next, with hundreds after that to media and advocates; and for over eighteen months I diligently documented the very creative ways that my freedom of speech of was annulled.

While all this was enough to really set a feller off, it wasn’t until the Office of Professional Standards refused to acknowledge the concerns later presented in our first issue that we decided to launch from an Ad-Seg cell in December 2019.

And here we are now…

Let’s First Amend This!
…

DEAR DEPUTY WARDEN NICOLAS BAIRD

I have now been banned from studying self-help materials from the library for over six months. This over a book that was returned through my Ad-Seg door. (See: First Amend This!, July ’21.) I filed a grievance and was told my library privileges would return after 90 days, despite the fact that one could’ve confirmed I returned the book by searching my cell. Is it now this Department’s position that I am not to be able to better myself for up to 32 more years because either the staff or the librarian made some kind of error, or is it possible that you might be able to assist me?

Please consider.
…

THE POWERS THAT BE ARE UPSETTING OUR MOTHERS

The loved ones of prisoners at IMSI have not been able to visit for two years of holidays.

For the duration of COVID-19, the Idaho Maximum Security Institution has been fortunate to report minimal cases. Likely due to the fact that those imprisoned at this facility are offered minimal time out of their cells and contact with others.

With all visits taking place behind plexiglass partitions, visiting sessions at this facility are restricted in such way that sharing oxygen isn’t possible and minimal staff are needed to supervise. And yet this desolate depression of modern convention holds the only visitation room that has yet to reopen since the start of COVID.

Frustration is felt among facility residents. For the second year in a row, Idaho’s close custody prisoners have found themselves informing their families that no effort’s been given to allow them to visit.

Facility staff, aware of this issue, aren’t excited about it either. They understand the benefits of in-person visits with families and are “hoping something will happen,” but what that something is isn’t made clear. A concern form inquiring didn’t yield a concrete answer.

As this issue is goes to press, we are also hearing that ISCC has been unable to provide visitation since September .

Those interested in seeing visits return are encouraged to contact the administration and request immediate action.
…

LAWMAKERS UNDER FIRE FOR FAILING TO ADDRESS IDAHO’S PRISON PROBLEMS

The Idaho Statesman Editorial Board isn’t pulling any punches. In an editorial titled “Prison Problems Are the Latest Sign of Dereliction of Duty of the Idaho Legislature,” the majority makeup of Idaho lawmakers were roasted for cutting $400M from the Gem State’s budget while watching prison staffing shortages perpetually worsen.

In the same period which Idaho’s budget surplus ballooned from $800M to $1.5B, Idaho’s leading Republicans continued to ignore concerns of safety and burnout presented by prison employees amid multiple violent, newsworthy incidents.

In attempt to mitigate the employee shortage, along with a variety of new-hire and retention bonuses, IDOC implemented a pay increase in September to push starting wages from $16.75 to $19 an hour. The incentives, financed using federal CARES ACT funding, will require the approval of Legislature to continue into the long-term.

It’s a budget request that may face scrutiny as the pay raises and bonuses have yet to achieve their desired effect. Pointing to figures from the Idaho State Correctional Center, the Statesman confirmed that employee openings rose from 38 in April to 75 in September, with only two positions being filled by November.

Per the Statesman’s editorial board, “If the state is going to take people into custody and put them in prison, the state has a constitutional obligation to keep them safe and keep the people who work there safe… Unfortunately, the situation of the state prison is yet another indication that the Idaho Republican Legislature is falling down on the job of providing proper funding for basic government services.

Sources: Idaho Statesman Editorial Board, “Prison Problems Are the Latest Sign of Dereliction of Duty of the Idaho Legislature.”
…

FORMER PRISONER SEEKING $2.8M IN LEGAL FEES

A former client of the Idaho Department of Correction is suing the State to recoup the cost of legal fees for a battle that was fought all the way to the Supreme Court.

Diagnosed in 2012 with gender dysphoria–a condition in which the dissonance between a person’s gender identity and gender assigned at birth is significant and hurtful–Adree Edmo filed suit in 2017 after being refused the means to conform to her gender identity. Her complaint asserted the State was violating her Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment by refusing to provide her with adequate medical treatment .

At Governor Little’s direction, Idaho spent $456,738.80 in legal fees attempting to avoid the $75,000 gender confirmation surgery that, covered by insurance, was of no immediate cost to the state.

In 2020, as the Department was waiting for the Supreme Court to decide if the case would receive their attention, local media covered Governor Little’s staunch opposition the idea that such surgeries should be provided to those incarcerated.

Edmo’s case is still the subject of national attention as the first surgery of the sort ordered by the court.

The Department was given until Nov. 22 to file a response to the request for legal fees. Should reimbursement be ordered in full, Idaho Conservatives will be able to boast of spending $3.25 million to set a progressive precedent for gender-related surgeries.

Sources: “Former Idaho Inmate Who Sued for Gender Surgery Seeks 2.8 Million In Legal Fees, Rebecca Boone, Associated Press. Betsy Russell, “US Supreme Court Rejects Idaho’s Appeal in Transgender Inmate Surgery Case,” Idaho Press.
…

NEW INFORMATION EMERGING FROM THE APRIL 10 INCIDENT

The ISCC incident that erupted in April is again receiving attention from prominent members of Idaho media. Jacob Scholl with the Idaho Statesman shared new details this month, obtained by public records requests and interviews with staff.

In addition to the fire, the fights and the hospitalizations we heard about, we now learn that H-Block residents left the unit clear long before staff were “prompted to evacuate them.”

In effort to escape smoke from the fire, they took to the yard through a wall that belonged to a bathroom, and kinda just hung out until the corral team came and collected them.

Prison staff in Scholl’s article expressed their dismay over how a call for backup yielded one lonely straggler. This to a living area with 304 residents who, according our sources, were allegedly upset by the amount of force used to remove one of their own from the unit .

As of the publication of Scholl’s article, the Ada County Prosecutor has yet to press charges.

Source: Jacob Scholl, “Details Emerging About April Prison Disturbance,” Idaho Statesman.
…

IDOC SERVINGS SIZED SMALLER FOR VAGINAS

Sunday is Starve Day at Idaho prisons. Between breakfast and dinner lunch is limited to muffins, bagged up at breakfast to munch on at noon. The men  all receive two every week, which is twice the number served to the Department’s female clients.

The men also receive more of following, often with the same ratio in serving sizes: Biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, oatmeal, French toast, Farina, pancakes, hash browns, breakfast hash, roast beef, bread, cornbread, vegan bread, hamburger buns, vegan buns, ketchup, peanut butter, potato chips, corn dogs, turkey, tuna salad, ham salad, peanut butter, margarine, rice, refried beans, 3-bean salad and baked fries.

When asked to speculate as to the reason, IMSI residents and staff were quick to point out that men are required to carry the massive weight of a penis and well-fed women tend to have themselves a hard time finding husbands. Their logic continues: husbands for the ladies will be required for their survival, as minimal effort is given to prepare them for the workforce and good housing is impossible to come by as a felon.

We disagree with their reasoning, but when no other food service is capable of rationing the portions of convalescing female patrons without drawing the kind of scrutiny that changes a regime, then what kind of sense can be made of this, really?

It is easy to imagine the cascade of cancelling that would occur were a school to serve the girls a little less than all the boys–or were nursing-home grandmas to be served less oatmeal than male counterparts on the advice of a professional with an interest in saving some money.

SUBTLE ASIDE: Perhaps the women would do better by switching to Common Fare meals: prepackaged meals, provided by a vendor, indiscriminate in serving sizes, they’re the costliest option.

Sources: IDOC Food Service Menu 7.0
…

JPAY FINED FOR CONSUMER ABUSE

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has taken action against JPay for violating the Consumer Financial Protection act by siphoning tax-payer benefits from the formerly incarcerated.

As reported by the CFPB in October, a consent order was issued after it was concluded that JPay engaged in unfair, deceptive and abusive practices by conditioning the receipt of government benefits upon opening an account with a particular financial institution.

Within several violations outlined by the CFPB, the agency found that JPay abused its market dominance by forcing the imprisoned to submit to contractual fees in order to access their own moneys using prepaid debit cards. According to the CFPB, “Consumers could not protect their interests in the selection and use of JPay’s cards because they were denied a choice on how their own money would be given to them upon release.” This practice lead to over 1.2M release cards being issued to consumers who were unable to view their accounts or close them without accruing fees.

The CFPB also found that consumers were charged unauthorized fees when debit release cards were loaded with additional funds.

Per the consent order, JPay must eliminate the majority of fees on their prepaid release cards, refund approximately $4M to the consumers they abused and pay $2M in civil penalties to the CFPB’s Civil Penalty fund.

Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the CFPB has the authority to take action against institutions that violate federal consumer financial laws.

JPay was founded in 2002 as an electronic money transfer service company for the incarcerated and their families. Before being acquired in 2013, they reported turning a profit of more than $500M. Their parent company, Aventiv, currently profits directly off of over one million imprisoned by charging for telecommunications, money-wiring and media services in over 3,500 correctional facilities across North America.

