Showing posts with label accreditation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label accreditation. Show all posts
Friday, June 15, 2012
ACA Hosts SIX Sustainability Workshops at this Year's Summer Congress
ACA is going"Green" at this summer's Congress with SIX workshops on sustainability topics. From a facilitated workshop on sustainable projects around the country to saving $1000 per inmate these are sessions you won't want to miss.
Don't forget to come to the conference in time to attend the "Clean and Green" committee at the Convention Center on Saturday at 1:30. Check the program for the room number. We will be making new proposals for the committee to submit to President Epps when his term begins in January. And remember vendors are always welcome to join us.
Once again GreenPrisons will pair up with the North American Association of Warden's and Superintendents (NAAWS) for a place to meet and greet. Come by the NAAWS suite in the Hyatt Regency starting Saturday night to meet the largest group of senior decision makers in corrections. If you are not familiar with NAAWS you can learn more at www.corrections.com/NAAWS. If you're not a member consider joining.
More next time on our growing program for the 2nd National Symposium on Sustainability in Corrections. Watch www.GreenPrisons.org for more information on the Symposium.
Monday, April 9, 2012
April Webinar Delivers Strategies to Generate More Revenue from Recycling and Advantages of Green Cleaning
Join GreenPrisons on Wednesday, April 11 at 11 AM EST for our next webinar in our Sustainability in Corrections series. This month we focus on materials management and specifically on ways to maximize the revenue generated from recycling efforts and the fundamentals of cleaning with green chemicals and why they are so well suited for the corrections environment.
Clayton Campbell of PABS Management will discuss strategies for increasing your revenue from recycling and reducing cartage fees by managing the institution waste stream more effectively.
Burt Klein of PortionPac chemicals will explain the fundamental advantages of cleaning with green chemicals. PortionPac has a history of working with corrections since 1985 and has been a major supporter of the accreditation process as well as providing training programs for offenders who use PortionPac products.
To register go to www.GreenPrisons.org and click on the webinar article.
Clayton Campbell of PABS Management will discuss strategies for increasing your revenue from recycling and reducing cartage fees by managing the institution waste stream more effectively.
Burt Klein of PortionPac chemicals will explain the fundamental advantages of cleaning with green chemicals. PortionPac has a history of working with corrections since 1985 and has been a major supporter of the accreditation process as well as providing training programs for offenders who use PortionPac products.
To register go to www.GreenPrisons.org and click on the webinar article.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
A Conversation With Sarah Patterson of Lettuce Grow
I recently had the opportunity to have a long conversation with Sarah Patterson of LettuceGrow.org. This innovative program with its roots in Oregon has the potential to grow into a national movement. OK I'll quit with the puns now, because this unique approach to inmate horticulture programs has more than proven itself in the Oregon Department of Corrections.
In a nutshell it has taken the standard inmate horticulture program and turned it into a certification program with the local university agricultural extension office "Master Gardener" certification program. The Oregon program provides fresh vegetables for the institution food service operation, producing a healthier, less expensive diet.
In addition to the produce, inmates are involved in a 400 hour, nationally recognized certification program. Graduates of the program learn skills they can take back to agriculture, plant nursuries, or their own backyard garden.
You can learn more about this innovative program at www.lettucegrow.org and hear a live presentation by Sarah at this year's National Symposium on Sustainability in Corrections.
In a nutshell it has taken the standard inmate horticulture program and turned it into a certification program with the local university agricultural extension office "Master Gardener" certification program. The Oregon program provides fresh vegetables for the institution food service operation, producing a healthier, less expensive diet.
In addition to the produce, inmates are involved in a 400 hour, nationally recognized certification program. Graduates of the program learn skills they can take back to agriculture, plant nursuries, or their own backyard garden.
You can learn more about this innovative program at www.lettucegrow.org and hear a live presentation by Sarah at this year's National Symposium on Sustainability in Corrections.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Upcoming Events
We have a busy two weeks ahead. The latest edition of the newsletter will be out this week and we are currently finalizing the detail on our next webinar, Feb 15. Be sure to register soon as slots are limited and they are filling up quickly.
As we noted in the last blog we had a busy week at ACA. We learned this week that the workshops GreenPrisons was involved in were the best attended of the conference reflecting the growing interest in sustainability by the corrections community. We have been asked to propose additional workshops for the Congress in Denver. If you would like to join us and talk about your sustainability program let me know ASAP. Our proposals are due to ACA by Feb 13.
Registration for the 2nd National Symposium on Sustainability in Corrections is now open. That means you can also propose a workshop and if it is selected you can attend the Symposium for free. If you have any questions give me a call at 859-629-6116.