While JPay currently contracts with IDOC to provide multiple services, it’s Access Corrections who provides the Access Freedom card to those fortunate enough to return to their communities with cash in their accounts.

According to IDOC’s website: “Access Freedom debit cards allow newly released individuals to have immediate access to their funds in real-time, at ATMs, banks, and through most point-of-sale (POS) retailers. Access Freedom cards have several free-use options, including POS transactions and cash-out options.”

But for those who search further and find the FAQs: “Account Closure Fee for a cash-out of balance of card paid out by check……..$10”

Sources: Aaron Greg, Washington Post. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Alexandra Marinez, “As the Holidays Approach, Incarcerated People in Florida Say Goodbye to Physical Mail,” Prismreports.org. www.idoc.idaho.gov.
…

COVID NEWS

Since the start of COVID, over 49,374 tests have been administered to IDOC residents housed in-state, with no testing taking place throughout 2021 for Idaho prisoners outsourced to Arizona. A majority of those housed in-state have caught COVID.

The visiting solution remains fluid. Please view the IDOC website for cancelations and closures.

All residents who have received a COVID vaccination are encouraged by the Department to sign up for a booster vaccination shot. This booster is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control. Anyone who has received a Johnson and Johnson, Moderna or Pfizer vaccine can receive a booster at this time. Please submit a concern form to medical if you would like to receive the booster.

Anyone who has not yet been immunized against COVID is also highly encouraged by the Department to get the initial immunization now.

Those with COVID concerns are invited to forward their grievances to:

ACLU Idaho
PO Box 1897
Boise, ID 83701

View COVID numbers here.
…

COOKIES FOR THE INCARCERATED!

Time is running out to assist Mark Renick in gifting the Kuna Idaho prisons’ population with big, welcome bags of beautiful holiday cookies. If you would like to assist the effort, please contact Mr. Renick or St. Vincent de Paul and ask how you can help.

This is the first year Mark has targeted all Kuna Idaho prisons with his notorious act of kindness, appreciated by everyone. Formerly known as Cookies For Max, the event was previously limited to IMSI.

If you wish to assist, please contact:

208-477-1006
svdpid.org
systemicchangeofid@gmail.com
…

RENICK ON THE RADIO

With five years of episodes available for streaming, Mark Renick hosts Victory Over Sin on Boise’s KBXL 94.1Fm, Saturdays at 12:30 pm.

This month Mark welcomed Erica Marshall with the Idaho Justice Project. Erica forming a state-wide coalition to present our lawmakers with solutions to Idaho justice problems. She is calling out to all justice-affected families to ask that they share their stories. Visit Idahojusticeproject.org for updates and details.

Ryan Hertling and German Robies from IDOC’s One Stop Reentry Shop in District 4 appeared in a two-part episode (part 1, part 2) to discuss the services and partnerships available through their workplace, as well as some of the challenges the newly released face. There was some mention about the Department moving forward with plans to help those attempting to successfully reintegrate into their communities by putting the formerly incarcerated to work, and to have them be recognized as community assets.

Learn more about Mark’s advocacy projects @ svdpid.org.
…

RESIDENT AUDITING 101

Public records requests have been made for following: the Keefe commissary contract, meal costs, the list of all public records requests submitted within the last six months.

A grievance pursuing the absence of records pertaining to charitable donations has stalled in the appeal process without notice or explanation. To date, no records have been kept to confirm where the charitable donations we make as prisoners have been going.

A public records request asking for the number of parole-eligible  who are filling our facilities has informed us that 1,872 prisoners are being held past their fixed-time.

The public records custodian is now attaching the following statement to all public records requests:

“Any release of public records (textual, audio, graphical, pictorial, digital, or otherwise) in response to a public records request is not permission from the IDOC to allow you to republish or otherwise make use of the records in violation of relevant state or federal law, including but not limited to, privacy, trademark, and/or copyright law.*

“IDOC is dedicated to transparency. If you have questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact your Record Custodian.”

*According to our understanding of federal law, IDOC is not eligible for trademark or copyright protection. Public records are considered public domain works, therefore, permission need not be asked and allowance need not be given to “republish or otherwise make use of the records.” But do your own research, of course.
…

AND NOT FOR NOTHIN’

Want to know why IDOC didn’t reclassify a significant number of those who accrued Class A disciplinary charges in Texas?

Because the Texas Commission of Jail Standards never approved the Eagle Pass Correctional Facility to hold close-custody prisoners. Were IDOC and GEO to reclassify all those who accrued severe disciplinary charges (per policy), they would’ve had to pay to bring quite a few back home. It was an intentional misdirection, one that jeopardized the safety of staff and our out-of-state residents. Had the Texas Commission of Jail Standards been aware, they would have taken action.

The reason I didn’t tell them? I had friends in Texas that didn’t want to come home to Max.

Unfortunately for those of ours housed in Arizona, Arizona is lacking in private prison oversight, leaving it nearly impossible without the courts to hold facility heads to account.
…

INMATE SERVICES AT WORK

Dear Jaime Calderon,

We spoke in September when you toured Ad-Seg to collect suggestions and feedback for possible programs. It was then that I passed you an outline for a reflective reading program I had taken the initiative to implement alone. You asked that I follow up with you in a month, which I did by way of concern form around the end of October. I’d still like to discuss my proposal’s potential. As promised, the program has already proven to attract participants from general population, whom I’ve been encouraging to consider an adaptation of their own.

While I’m happy to inform you that I’m receiving nothing but very good feedback, I’m having a hard time understanding why this effort has been ignored.

On behalf of others interested in contributing to programs, please acknowledge my effort so others know that theirs are welcome.

Regards,
Patrick Irving 82431
…

SUGGESTION BOX

It is no small violation of Idaho family values to prevent loved ones from visiting during the celebration of Jesus. We suggest IDOC put forth a little extra effort and reconsider their commitment to honoring Baby Christ.
…

Aggressively salutated merriment to the lot of you!

See you next month.

“Cien Kilos de Reyna”
— Los Originales De San Juan

Next: First Amend This!: An IDOC Newsletter, Jan ’22

Previous: First Amend This!: An IDOC Newsletter Oct. ’21

WELCOME to the November issue of First Amend This!

This publication provides an insider 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.
…

GET INVOLVED

IDOC will be holding monthly Townhall With Leadership Meetings all through 2021. Submit you questions to brightideas@idoc.idaho.gov using the subject line “Q’s for leadership,” and be sure to attend to keep the conversation going.

Offender friends and families are encouraged to join the Idaho Inmate Family Support Group (IIFSG) on Facebook or contact them at idahoinmate@gmail.com.
…

EDITOR’S NOTE

It pains me to have issues with presenting the news lately. Creating and editing is taking a week longer. I have to purge through several pages just to whittle a few paragraphs, talk myself out of the F-bombs and dial down the tone. If I could sum it up sweetly I would say this: Continuing to watch all our efforts be ignored is like a slap in the face with a splash of saliva.

And so some of you may notice this issue is different. That’s because I did what I could to paint a picture I could publish without seeding anger and going too far rogue.

With the editing process done, I think it might actually work–but I’ll thank you nonetheless for bearing with me another month while I do what I can to work out my disgruntlement.

Let’s First Amend This!
…

DEAR DEPUTY WARDEN SUSAN WESSELS,

We are all very frustrated by the lack of effort you’ve been making when it comes to reviewing grievances and policies and answering questions. Though you have asked us to pursue our issues proactively, it seems as though the only effort you are making is to see that the lot of us feel we’ve been ignored.

We have been very clear in communicating that this a problem. And yet you insist on assuming an adversarial position and reiterating inaccuracies while wielding your power.

It is almost as if you believe you’re incapable of mistakes, and able to decipher our concerns without reading them as presented.

To show you precisely the way that this frustrates: Please click on this link to Policy 319.02.01.001. Pleeeeease, Susan. For the love of Christ and all that is holy! All you have to do is click! One miniscule movement! Minimal effort, Susan! Two seconds and you will see the problem we’ve identified and attempted to present to you several times before! Pages 14-21 don’t seem to exist! The link connects to idaho.gov! The policy is dated 2018. Where the **** have you been getting all your information from!?

Susan, please stop ignoring our efforts and put aside some time to review our concerns. I am a firm believer it would do us all some good.
…

WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THE VRC IN OROFINO?!?

Future family mates with loved ones in Orofino have found themselves infuriated over a counseling curriculum that is allegedly being forced onto couples before they can marry.

According to IDOC Policy 311.02.01.001, “IDOC does not provide marriage counseling” and “marriage must conform [only] to the laws of the State of Idaho.”

Among the reading purportedly required by Orofino’s Religious Activities Coordinator (VRC) is a text that has many uniquely enraged.

The following review of Dr. Emerson Eggerichs’ “Love and Respect Workbook (The Love She Most Desires; The Respect He Desperately Needs)” was forwarded from the Idaho Inmate Family Support Group.