If you have a program you would like featured on GreenPrisons.org be sure and send an email to info@GreenPrisons.org
As we noted in the last blog we had a busy week at ACA. We learned this week that the workshops GreenPrisons was involved in were the best attended of the conference reflecting the growing interest in sustainability by the corrections community. We have been asked to propose additional workshops for the Congress in Denver. If you would like to join us and talk about your sustainability program let me know ASAP. Our proposals are due to ACA by Feb 13.
Registration for the 2nd National Symposium on Sustainability in Corrections is now open. That means you can also propose a workshop and if it is selected you can attend the Symposium for free. If you have any questions give me a call at 859-629-6116.
If you have a program you would like featured on GreenPrisons.org be sure and send an email to info@GreenPrisons.org
Thursday, January 19, 2012
GreenPrisons Is At ACA Winter Conference
Greetings from Phoenix! GreenPrisons arrived in beautiful Phoenix this afternoon, the weather is great and folks are starting to stream in. This year's Winter meeting will have a minimum of four workshops on sustainability. The idea is catching on. GreenPrisons will also be providing training on the new standard on sustainability giving accreditation auditors first hand information on the background of the new standard and ways agencies can demonstrate their compliance.
On Wednesday, January 18th GreenPrisons launched our 2012 webinar series with Paul Sheldons "Seven Steps to Sustainability in Corrections". Pauls "7 Steps" will serve as the outline for the series. Join us on Feb 15 to look at energy and lighting.
Our January newsletter will be delayed slightly so we can bring you all the information from this year's Winter Conference.
Registration is NOW OPEN !!! for the Second National Symposium on Sustainability in Corrections. Register early to get the discounted rate and possibly win a free registration. The call for presentations is also out and we encourage you to propose a workshop and share your experiences with sustainability. Check out the GreenPrisons homepage for registration information.
Watch for more updates from Phoenix!!!
On Wednesday, January 18th GreenPrisons launched our 2012 webinar series with Paul Sheldons "Seven Steps to Sustainability in Corrections". Pauls "7 Steps" will serve as the outline for the series. Join us on Feb 15 to look at energy and lighting.
Our January newsletter will be delayed slightly so we can bring you all the information from this year's Winter Conference.
Registration is NOW OPEN !!! for the Second National Symposium on Sustainability in Corrections. Register early to get the discounted rate and possibly win a free registration. The call for presentations is also out and we encourage you to propose a workshop and share your experiences with sustainability. Check out the GreenPrisons homepage for registration information.
Watch for more updates from Phoenix!!!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
GreenPrisons Announces New Webinar Series
As promised before we took a little break at Christmas, we are back with our popular webinar series beginning Wednesday, January 18 at 11 AM EST. This first webinar will kick off the series exploring the Seven Steps to Sustainable Corrections developed by Paul Sheldon.
This is one you won't want to miss because we will outline how you can learn ways to begin saving your institution money and resources tomorrow!!! In the following months we explore each one of the Seven Steps in depth with presentations by practitioners and providers of the technology.
Based on requests we received from a number of vendors who would like to share information with you about their products and services we will offer them the opportunity to have exclusive vendor webinars. If you would like more information on how you can schedule a webinar contact me at Tommy@GreenPrisons.org.
We will continue to offer these webinars as a free service to the corrections community if we can get support from advertisers. If you would like to sponsor one or more webinars and help support this effort please contact me.
Finally, if you are going to be at the winter conference of ACA be sure and come by the Clean and Green Committee meeting on Saturday at 1 PM in room 122B of the convention center or visit with us in the NAAWS suite and learn more about their upcoming conference in Springfield, MO in April.
If you would like to present in a future webinar please shoot me an email at Tommy@GreenPrisons.org or call me at 859-629-6116.
This is one you won't want to miss because we will outline how you can learn ways to begin saving your institution money and resources tomorrow!!! In the following months we explore each one of the Seven Steps in depth with presentations by practitioners and providers of the technology.
Based on requests we received from a number of vendors who would like to share information with you about their products and services we will offer them the opportunity to have exclusive vendor webinars. If you would like more information on how you can schedule a webinar contact me at Tommy@GreenPrisons.org.
We will continue to offer these webinars as a free service to the corrections community if we can get support from advertisers. If you would like to sponsor one or more webinars and help support this effort please contact me.
Finally, if you are going to be at the winter conference of ACA be sure and come by the Clean and Green Committee meeting on Saturday at 1 PM in room 122B of the convention center or visit with us in the NAAWS suite and learn more about their upcoming conference in Springfield, MO in April.