“[T]his whole book is built around the idea that all problems in a marriage are because a woman won’t have enough sex with her husband. If a woman would just have more sex with her husband, all problems will be magically fixed… According to this book, a husband has a God-given right to rape his wife anytime he wants. According to the author, that’s what the Bible says…a wife should sexually fulfill a husband anytime he wants, but the Bible doesn’t say anything about how the wife should be sexually fulfilled, so that doesn’t matter. The author is very focused around the topic of sex, and it’s very strange… If you don’t like people suggesting your wife is the source of all problems and the fix is to rape her because God says so, then I don’t recommend this book”

According to an IDOC post titled “October is Domestic Awareness Month,” 1 in 4 women have experienced sexual violence, physical violence, or stalking during their lifetime.

Learn more about domestic awareness @ https://www.thehotline.org/resources/healthy-relationships
…

DID YOU KNOW>>>

For decades, the FBI has refused to include prison-based rapes in their crime statistics.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, roughly 200,000 prisoners are victims of sexual assault every year. But according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, only 139,380 rapes were reported to law enforcement in 2018.

Source: Paul Wright, Prison Legal News, Oct. ’21.
…

DEAR DEPUTY WARDEN NICOLAS BAIRD

Thank you for taking the time process my concerns this month, for providing constructive feedback, and for clarifying which criteria and procedures you’re using for your Ad-Seg decisions.
…

REINTRODUCING JASON HODGE

Before we’re split up for all our proclivities, I’d like to thank Jason for his recent assistance. Together we’ve shared a interest in civic engagement from the most, backwards, assumptive, disappointing example of what’s expected to suborn a human’s healthy transformation–aka administrative segregation, aka restricted housing, aka intensive management, aka solitary confinement.

Those interested in helping network his concerns are invited to reach him through snail mail or JPay.

Here’s another look at the man hard at work.

—

To: Sandi Frelly, Transparency Manager 10-13-21

I put in a public records request to the public records custodian on 10-4-21. I haven’t gotten a response back or request for an extension. The request was for information on how many inmates are currently being held in IDOC custody (to include county and out-of-state placement) that are passed their fixed time and eligible for parole. Please help me with this request. Thank you for your time and consideration.
—

To: Correctional Case Manager Hottinger 10-15-21

Ms. Hottinger, according to policy 607.26.01.014, bullet 14-9, you are to review the parole hearing officer’s recommendation and inform me of the recommendation so I can have the option to respond to the recommendation or not. I would like to respond to the recommendation.

Re: Policy needs to be updated. Pre-hearing investigarors do not give recommendations any more and have not for over a year.
—

To: Grievance/Apppeals Coordinator 10-17-21

I respectfully request a 30 day extension (or however long you deem appropriate) on my appeal deadline for Grievance #IM210000456. My current deadline is 10-21-21. Thirty days is the amount of time it will take me to ascertain where the criteria Deputy Warden Wessels used to satisfy her Level 2 response came from, as it’s currently not found in the scope of the policy cited… Thank you for your time and consideration.

Re: After confirming with the appellate authority, Warden Richardson, your request for an extension is approved.
—

To: Chief of Prisons Chad Page 10-17-21

I was informed you are in charge of SOP management and content. I have a question about the criteria and scope of published SOPs. If the criteria for an SOP is clearly outlined, like for an assessment, can for any reason criteria outside the SOP be used? Thank you for your time and consideration, sir.
—

To: Warden Richardson 10-18-21

I just received my appeal back, sir, and I find it concerning that you didn’t address the body or points within. The Violent Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG) assessment and its scope of criteria is a part of policy. …The whole SOP would have to be revised and published in accordance with SOP 103.003.01.003 to see VRAG applied as it was in my case. To apply it any other way violates Idaho Administrative Code and IDOC’s policy regarding policies. Per existing policy, I do not meet the criteria for a VRAG assessment.
—

“Parole Hearing Interview Packet, Concluding Statement” 9-27-21

[I]t sets a horrible example when those in charge of our corrections can’t even abide by their own rules. The problem has gotten so bad, we are down to just one level of review for our appeals–the warden. We use to have multiple levels of review, one of which was outside the facility in the downtown, central office. Why everything is now only handled in-house and kept from the outside is no mystery…

…That day cost me visibility in my eyes. I have to wear glasses to read now, and my mental health has never been worse! This is a very tense and stressful environment–people are dealing with serious issues–that’s why it’s important for staff to stay calm and professional, and follow policy and procedure. It just happened so fast. I was caught completely off-guard. It has me seriously reevaluating my mental health. These conditions make it hard to focus on healthy transformation.

My mental health is my biggest concern right now. When I got to prison, July of 2017, I was told by IDOC medical provider Corizon that the combination of medications I was placed on at State Hospital South (SHS) isn’t available to me here. So they were discontinued, due to cost constraints–or so I was led to believe. I have to start all over now, settling for whatever the provider can afford. I am actively talking to the B-Block clinician, Mr. Baumgarter, about options for future treatment. He can’t find records or reports from SHS, or any information confirming the medications they put me on. This has me concerned because I would like the use of those medications to be reevaluated in future assessments to see if they may still be an option–or if a generic substitute can be provided–because those medications worked very well, and I just don’t see why I’d have to become a guinea pig again.

Upon release I will be working in recovery and on the board of my family’s nonprofit, Soldiers of Hope. My main focus will be on treating my dual-diagnosis. I have learned I have mental health issues and drugs aggravate my conditions, causing drug-induced psychoses–and so I wish to remain drug free and get my mental health figured out. I want to be as stable as possible, and with all my mental faculties.

Thank you for your time and consideration,
sincerely,
Jason Hodge
…

DEAR DIRECTOR JOSH TEWALT,

Our thoughts are with you and your family. Thank you for sharing your recent experience. We wish you all the best as you work towards convalescence and we hope that you’ve been able to take all the time you need.
…

IN AD-SEG NEWS

The Ad-Seg Step-Down Program, a program used to prepare long isolated residents for general population, has been terminated over an incredibly, horrific and brazen [censored per IDOC policy. If I were to say it, they’d likely censor this transmission, as that has been the case when reporting prior incidents. Though it’s never been hard to fix it in editing, maybe this way you’ll make a few calls.]

Staff have been working hard to see that B-Unit rec cancellations happen less frequently.

Without the staff needed to perform in-person quarterly hearings, case managers have resorted to using the the following questionnaire:

Notice of Hearing

Your are scheduled for an Administrative Segregation hearing this month. Due to the recent COVID-19 concerns and staffing levels, I wanted to give you an opportunity to give me your comments on paper instead of coming up to the office to have a hearing. If you choose to provide me with your comments, you will not be invited to attend the hearing. If I do not hear back from you, it will not be marked as a refusal and an officer will ask you to attend you hearing when we are able to schedule them.

What brought you to Ad-Seg?

What do you hope to happen at this hearing? Where is the best place to house you?

If you were released to general population, would others be safe from you? Would you be safe from others?

Additional comments that you would like us to know:

…

RESIDENT AUDITORS TO PUSH FOR AN OMBUDSMAN

With policies still being used to prevent families from exchanging reports following disturbances and incidents, and the Office of Professional Standards continuing to delay their response to our concerns of misconduct*, our resident auditors have decided to lobby Legislature for an ombudsman.

What they’ll be presenting in addition to the above:

— Disciplinary hearings and appeals aren’t being processed according to policy. For years, residents have been complaining that those who are required to deliberate impartially have openly stated that their practice is not to–that it’s simply not an option to rule against staff. Recorded in hearings and outlined in appeals, this dereliction of duties must come to an end.

— The Department’s ongoing refusal to file signatures of receipt for charitable donations. To file a signature that verifies a charity has been donated to, they say, amounts to an incredibly impractical and monumental task. An estimated hundreds of thousands of dollars have been made in donations, with not one signature filed to show where they went.

— Concerns with public records request. Discrepancies have been identified so frequently that our residents auditors have taken it upon themselves to review all public record requests made by other entities, and share with those entities their questionable findings. Such as this response to a request that returned from Central Office:

“At this time, all facilities have opened up their visiting departments since the Governor Order in March 2020, with the exception of St Anthony Work Camp. St. Anthony Work Camp Visiting Department has been closed since March 2020 and is only remaining closed due to construction. Temporary facility closures can occur due to a variety of health and safety reasons, but visiting has opened in all other facilities.”

What about this response is questionable? It has been confirmed many times over that IMSI has not opened visiting once since the beginning of covid. (The response was returned in such a manner that it couldn’t be sourced. Another request had to be made to identify its origins. We are still waiting for that request to be filled.)

It is also the case that the same public records request, made three different times, is capable of returning three different sets of records. And that specific documents requested have a way of being withheld without the mandatory notice that states they’ve been denied. (Requests for unimplemented versions of policy, for instance, have returned with peripheral information substituted instead.)

If you support the call for a DOC ombudsman, please click here to contact your district reps.

*Ref: Exhaustive Grievances In Summary, FAT Dec. ’19.
…

DEAR CHIEF OF PRISONS CHAD PAGE

Many of your staff go out of their way to treat us with dignity. If you could convince those that don’t to give it a shot once in a while, I’m sure we all would find ways to appreciate it.
…

COOKIES FOR THE INCARCERATED!

For several years fan favorite Mark Renick has worked with St. Vincent de Paul and Team to bring big bags of holiday cookies to those currently residing in the Idaho Maximum Security Institution.

In an extremely classy maneuver, this year Mark and friends have decided to expand Cookies For Max and deliver cookies throughout all Idaho prisons!

With the logistical difficulty of this feat still unknown, we ask that you join us in supporting Mark and his team in whatever way possible.

While volunteers will likely be needed to sort, pack, and deliver bags of cookies, we suspect those unable to physically assist will still be offered the opportunity to transform loose change from their pockets into cheer for our holiday bellies!

Having taken some liberties with this promotion, I must ask that you contact Mark and crew yourself to uncover the means by which this is done. Though I am able to offer to the following contact information, you may also wish to check in with IDOC’s Central Office and ask for recommendations on how to assist this project.

Mark Renick’s Cookies for the Incarcerated (formerly Cookies for Max)

208-477-1006
svdpid.org
systemicchangeofid@gmail.com
…

COVID NEWS

Since the start of COVID, over 48,000 tests have been administered to IDOC residents housed in-state, with no testing taking place throughout 2021 for Idaho prisoners outsourced to Arizona.

Roughly 5,000 residents (a large majority) have tested positive. Some have died–the number is debatable.

Those who missed the first round of vaccinations have been offered another chance. Booster shots are now also being offered, but only for those match a criteria.

The visiting situation remains fluid. Please view the IDOC website for cancellations and closures.

Those with COVID concerns are invited to forward their grievances to:

ACLU Idaho
PO Box 1897
Boise, ID 83701

View COVID numbers here.
…

A MESSAGE FROM KEEFE COMMISSARY NETWORK

We apologize for not getting property orders out to ISCI, NCRC, EBCRC, IMSI, ISCC, SCC, SAWC, NICI AND ICIO.

Like all companies, COVID-19 struck our resident labor force and we had to make the tough decision of whether property was more important than commissary. In the end, we decided that it was more important to process commissary orders than it was property items.

Thank you for your patience as we work through this pandemic together. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.
…

RENICK ON THE RADIO

With almost five years of episodes available for streaming, Mark Renick hosts Victory Over Sin on Boise’s KBXL 94.1Fm, Saturdays at 12:30 pm.

This month Mark welcomed Cindi Real, a reentry advocate working out of the District 3 office with St. Vincent de Paul’s RECON team and Day One Services. Cindi is now coordinating employment opportunities with several businesses suffering from staffing shortages. Those planning on returning to District 3 in the near future are encouraged to contact her through their case managers.

St. Vincent de Paul’s Marketing and Communications Director Mareesa Rule joined Mark to discuss lasting acts of kindness and the importance of listening to people’s experience. Mareesa is looking forward to educating others with informative presentations and a wonderful team.

Learn more about Mark’s advocacy projects @ svdpid.org.
…

INMATE SERVICES AT WORK

10.31.21

Dear Representative Monks,

Trick or treat? I am among the thousands counted as constituents in your district without the right to vote, serving some time in an Idaho prison. Though I am without the ability to mark up a ballot, I happen to be resourceful enough to pursue logical solutions by organizing others within the community. It is with this talent that I appear before you now, to ask as the editor of our Idaho Department of Correction newsletter: To what extent are you interested in the concerns of our corrections community? And, given the opportunity to message our prison families and workers, what would your message be?

Your response will be appreciated.

Thank you for serving Idaho,
Patrick Irving 82431
…

SUGGESTION BOX

I suggest implementing a COVID-proof reflective reading program. One that could be launched for less than a few hundred dollars. One that allows community participation, encourages resourcefulness and rewards critical thinking. Much like the one that I recently designed.
…

Shout out to all our turkeys in Berlin and Frankfurt!

Never again!: “All the Leaves are Brown: A Thanksgiving Origin Story”

“Fortunate Son”
— Creedence Clearwater Revival

Next: First Amend This!: An IDOC Newsletter Dec. ’21

For several years now, fan favorite Mark Renick has worked with St. Vincent de Paul and team to bring the holidays to Idaho’s maximum-security prison with big-a** bags full of beloved Christmas cookies. In an extremely classy maneuver, to be enjoyed by all involved, this year Mark and friends have decided to expand Cookies For Max and deliver cookies to all Kuna Idaho prisons!

With the logistical difficulty of this feat still unknown, we ask that you join us in supporting Mark and his team in whatever way possible.

While volunteers will likely be needed to sort, pack and deliver bags of cookies, we suspect those unable to physically assist will still be offered the opportunity to transform loose change from their pockets into cheer for our holiday bellies!

Having taken some liberties with this promotion, I must ask that you contact Mark and crew yourself to uncover the means by which this is done. Though I am able to vouch for the following contact information, you may also wish to check in with IDOC’s Central Office and ask for recommendations on how to assist this project.

Mark Renick’s “Cookies for the Incarcerated”

208-477-1006
https://svdpid.org/advocacy-systemicchangeofid/
systemicchangeofid@gmail.com
svdpid.org

Thank you for assisting this effort and sharing the link!

Previous: First Amend This!: An IDOC Newsletter, Sept. ’21

WELCOME to the October issue of First Amend This!

This publication provides an insider 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.
…

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 “Q’s for leadership,” and be sure to attend to keep the conversation going.

Offender friends and families are encouraged to join the Idaho Inmate Family Support Group (IIFSG) on Facebook or contact them at idahoinmate@gmail.com.
…

EDITOR’S NOTE

Director Tewalt recently published a particularly powerful, personal experience as a Director’s Update on the IDOC website. Elegantly written, it was an incredibly heart-wrenching matter, and it felt inappropriate to place it in an issue with gripes. I can’t recommend enough that you take the time to check it out. I feel it’s one worth sharing; possibly you will, too.

For those of you noticing this issue was published late, consider it a sign that I need I some time outside my cubby and away from the stick of Deputy Warden Susan Wessels.

Some of you are already familiar with the story of how, three years ago, I participated in an out-of-state, private prison protest that was used as a reason to place me in Max. With three the lucky number, I can now mention how the overwhelming majority involved in that week’s worth of incidents held onto their lower-security classifications after returning to Idaho–including several with infractions that were much worse than mine. For months, one was even able to wash my ad-seg window as an ever trusted janitor with wonderful information.

Needless to say, being singled out really rubbed my feels all wrong.

And I have an amazing memory.

Let’s First Amend This!
…

WHILE NINE FIGURES CAN BE SPENT TO ADDRESS OUR OVERCROWDING, TWO SHITS CAN’T BE GIVEN TO PREPARE US FOR PAROLE

We bring you a Department now deep in crisis, hundreds of millions of dollars are the cost of their peril, with staff-to-resident ratios rapidly rising, more beds are direly needed, and the COVID doth compound…

With $6,000,000 in efforts to mitigate recidivism, $170,000,000 asked for to build a brand new prison, and $5,500,000 withdrawn to deal with understaffing, someone has forgotten to print the goddamn packets that prepare us to be interviewed for that release valve called parole.

Per Policy 607.26.01.014 (Program Management for Inmates), correctional case managers (CCMs) are responsible for distributing Parole Hearing Interview Packets four months prior to their clients’ scheduled hearings.

But according to at least one case manager, who I heard from my cell chastising a neighbor, this particular mandate is strictly ornamental. “Trying to [hold me accountable] for not getting you your packet is like me writing you up for that cover on your lamp…”

For this case manager, the following apparently doesn’t matter: 1) The imprisoned have no influence on the remainder of your life; 2) The imprisoned aren’t paid by the state to not handknit themselves a lampshade; 3) The imprisoned never interviewed to provide their potential caseload with the papers required to reunite them with their loved ones.

What all case managers know is that parole is not a given. It requires a hearing with plenty of planning and relies on the discretion of those who make the Board. Deliberative with details, they require much information; and like other judicial hearings, it’s not to be taken lightly.

Which is why when packets for August arrived in September, several on my unit found themselves in a panic.

CCM Hottinger, I wrote Ms. Hutchins a concern form asking for an extension on…my personal history questionnaire. I woke up for breakfast on the morning of September 16 and it was lying on the floor in front of my cell door. The date it’s due is 9-27-21. That leaves me just 11 days to prepare a whole parole plan and fill out two lengthy and complex questionnaires! If I would’ve just gotten it when I was suppose to…I would’ve had two months [to work on it]. I had to push the issue to even get it at all! I feel a two week extension, all things considered, is appropriate. Don’t you?

The concern was returned with this unsurprising response:

You can take as long as you need but if the [pre-hearing investigator] schedules your hearing and it isn’t ready, that is on you. It does not take more than a few days to complete it if you have prepared for this as much as you say you have.

Though my neighbor is a man who just lost his mother–the person he relied upon to assist with his parole plan–his represents neither an isolated incident nor a special-needs example. Collecting the information required for the parole hearing interview is, in fact, an incredibly tedious process. One that entails collaborative communication between counselors, case managers, families, physicians, landlords and employers–just to name a few. And without access to the internet or reliable use of the phone, it can take several weeks to place your best forward and make the case on paper that you’re ready for parole. Eight working days is not enough time.