If you would like to present in a future webinar please shoot me an email at Tommy@GreenPrisons.org or call me at 859-629-6116.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
ACA Passes Standard and Policy Statement on Sustainability
As many of you who follow this blog regularly know, I chair the "Clean and Green" committee of the American Correctional Association and in another life was the Accreditation Manager for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
The charge for our committee has been to help educate the corrections community about the advantages of using sustainable practices and products in the correctional environment. We have sought to do that in a number of ways including coordinating last April's issue of "Corrections Today" which focused exclusively on sustainability.
However we felt like to bring about meaningful change in correctional practice, it was necessary to find other ways to promote sustainability. Our committee is fortunate to be made up of some of the most experienced and thoughtful practitioners in our business, and it was decided in committee that we should ask the appropriate sanctioning bodies in ACA to approve a policy statement on sustainability so that everyone, both inside and outside of corrections, could know that ACA was taking a leadership role in this important endeavor. This effort was led by former Secretary of Corrections for Louisiana Richard Stalder and former Commissioner of Corrections for Kentucky, John Rees. Because of the efforts by these two gentlemen we were successful in accomplishing our goal in our first 18 months of existence.
While the Policy Statement is too long to list here, you can access it from the ACA website or follow this link http://http//aca.org/government/policyresolution/results.asp?PoliciesAndResolutionsYMGHFREName=environmental&sortfld_360=Name&reversesearch=false&viewby=50&union=AND&startrec=1
Based on my experience as Accreditation Manager for the Bureau it has been my experience that most folks involved in accreditation typically don't go out seeking more standards to have to demonstrate compliance with. However, I think accreditation managers will quickly understand that rather than having created a complex standard that requires pages of documentation all this new standard requires is that the agency demonstrate that they have explored the feasibility of pursuing sustainable practices during the period of accreditation.
A review of the standard language follows or you can access it from ACA's website as well:
The facility/agency shall demonstrate they have examined, and where appropriate and feasible, implemented strategies that promote recycling, energy and water conservation, pollution reduction and utilization of renewable energy alternatives.
If the agency is not currently involved in any sustainable practice to be compliant all they must document is that they have explored what might be possible. For those agencies already engaged in sustainable practices, documentation of compliance is even easier.
To learn more about this new standard and how to demonstrate compliance be sure to come by auditor training at the ACA Winter conference on Tuesday morning, January 24. I'll be doing a one hour presentation on the standard and how to evaluate compliance. You don't have to be an auditor to attend. Attendance is open to anyone attending the conference.
Since I'm writing this the Monday before Thanksgiving it seems appropriate to wish all of you the best of holidays, enjoy your family and friends and check back in here next week for our latest update.
The charge for our committee has been to help educate the corrections community about the advantages of using sustainable practices and products in the correctional environment. We have sought to do that in a number of ways including coordinating last April's issue of "Corrections Today" which focused exclusively on sustainability.
However we felt like to bring about meaningful change in correctional practice, it was necessary to find other ways to promote sustainability. Our committee is fortunate to be made up of some of the most experienced and thoughtful practitioners in our business, and it was decided in committee that we should ask the appropriate sanctioning bodies in ACA to approve a policy statement on sustainability so that everyone, both inside and outside of corrections, could know that ACA was taking a leadership role in this important endeavor. This effort was led by former Secretary of Corrections for Louisiana Richard Stalder and former Commissioner of Corrections for Kentucky, John Rees. Because of the efforts by these two gentlemen we were successful in accomplishing our goal in our first 18 months of existence.
While the Policy Statement is too long to list here, you can access it from the ACA website or follow this link http://http//aca.org/government/policyresolution/results.asp?PoliciesAndResolutionsYMGHFREName=environmental&sortfld_360=Name&reversesearch=false&viewby=50&union=AND&startrec=1
Based on my experience as Accreditation Manager for the Bureau it has been my experience that most folks involved in accreditation typically don't go out seeking more standards to have to demonstrate compliance with. However, I think accreditation managers will quickly understand that rather than having created a complex standard that requires pages of documentation all this new standard requires is that the agency demonstrate that they have explored the feasibility of pursuing sustainable practices during the period of accreditation.
A review of the standard language follows or you can access it from ACA's website as well:
The facility/agency shall demonstrate they have examined, and where appropriate and feasible, implemented strategies that promote recycling, energy and water conservation, pollution reduction and utilization of renewable energy alternatives.
If the agency is not currently involved in any sustainable practice to be compliant all they must document is that they have explored what might be possible. For those agencies already engaged in sustainable practices, documentation of compliance is even easier.
To learn more about this new standard and how to demonstrate compliance be sure to come by auditor training at the ACA Winter conference on Tuesday morning, January 24. I'll be doing a one hour presentation on the standard and how to evaluate compliance. You don't have to be an auditor to attend. Attendance is open to anyone attending the conference.