The IDOC Parole Hearing Interview Packet has since been transcribed and made available here. If you know of someone soon up for parole, please help prepare them for their pre-hearing interview: they’ll be asked to provide letters of reference and verification; criminal, work, treatment, scholastic and military history; histories from family and/or people they’ll be living with; and prospective employment, housing and treatment programs details–with primary and secondary plans required for all.
…

THE PERSONAL ACCOUNTS WE PURGE FROM OUR RECORDS
by Jason Hodge and Patrick Irving

IDOC records rules have changed. Not long ago the Department discontinued the centralized storage of resident concerns. Several staff were recently asked and said that the forms used to communicate issues are now held only by the person to whom they were addressed. “For no longer than a year,” per the typical response. Once that year is up, unless formally escalated and filed as a grievance–a process many opt to forego for fear of retaliation or a lack of results in the past–all concerns of safety, treatment and procedural confusion are unceremoniously purged from the public domain.

The rule change coincides with new IDOC commitments to operate transparently, as well an a addiction awareness campaign led by prominent members of Idaho media. Though they continue requesting more compassion for the addicted and mentally ill, their coverage shies away from the substandard treatment offered in our prisons.

So how about a better look at who and what we throw away?

8-25-21
To: B- Unit Clinician, Mr. Baumgartner

I would like a form to release my State Hospital South (SHS) records to you for reevaluation. Specifically, I would like to evaluate the possibility of getting back on the medication they put me on. Corizon told me when I got to [the Reception and Diagnostic Unit] they couldn’t afford some of the medication I was on, so I got off. Maybe this new provider won’t sacrifice our health and well-being to save a buck?

Re: Fill this out and just send it back to me so we have it and I will talk to the provider about it.
—

9-2-21
To: Policy Coordinator

Do policies stand as written or can information be added to them to make them fit a situation?

Reply: The answer is ‘no’. Policies are broad statements that generalize the intent of what the agency wants to accomplish. SOPs provide the details of how that intent will be carried out, but still must stay within the same scope.
—

9-8-21
To: CCM Hottinger

According to SOP 607.26.01.014, sec. 14-4, I am to be given a Commission of Pardons and Parole personal history questionnaire FOUR MONTHS BEFORE my parole hearing. I have repeatedly mentioned to you I have a parole hearing in Dec. That’s 3 months away, which exceeds the above mentioned policy. I should’ve gotten the questionnaire around the time you went beyond the scope of written policy to erroneously make a [Violent Risk Appraisal Guide] assessment on me. Could I please get the questionnaire? Thank you for your time and consideration CCM Hottinger, have a great day.
—

9-11-21
To: Clinician M. Baumgarter

Mr. Baumgartner, I did make an issue about my medications when I got to ISCI’s RDU unit in July 2017. I was still on my meds then, and it took a lot of tests and trials over the years to find the right combination that works, so I don’t know why you can’t find anything in the computer. The reason I was given why I could no longer receive “some” of my meds was cost. My family owns businesses and has money. Maybe they can make up the difference? I need to get this figured out to see what my options are. Maybe if I had better control of my mental health, I could make better decisions?

Reply: At this point our only real options are for you to have an initial assessment, send that to the provider and have you seen for med options.
—

9-15-21
To: Correctional Case Manager Hottinger

I still haven’t received an answer back on the concern form I sent you regarding my Personal History Questionnaire Packet. You said it’s not your job to pass [it out], that it’s someone else’s job and you replied back to me with their name. I still haven’t gotten your response or their name. I have an upcoming hearing and would like to prepare for it. I need that person’s name please. Thank you.

Reply: Her name is AA Hutchins. I don’t know what is wrong with the mail because the packet was put in the bag on Monday and my reply on Tues.
—

9-16-21
To: AA Hutchins

Ms. Hutchins, I woke up this morning and found a personal history questionnaire under my cell door. It said it’s due to be turned in by 9-27-21. That is just 11 days away! I am requesting an extension. According to policy 607.26.01.014…I am suppose to receive the questionnaire 4 months BEFORE my hearing. I received it 6 weeks late. Now I only have a week and a half to prepare a whole parole plan and fill out 2 lengthy and complex questionnaires. If I would’ve gotten it when I was suppose to, I would’ve had plenty of time. I need a little more time. Thank you.

Reply: This was discussed w/ CCM Hottinger. [Signed by CCM Hottinger]
—

9-16-21
To: Public Records Custodian

On August 22nd I submitted two (2) separate public records requests to your office. Your office received them on August 24th and granted my requests. The attached form said “you should receive these documents in the mail soon.” I have yet to receive any documents…and would like to know their status. I tried calling your office this morning but couldn’t get through to either number I have. Thank you for your time and consideration.
—

9-22-21
To: Jesse Winkelman, Constituent Services

I just received your response to my public records request dated 9-3-21, which you granted in part and denied in part. In your notice of action you stated you attached the documentation on programs. I never received any attachments. Can you please send me the granted information? I have been getting a lot of granted requests where the documents were to be attached or sent by mail but never showed up. I am still waiting on documents from late August. Might it be best if my family stops by your office and picks up the documents?
—

9-22-21
To: Clinician Baumgarter

Just so I am clear and straight on the issue, Mr. Baumgarter, you can’t find any reports or files (other than what I’ve given you) from State Hospital South on my treatment there, or information on the medications I was on when I entered IDOC July of 2017, nor would any such above mentioned factor in or even be considered if I was to request an initial evaluation? I just want to figure out my mental health, sir.

Reply: Outside of the information on the [pre-sentence investigation report] there is no records of meds or hospital stays. I would include such information in an assessment. However, your current approach to treatment would rely heavily on current reported and observed symptoms*
—

9-26-21
To: Jesse Winkelman, Constituent Services

I was instructed to contact you regarding my two missing public records requests from late August. I still have not received the two requests granted on Augus 24th, but [you said] that you did send them. You are an educated professional and your integrity is not in question. I’m not saying that you didn’t send them, just that I never received them. If I have to pay a charge or have my family stop by and pick them up, that’s good by me. I would just like to resolve this and get the granted documents. Thank you for your time and consideration.
—

Multiply by decades and again by several thousand and you’ll have a vague idea of who and what we throw away.

*Whatever symptoms can be observed floating by a window, three times a week at most, to verify he’s still alive.
…

AN UPDATE ON THE STAFFING SITUATION

Along with new hire and employee retention bonuses, an increase in prison wages appears to be taking effect. Over 130 new applications were reported following a job fair held in September. Though hourly starting wages have been raised from $16.75 to $19.00 for new hires, legislative action will be required to make the pay raise permanent.

Probation and Parole officers, also experiencing staffing issues, were not included in this round of incentives.

According to the Idaho Press, prison workers employed at Ontario’s Snake River Correctional Institution are still making $3.64 an hour more than they would in Idaho.

According to minutes from July’s Board of Correction meeting, the day of their release, workers who started at CS Beef while incarcerated are still making $3.00 an hour more than IDOC’s newest recruits.

Source: Ryan Suppe, Idaho Press, “After Pay Boost, Department of Corrections Sees Applicant Spike.”
…

AN UPDATE FROM DIRECTOR TEWALT

As the state continues experiencing the Delta variant, Idaho has seen COVID-19 cases increase rapidly since July. On July 1st, the state recorded 91 positive cases, and in the month of September, the state averaged over 1,000 new cases per day, with several days nearing the 2,000 mark. As a result, hospitals statewide have become overwhelmed and the state has instituted crisis standards of care.

We’re not immune to what’s happening in the community. Within IDOC, we’ve seen the number of staff testing positive increase significantly. In April, May, June and July, we saw less than 10 cases in each month, but from 8/23-9/23, we had 72 new positive cases [among staff]. That’s 10x the cases we had in July. On the resident side of the house, we saw resident cases stay under 50 for April, May and June. In July the number climbed to 56, and continued climbing to 137 in August, and 156 as of September 24.

Moving forward, you can expect weekly updates out of my office or the Incident Command Team’s. As a reminder(,) we also update the website weekly with figures on testing, positive cases, and vaccination rates.

[Originally posted 9-24-21 on the IDOC website.]
…

COVID NEWS

Since the start of COVID, over 45,000 tests have been administered to IDOC residents housed in-state, with no testing this year for those housed in Arizona.

Last month we incorrectly reported over 5,200 residents have identified positive. The number is believed to have been closer to be 4,200. View IDOC’s current COVID statistics here.

Idaho courts have placed jury trials on hold again. It’s unclear when they will resume.

The visiting situation remains extremely fluid. IDOC’s website should provide the latest news.

Staff are being surveyed to gauge their interest in a booster shot. Meanwhile, several residents who missed out on the first round of vaccinations are still waiting for the follow-up promised in July.

Those with COVID concerns are invited to forward their grievances to:

ACLU Idaho
PO Box 1897
Boise, ID 83701
…

RENICK ON THE RADIO

With over five years of episodes available for streaming, Mark Renick hosts Victory Over Sin on Boise’s KBXL 94.1Fm, Saturdays at 12:30 pm.

This month Mark introduced the newest members of the RECON recovery team, Sara Hill and Carey Weber. Both have extensive experience with individualized reentry work and are excited to work as coaches and be of community service.

Activist author Aaron Kocharski from the Recovery Advocacy Project brought his advocate history and organizational skills to the show. Aaron will be working with Mark in the very near future to organize recovery efforts all throughout Idaho. Learn more about the Recovery Advocacy Project @ recoveryvoices.com.

Learn more about Mark’s reentry effort @ svdpid.org and svdpid.org/advocacy-systemicchangeofid.
…

RESIDENT AUDITING 101

Board of Correction minutes for 2021 are now available. View them online @ www.idoc.idaho.gov/content/directors_office/board_of_correction.

Following months of requests for policy outlining Ad–Seg hearing and release procedures, this response was delivered without attribution: “[The policy] is currently being reviewed and no documents are available at this time.” This is now the third year the policy has been in review.

Per a public records requests for figures pertaining to program funding: “[IDOC] does not receive Federal or State money specific to delivering programs, nor does IDOC cost the program by residents.”

A request for IMSI’s staffing levels returned figures showing 124/167 positions were filled in the month of September. According to IMSI staff, however, there have been days where staffing levels were 55%. A wide array of operational disruptions have us leaning towards the numbers provided by facility staff.

A request for reports pertaining to violent or confrontational incidents at IMSI from Jan. 1 to Aug. 15, after being granted, was lost in the mail.

Same with a request for 2021 and 2022’s fiscal budget.

Constituent Services Manager Jesse Winkelman recommends those with public records concerns contact him directly at 208-658-2134, a number that is not answered when dialed from our facilities.
…

INMATE SERVICES AT WORK

9-19-21

Dear Senator Burgoyne,

Thank you for responding to my last letter with an interest in exploring more correctional programs. Enclosed is one I designed from Administrative Segregation. It cost me practically nothing, and while I continue to shop it around, thus far IDOC has yet to acknowledge the effort or express any interest. Perhaps it would pay for the Department to include community feedback when exploring future options? Please consider the idea as you approach deliberation.

The presentation I’ve enclosed can be found at bookofirving82431.com

Respectfully,
Patrick Irving 82431
…

SUGGESTION BOX

I suggest formalizing the criteria that allows one to choose whether they themselves are to be held to policy, and then making it available for those few to further ignore.
…

Thanks for sticking with me, folks, and for ignoring the fact that I probably missed a few edits.

See you soon.

“Rude Mood”
–Stevie Ray Vaughan (amp) Double Trouble

Next: First Amend This!: An IDOC Newsletter, Nov. ’21

Previous: First Amend This!: An IDOC Newsletter, Aug. ’21

WELCOME to the September issue of First Amend This!

This publication provides an insider 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.
…

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 “Q’s for leadership,” and be sure to attend to keep the conversation going.

Offender friends and families are encouraged to join the Idaho Inmate Family Support Group (IIFSG) on Facebook, or contact them at idahoinmate@gmail.com.
…

EDITOR’S NOTE

Sadly, with this month comes news of a loss. One of our IIFSG admins is no longer with us. At thirty-nine years old, with two kiddos at home and a hubby stuck in Arizona, Kelly was drafted by that all-star softball team in the sky, where she’ll have untethered access to her true crime documentaries, as well as the real-time thoughts of all you heathens who have yet to perpetrate famously.

Says of her friend, Kelly’s fellow admin, Diamond, “A few years ago, right after IDOC moved the first group to Texas, Denise and I put a townhall event together… When we asked for volunteers to help research, Kelly jumped in head first. From then on we became best friends. She lit up the room whenever she walked in. She understood my brain. I feel so lost without her.”

Please join us in extending the warmest of thoughts to Kelly’s family, her friends, and all those in our community who, through her work, she touched.

In Kelly’s name we grind–let’s First Amend This!
…

UNDERSTAFFING UNDERSTATED AND UNDOUBTEDLY UNSAFE

According to email records obtained by the Idaho Statesman, Idaho’s prison workers have been imploring lawmakers to address facility understaffing for months.

With concerns ranging from inmate-to-staff ratios to falling asleep while driving home after working consecutive shifts, they’ve gone so far as to call for the National Guard.

Helping to illustrate their point that current conditions are unsafe for everyone, multiple incidents early August caught the attention of Idaho news.

At the Idaho Maximum Security Institution, the same facility reported by the Statesman to have medical clinicians manning desks meant for security, a clash between 18 residents took place when staff pushed the wrong buttons, remotely unlocking their doors. One week later, according to the Statesman, a paralegal at the Idaho State Correctional Center was hospitalized following a violent attack. The very next day, under the same roof, an incident involving 22 inmates resulted, again, from a simple push of buttons. And though staff were said to have responded immediately to that incident, according to several involved in the IMSI melee, the immediate response that they saw was all of two people–not nearly enough, even with chemical agents, to prevent the ambitious from doing serious damage to each other.

With facility lockdowns occurring more frequently, amenities such as phone calls, showers and out-of-cell time become scarce. What follows is frustration widely felt among residents. The results of which is often predictable, with no shortage of witnesses, warnings and incidents in the past.

In an effort to respond to the staffing crisis, Idaho Governor Brad Little and his Department of Correction have begun boosting hourly pay and offering a range of bonuses. The incentives submitted in the the Department’s fiscal budget on September 1st will need the approval of the Legislature to continue.

Sources: Hayat Norimine, “Female Staffer Beaten by Inmate in Idaho Department of Correction Prison South of Boise “, Idaho Statesman. Ryan Suppe, “Idaho Correctional Officers Getting Pay Bump, Bonuses,” The Spokesman Review.
…

IDOC GRANTS GEO $250K TO CONDUCT EXPERIMENTS ON TRAUMA-AFFECTED CITIZENS

Last November IDOC distributed $1,826,076 in CARES Act grants to several businesses licensed in Idaho. The grants were awarded to applicants whose primary function fit one of three categories: forensic peers, crisis services, and trauma intervention. The funds were to be used over an eighteen-month period to provide services as-needed to IDOC clients. This in attempt to mitigate recidivism and ease carceral overcrowding during COVID.

Of the eight applications selected by department Director Josh Tewalt and Deputy Director Bree Derrick, six were chosen for their peer support services; the other two, selected for trauma intervention.

They are as follows: the Peer Wellness Center–Boise; the Kootenai Recovery Community Center–Coeur d’Alene; the Southeast Idaho Behavioral Crisis Center–Pocatello; the Center for Hope–Idaho Falls; Recovery In Motion–Twin Falls; GEO Reentry Services–Boise; and the Crisis Center of South Central Idaho–Twin Falls.

According to guidelines set forth in the application process, the grants were not be used for alcohol, lobbying, or services not described in the Department’s request for proposals.

Curiously, conducting experiments was not only not restricted, but encouraged to the tune of $250K. That was the amount GEO was awarded to form an experimental group of trauma-affected subjects and use them to test therapies such as Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) and Cognitive Behavioral Treatment (CBT). According to documents obtained by this reporter, GEO’s grant proposal also outlined plans for a control group’s participation in the experiment: “[I]dentified as having trauma-related issues, [the control group] will not receive EMDR treatment and will only participate in the CBT groups provided at [GEO’s] Connection and Intervention Station (CIS).”

Why a Florida-based private prison company currently holding an IDOC contract worth $4.5M feels the need to spend a $250K grant confirming the extensive bank of EMDR findings cited in not just theirs but all IDOC-CARES trauma service proposals isn’t exactly clear. Though one might suspect that by eliminating EMDR treatment for half of their clients, GEO is much more likely to meet the quota outlined in their CIS contract, which allows them to pocket the extra $225,000 previously negotiated as a performance incentive.

One might even speculate that the actual experiment is whether GEO can get away with charging for tier-level treatment the same way they do with their new halfway housing. Their first priority, after all, is taking care of their shareholders who are unlikely to see profit profit margins for halfway treatments as their foe.
…

CORIZON HEALTH IS OUT, CENTURION HEALTH IS IN

IDOC’s medical provider is said to be changing from Corizon Health to Centurion Health on October 1, 2021.

According to Centurion’s website, Centurion is a leading national provider of healthcare services to justice-involved persons across 16 states, including 12 state correctional agencies.

The change in providers comes roughly a year after Corizon Health was purchased by an investment group that specializes in procuring poorly functioning companies and making improvements to upgrade their financial performance.

In November of 2020, Corizon was reported by Prison Legal News to have accumulated 660 malpractice lawsuits in the five years prior.

Centurion, a company with approximately twice as many employees as Corizon Health, has also had its share of heinous claims and lawsuits, to include a least one from none other than Corizon. Amid claims in Tennessee that Centurion has been bid-rigging contracts by paying politicians, Corizon recently filed complaints to the courts stating that the company has been treated unfairly and making accusations of Centurion involvement in scandals.

Though not quite as traumatic as losing your limbs or your loved ones due to the deliberate indifference of doctors on duty–or giving birth to your baby on a concrete slab while the nurse that you’re screaming at writes you up for faking–Corizon’s complaint does raise a few questions. Like how is Centurion bidding so much higher than its competitors and continuing to land contracts in multiple states?