Since I'm writing this the Monday before Thanksgiving it seems appropriate to wish all of you the best of holidays, enjoy your family and friends and check back in here next week for our latest update.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Academia Where Are You??
As a correctional practitioner for some 40 years I have had the opportunity to watch the profession evolve in a number of ways, most of them positive. The advent of accreditation, objective classification systems, unit management, etc., are all excellent examples of how the corrections profession has responded to new challenges.
In every instance these changes have been studied, dissected, and tested through academic study by institutions of higher learning. the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and some foundations have provided incentives to colleges and universities to study, evaluate and report on each of these then emerging trends.
So where is the support for sustainability? I beleive the evolution of sustainable and "green" practices is the next major step in the corrections profession. It does all the things we say are important; it saves money, has the potential to train inmates; and improves the enviornment thus the institution's relationship with the community, yet so far research on this emerging phenomenon has been limited.
With the exception of a couple of programs, Evergreen College in Washington state and the University of Arizona come to mind, the academic community has been silent. It is time, whether supported by the alphabet soup agencies in Washington or not, for academic institutions to begin to introduce the topic of sustainability into their curriculua.
It's obvious that corrections will continue to compete for fewer and fewer dollars as goverments work to overcome deficits. Those systems that have embraced sustainability have discovered that they can not only save money but in some instances create new funding streams (see the interview of Commissioner Bruce Lemmon of Indiana and our latest webinar that includes a presentation by the National Correctional Industries Associations' Wil Heslop).
Academic programs can no longer focus exclusively on the social sciences to develop tomorrow's correctional managers but should also be including the physical sciences, business and similar courses to provide a well rounded education.
At GreenPrisons.org we invite academic programs to join us in sharing what they are doing to better prepare tommorow's correctional leaders. If your university or criminal justice program has begun to include courses on sustainability or has partnered with a correctional agency to study their efforts, let us know. Academia has a significant role to play in promoting good sustainable practices in correctional management.
Academia where are you???
In every instance these changes have been studied, dissected, and tested through academic study by institutions of higher learning. the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and some foundations have provided incentives to colleges and universities to study, evaluate and report on each of these then emerging trends.
So where is the support for sustainability? I beleive the evolution of sustainable and "green" practices is the next major step in the corrections profession. It does all the things we say are important; it saves money, has the potential to train inmates; and improves the enviornment thus the institution's relationship with the community, yet so far research on this emerging phenomenon has been limited.
With the exception of a couple of programs, Evergreen College in Washington state and the University of Arizona come to mind, the academic community has been silent. It is time, whether supported by the alphabet soup agencies in Washington or not, for academic institutions to begin to introduce the topic of sustainability into their curriculua.
It's obvious that corrections will continue to compete for fewer and fewer dollars as goverments work to overcome deficits. Those systems that have embraced sustainability have discovered that they can not only save money but in some instances create new funding streams (see the interview of Commissioner Bruce Lemmon of Indiana and our latest webinar that includes a presentation by the National Correctional Industries Associations' Wil Heslop).
Academic programs can no longer focus exclusively on the social sciences to develop tomorrow's correctional managers but should also be including the physical sciences, business and similar courses to provide a well rounded education.
At GreenPrisons.org we invite academic programs to join us in sharing what they are doing to better prepare tommorow's correctional leaders. If your university or criminal justice program has begun to include courses on sustainability or has partnered with a correctional agency to study their efforts, let us know. Academia has a significant role to play in promoting good sustainable practices in correctional management.
Academia where are you???
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Greetings from the 141st Congress of ACA
We just rolled into the ACA Congress this afternoon and already have had the opportunity to talk with former KY DOC Commissioner of Corrections John Rees and representatives of Portion Pac chemicals.
One of our goals this week at the conference is to expand the involvement of Jails in the accreditation process by providing training and technical assistance to initiate the process. Much of this effort will focus around the control of toxics, caustics and flammables.
Tomorrow we are scheduled to meet with a number of current and former commissioners/directors to learn how Greenprisons can support/contribute to sustainable efforts in corrections.
Watch for more updates from Portion Pac, Solaris, ESG, Johnson Controls and ICON in the coming days.
Let us know what you would like to know about what is going on at ACA this summer
One of our goals this week at the conference is to expand the involvement of Jails in the accreditation process by providing training and technical assistance to initiate the process. Much of this effort will focus around the control of toxics, caustics and flammables.
Tomorrow we are scheduled to meet with a number of current and former commissioners/directors to learn how Greenprisons can support/contribute to sustainable efforts in corrections.
Watch for more updates from Portion Pac, Solaris, ESG, Johnson Controls and ICON in the coming days.
Let us know what you would like to know about what is going on at ACA this summer
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