Thus far, Centurion has also replaced Corizon as a DOC medical provider in Tennessee, Missouri, Kansas, Arizona and Florida. And the list of politicians they’ve been contributing to is long. Reading like a “who’s who” of power players in state politics, one can’t help but wonder who they’ve offered to fund here in Idaho.

Sources: Lauren Castle, “New Prison Health-Care Provider Has History of Problems, Donations to Politicians,” azcentral.com. Rudi Keller, “Missouri Prison Healthcare Contract Won By Company Accused of Bid-Rigging in Tennessee,” tennesseelookout.com. Matt Clarke, “Investment Firm Buys Corizon,” Prison Legal News.”
…

A STOCKHOLM ADVOCATE INSTALLMENT

It seems like every month now we find ourselves ignored trying to seek some resolution in the way that we’ve been directed to make the request. After weeks of citing policies and navigating processes our concerns are returned with “Yeah, but so what?” It’s a culture of administrative indifference that we find to be frustrating. And we’re not alone in our frustrations, for staff have to deal with it too.

To illustrate the absurdity of it all, this month we’ve rendered twelve-pages of policy to show how our staff are encouraged to solve their problems at work.

IDOC Policy 203: Problem Solving

Idaho Code Section 67-5315 establishes an employee problem-solving procedure for any nondisciplinary, job related matters.

Here’s how it works:

Upon becoming aware of the job-related problem-solving matter, you have ten (10) working days to hold an informal meeting with your immediate supervisor. If there is no resolution to the matter, the Problem-Solving Request Form must be filed with the appropriate appointing authority within the same ten (10) working days.

Within five (5) working days of receiving the request, the appointing authority will assign it to an appropriate Level One Supervisor. The HRS director or designee and the appointing authority will then determine the appropriate supervisory level to assign based on the issue and availability of the Level One supervisor.

Within five (5) working days, or as amended in writing, after the request for problem-solving is assigned, the appropriate Level One supervisor will hold a meeting, suggest a resolution, and attach a response to the Problem-Solving Request Form before returning it to the problem-solving manager.

If you believe the Level One supervisor’s proposed solution requires further consideration, the Problem-Solving Request Form, Step 3 must be completed within five (5) working days and forwarded to the appointing authority.

Within five (5) working days of receiving the request for Level Two review, the appointing authority will assign the request for problem-solving to the Level Two Supervisor. Within five (5) working days, or as amended in writing, after assignment of the request for Level Two problem-solving, the Level Two supervisor may consult with you and your immediate supervisor separately, and then the Level One supervisor before holding a meeting and/or providing a written response with the Final Decision of the Problem-Solving Process.

If the Level Two supervisor is below the level of the appointing authority, the appointing authority will approve or amend the problem-solving decision developed at Level Two.

The Level Two supervisor will then provide you with a written response, complete Step 3 on the Problem Solving Request Form and submit the completed form, along with the Level Two supervisor’s response and solution, to the appointing authority, who will then forward it to HRS for retention.

This completes the problem solving process.

Unless, of course, you opt for mediation.

Mediation must be pursued in writing at the time of filing (Step 1) or at the beginning of Level Two (Step 3). The written request will be forwarded to the HRS director to review and forward the request to the division chief or designee for approval or non-concurrence.

If a mediator cannot be obtained in five (5) working days, the request to mediate will be declared void and problem solving will continue to the next level.

Should you believe the Department failed to grant a right and/or benefit that Idaho Code Section 67-5316 (1) (b) entitles you to, upon completion of the problem-solving procedure you may appeal the decision to the Idaho Personnel Commission within thirty-five (35) calendar days of the date the problem-solving concluded.

Refer to IDAPA 15.04.01, Rules of the Division of Human Resources and Idaho Personnel Commission (Section 201), and Idaho Code Section 67-5316 for the Appeal Procedure.

Because problem-solving timeframes are designed to expedite the resolution, failure to comply with the timeframes mandated by this policy may result in your loss of the right to continue the problem-solving process.

I mean, c’mon. Is there no better way to inspire problem-solving at work?
…

PRISON FOOD SUPPLY DISRUPTED, PREPARE TO EAT YOUR CELLIE.
by J. Tyler, Dietary Manager

As you may have heard in the news: due to pandemic shutdowns, droughts, labor shortages, shipping port congestion, and a backlog of trucking schedules, the manufacturing and delivery of goods has greatly slowed. And all these factors come at a time when stimulus money has increased consumer demand for goods, so the overall demand is greater than supply, and the U.S. is stuck playing catch up.

What this means for IDOC is that although there is enough food and other consumables available, there isn’t always the full quantity of specific items available to us, and deliveries of certain goods are being delayed.

As we work through this situation (which is expected to last at least through the end of the year), you may see “menu substitutions” at your facility. We will do our best to communicate “menu changes” in advance, but we are often not given advance notice of delivery changes. Please know that I am working daily with “our suppliers” to ensure that our menus have as much variety as possible, and I review every item change to ensure “nutrient standards” continue to be met. There is plenty of “food” to go around, it just may not always be what is on the “standard menu.”

We ask for your understanding and your patience while we serve you new Unknowns.
…

POLICIES, RECORDS AND REASONABLE EXPLANATIONS–JOIN AS WE HUNT FOR THEM IN AUDITING 101.

For all of our up-and-coming auditors out there, we’ve still not been able to obtain an active policy that establishes the criteria and procedures for periodic review of inmates in long-term restrictive housing, criteria and procedures for the release of inmates from long-term restrictive housing, and the guidelines to ensure that RHU residents receive three or more hours out-of-cell time daily.

A recent request for the last available draft of Long-Term Restrictive Housing Policy 319.02.01.003 was returned with a response suggesting one doesn’t exist. We know this isn’t true, for we’ve preciously procured a physical copy of the 2018 document, and it’s referenced by number in the current version of Policy 319.02.01.001.

Another request asking specifically for the guidelines referenced by Policy 319 was returned with a 2011 version of 319.02.01.001, which residents no longer have access to. Which is curious considering how the 2018 version we’re now using is missing the criteria, guidelines and procedures in question.

Public records misdirection and outright refusals are becoming more frequent as we make requests. We’re beginning to suspect that we’re not the only ones misdirected. So, be sure to note if your requests are returned with items missing or with conflicting dates and data.

As a reminder, per Public Records Requests Policy 108.00.01.00, the day-to-day business operations of the Department are to be made available upon request. This includes the Board of Correction meeting minutes, legislation, contracts, budget information, financial records, correspondence, policies and SOPs, program information and program audits.

So if you’re among those who, say, have been refused 2021’s Board of Correction meeting minutes because they have yet to be posted, you might want to try submitting a new request for all the notes, drafts and emails composed at the time of the meeting.

Please note that grievances regarding public records refusal will not be processed, but responded to with this: “[Y]ou have the right to appeal the denial of your request by filing a petition in conformance with the provisions of Idaho Records Law, Title 74, Chapter 1, Idaho Code. The petition must be filed in the Fourth Judicial District Court of the State of Idaho within one hundred eighty (180) calendar days of the date of mailing this notice.”

Resident auditors are asked to keep copies of their findings, as well as their grievances, for future collaborations.
…

COVID NEWS

Since the start of COVID, approximately 43,000 tests have been administered to IDOC residents, while zero have been administered this year to Idaho inmates housed in Arizona. More than 5,200 have identified positive and a total of six deaths have been reported as COVID-related.

Approximately 74% of IDOC residents were fully vaccinated in June. Those who refused the first round of vaccinations were told they’d be offered again in approximately one month. This has yet to happen at IMSI. Other facilities may be waiting as well.

At least 52 of the 410 residents housed at the Northern Idaho Correctional Institution tested positive this month.

It was announced early August by Director Tewalt that the Department will begin pausing demobilization activities to protect from the Delta variant, now found in our facilities. That said, we hear that SICI and ISCI are open for visiting.

ACLU Idaho and the law firm Shearman & Sterling will remain in close contact with IDOC while continuing to monitor all COVID-related issues. Those with concerns are invited to forward their grievances to:

ACLU Idaho
PO Box 1987
Boise, ID 83701

View IDOC’s COVID numbers here.
…

RENICK ON THE RADIO

With over 100 episodes available for streaming, Mark Renick hosts Victory Over Sin on Boise’s KBXL 94.1FM, Saturdays at 12:30 pm.

This month Chief of Prisons Chad Page discussed his path through Corrections to the post he’s at now and shared new approaches being taken by the current administration.

Best-selling author in recovery Jason Combs presented his experience, outlooks, sobriety and faith. Jason currently works with Brick House Recovery, a faith-based center that provides mid-level care for people coming out of residential treatment or incarceration–located in Boise and Idaho Falls. Contact Jason at The Recovery Movement on Facebook or info@brickhouserecovery.com.

Heidi Barker, a recovery coach for St. Vincent de Paul’s RECON program, discussed her recovery coach training, her background, and her long list of qualifications that make her perfect for the job.

Mark works with a reentry effort under an advocacy arm of St. Vincent de Paul. Learn more @ svdpid.org and systemicchangeofid.com.
…

IN THE FORUMS

According to members of the Idaho Inmate Family Support Group, ISCC Warden Ramirez has announced on social media that he and ICSI Warden Christensen will soon be retiring.

It’s said that IMSI’s Warden Davis will then to be moving to ISCI, while ISCI’s deputy warden of operation will be finding a place at IMSI. Meanwhile, the deputy of security from ISCI is expected to move to SBWCC, though it’s not yet clear the position they’re assuming.

It appears we’re preparing to move some more to Arizona. With emails sent and property packed, the number awaiting transit is currently unknown.
…

INMATE SERVICES AT WORK

8-17-21

To: IDOC Executive Financial Officer

I’ve been trying to track down where all our inmate donations go — the property items we “donate” following their confiscation. I recently submitted a public records request for the list of charities we’ve been donating to, the criteria by which they’re chosen, and at least one receipt showing a charitable transaction has taken place. My public records request was returned with “no records found.” Can you please help me understand this? We’ve done a great deal of “donating” for an awful lot of years, and it seems rather odd there are no records to be found.

–Patrick Irving 82431
…

MORE ON IDAHO’S PRISON PROBLEMS

Feel free to check these links for some additional perspective.

Idaho Inmate Family Support Group
idahojusticeproject.org
jailmedicine.com
idahoprisonarts.org
idahoprisonproject.org
svdpid.org/advocacy-systemicchangeofid
idahoprisonblog.blogspot.com
www.idoc.idaho.gov
…

That it’s for the month. Thank you again for your audience. Stay out of trouble the best that you can and we’ll do it again in October.

Wake Me Up When September Ends
— Green Day

Next: First Amend This!: An IDOC Newsletter Oct. ’21

[This is not my official proposal, but it’s enough to get one started if they want to do their own.]

This proposal requires minimal assistance and can be scaled to adjust from one single participant to the entire population of any DOC.

Some variation of this proposal will soon be submitted to the Idaho Department of Correction in effort to address and meet the following needs of their Close Custody and Restricted Housing Unit residents: 1) the need for opportunities to engage in constructive behaviors; 2) the need for positive reinforcement and encouragement from peers and unit staff; 3) the need to explore relationships with community partners and peer support networks prior to being released from prison. An emphasis must be placed on need three’s importance, as those who are released with their sentences terminated are much less likely to be referred to resources for crisis intervention than those who are released under the Department’s supervision.

Note: Among my peers this program is referred to as a project. Because the word “program,” in prison, comes with negative connotations, and because Idaho prison programs are not known to be inclusive; they tend to only accept participants that match a certain criteria.

This project aims to be open to Everyone.

The pilot was conducted for $150: $100 in books, $50 in correspondence — with book donations resulting from correspondence.

Those who are incarcerated with access to a library can pilot their own version for no cost at all.

Here’s how it works:

One reads through materials with restorative properties — therapeutic, educational, explorational, etc.– and then reflects through reports how the materials affect them. Having internalized and extrapolated in the name of convalescence, they then pass the product on to their case manager, asking them to file it as a signal that they’re being productive. Once filed it remains in their record to be referenced in the future for interviews and hearings (disciplinary, Board, Ad-Seg, worker, classification, program, etc.).

Below is an example of one of my reports.
—

Patrick Irving 82431
8-13-21 08:48

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

This book was donated by idahoprisonproject.org, to assist with the reflective reading program I’m piloting from Ad-Seg.

Finding it important to absorb as much perspective as possible, I can say that I very much valued this 1963 bestseller, “written as two letters but best read as essays,”* by a Harlem-raised, civil rights warrior. His critical examinations, ranging from society to the Church to the Black Panther Party, were passionate and insightful and presented without anger. For me, this book illustrates the danger of propelling generalizations and, quite brilliantly, frames the anguish of what a spiraling nightmare it is to be the victim of rationales used to justify indignities — whether it be those who’ve survived cell B54 at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution, or those who’ve found themselves drowning in a system of arbitrary constructs used to promote love with hate and waste away the human resource.

Possibly not a read one would expect from me, the way that I’ve been labeled in IDOC computers. But that’s only because the Department’s never asked whether I come from a friendly, refugee-hosting, agnostic/church family, or how far we’ve gone out of our way to welcome Vietnamese, Congolese and Rwandans into our home.

Definitely a read I’d recommend to my peers.
—

Of the materials below, chosen for my trial, several were donated by a Dean’s List university student studying in Idaho to work for Probation & Parole. Others were purchased upon suggestions from behavioral health specialists and IDOC CARES grant recipients. A forum of justice-affected families and their proponents also contributed recommendations, several of which were picked for the peer support component: having been shared among their group already, the group is prepared to encourage their loved ones to read and discuss the materials they recommended. Yet more contributions came from idahoprisonproject.org, a Christian radio program that addresses incarceration and reentry, multiple prison book programs, the author’s friends and family, a South Carolina poetry review, and one Princeton University Associate Professor.

Not listed are books from my facility library, as this author was punitively restricted from accessing all library materials for a period of 90 days during the course of this trial.

The Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz
Prisons and Prison Life: Costs and Consequences by Joycelyn M. Pollock
Homeward: Life in the Year After Prison by Bruce Western
Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys by Victor M. Rios
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction by Gabor Maté, MD
Where to Draw the Line: How to Set Healthy Boundaries Every Day by Anne Katherine M.A.
The Soloist by Steve Lopez
The Girl in My Wallet by Teresa Nickell
We Are The Ones We Have Been Waiting For: The Promise of Civic Renewal in America by Peter Levine
Civic Activism Unleashed: New Hope or False Dawn For Democracy by Richard Young
Social and Cultural Anthropology: A Very Short Introduction by John Monaghan & Peter Just
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: Caught in the Aftermath by Sheila Bruno
Asheville Poetry Review by Various Authors
The Everything American Government Book by Nick Ragone
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Automating Inequality by Virginia Eubanks
The First Civil Right: How Liberals Built Prison America by Naomi Murakawa
Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics by Richard Thaler

ADDITONAL NOTES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

DOCs may wish to consider incentivizing staff to become familiar with program participants and selected materials, so as to engage in brief yet thoughtful exchanges that help one reflect and further expound.

Case managers should introduce their caseload to this project with an “optional” reading list and simple set of instructions. Instructions should encourage also logging reads not on the list. Case managers should be given a shelf or a box for selected materials, so that they and not the library are responsible for meeting requests. Case managers should be encouraged to engage in brief yet thoughtful exchanges while collecting returns and delivering materials.

Discussion groups should be encouraged but not required.

Peer and staff reviews should also be encouraged but not required, so as to help expose the simplicity of the program and percolate interest among populations socially. A simple signature on a submission would suffice as a review. But it doesn’t matter who the signature belongs to, or if they actually reviewed. What matters is the interaction that takes place during the signing helps to expose and normalize the project, seeding future participation and discussion among peers.

DOCs already working closely with peer support, community networks are encouraged to solicit participation and support, suggestions and feedback.

Program participants, including staff, should be permitted to contribute materials to the program. This with the understanding that a voting, lottery or review system may need to be implemented to choose which contributions will be stored in the space allotted for their materials.

All questions, critique, and comments are welcome.

*Quotes belong to the peer that contributed the book.

“All the Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands”
–Sufjan Stevens

IDOC Division Chief of Prisons Chad Page informed IDOC’s resident population April 30 and again on June 17, 2021 that IDOC requirements for book vendors were changing. This change has not been reflected on IDOC’s website, nor has the change made several years ago that since has allowed for hardcover books. As a result, books sent in from peer and family supporters, ministries, schools and organizations are being returned without notice to the intended resident recipients.

Please take notice of the following memo if you’re looking to support our residents with books.

[A personal note to Princeton Professor M.– No need to worry, I’ve arranged for your books. It was a wonderful surprise. Thank you very much!]

MESSAGE REPOST MEMO 4/30/21 FROM CHAD PAGE, CHIEF OF PRISIONS – APPROVED VENDORS FOR BOOKS

April 30, 2021, Offender Population
Chad Page, Chief of Prisons, Approved Vendors for Books.

Due to places such as Amazon Marketplace, Bargain Books Store, and Barnes and Noble allowing 3rd parties to have access to incoming books, we have seen a large increase in contraband.

Starting June 1, 2021, all books and magazines must come from one of the approved vendors listed below, or directly from the publisher.

This notice will allow you 30 days (April 30th through May 31st) to notify your family of these changes. After May 31st, all incoming books from outside these vendors, and books that arrive without a receipt or invoice, will be returned to sender in accordance with SOP 402.02.01.001 Mail Handling in Correctional Facilities, Section 18.

Edward R Hamilton
Discover Books [Update 7/31/2024 – Discover Books appears to be out of business]
More than Words
Prison Book Program
Books to Prisoners

Vendors added on 7/15/2022:

Books a Million
Books N Things
Sure Shot Books

Vendors removed on 7/15/2022:
ThriftBooks

As of 2024, hardback books are no longer allowed.

If you have books sent in through a religious ministry, the ministry must be listed as the publisher on the book.

Educational textbooks — facility Education departments will assist residents with the purchasing of necessary textbooks for course work.