EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S ANNUAL MEETING REPORT

The Pennsylvania Prison Society is doing well.

The number of new and renewing members is up more than 60 percent over this time last year and dues collections have almost doubled.

We now have 360 official visitors and have added conveners in Schuylkill, Lebanon, Pike, Jefferson and Wayne counties.

Financially, our budget for the coming fiscal year has surpassed the million-dollar mark for the first time. But we expect that closing on several projects in the next couple months will push us beyond $1.5 million - that's more than a 50 percent increase over the past year.

In the program area, we are this week launching the Virtual Visitation program that has been discussed for so long. Families in the Philadelphia area will be able to have televised visits from our office to inmates as far away as Erie. In addition, we are exploring a subsidized busing program that will take families from Philadelphia to just about every prison in the state for virtually no cost.

Our re-entry services program is reaching more ex-offenders than ever before. During the first eight months of the fiscal year, we exceeded the total number of clients for all of the prior year.

And, we continue to be pursued by the Department of Public Welfare to create a special program for ex-offenders who are currently receiving public assistance.

Our Parenting program began one year ago in 16 of the state prisons. So far, 580 inmates have completed the courses and another 205 are currently enrolled. As impressive as all these numbers are, however, they really don't convey the impact or tell the human part of the story. Let me read to you two short passages from grateful participants:

Said one -

I have so much to be thankful for because before I entered the parenting class, me and my family weren't on speaking terms. But now we're not only speaking, but both sides are willing to work out whatever problems may exist.

Then, another -

Thank you for helping me deal with an ugly side of me that I had been afraid to face for many years. It took so long and a program like parenting helped me face my fears. This boy, me, trying to be a father to three children, would not have made another round if it would not have been for this program.

My friends, these are the words of hard men, living in tough times, under harsh conditions. I think they speak to the level of accomplishment envisioned in the PPS mission.

In all of our programs, we have been diligently seeking to instill professionalism. Our goal is not to provide minimal levels of service but to aim for best practices in all we do. Program Director Melissa Crabbe works tirelessly at this and always manages to stay in good humor. We are developing and copyrighting curricula for our Parenting program, our Reentry program and our STEP program.

And, further along these lines, this year we began to evaluate our own performance. In the first extensive assessment of our STEP program, we asked the prison officials to grade this three-year-old program for elder inmates. We were pleased that scores ranking the quality of various individual and group services fell in the 3.4 to 3.6 range with 4 being the top. But we are also delighted to have received so much feedback, which is now being used to make revisions to our program.

Doug Albertson, who has been running this program since its inception, is constantly challenged by the need to provide uniformity in group programming while accommodating the individual needs of aging inmates. Information from this survey has been a big help to Doug in identifying areas of program improvement.

Last year I spoke about us emphasizing restorative justice. Today, I'm pleased to tell you that we have been creating a new and expansive line of restorative justice programs. We are fortunate to have on our staff Barb Toews Shenk, who has the training, experience and contacts to direct this initiative. Among the projects she is developing are:

• A collaboration with Mennonite Central on a nationwide survey of restorative justice practices.



• A perpetuation of the Day of Responsibility event, which was so successful, last fall at SCI Dallas.



• A workshop series designed to build understanding of restorative justice principles among long-term offenders.



• And, a limited but exciting partnering with the Office of Victims Advocate which will enable us to play an important role in supporting prisoners who participate in the state's mediation program.

Our advocacy, too, has been steadfast and successful, although there is always room for more. By increasing the number of our chapters and providing regional as well as statewide training for official visitors, we have been upgrading the level of performance at local and state prisons. Our Volunteer Committee has produced a new tracking sheet for visitors and we hope to use these reports to identify trends and be better able to press for improved conditions.

At the state level, of course, there was a change in leadership at DOC. Thus far there has been no discernible difference in the operation of the system or in our relationship. Secretary Beard met with our board and conveners in March and impressed most with his knowledge and honesty in responding to our questions.

In recent months, it seems there has been an increase in the department's responsiveness to our advocacy. I can tell you, for example:

• At our request, a Latino inmate was transferred from Pine Grove to Mahanoy so that he could be closer to his aging parents.
  
• Based on our report, a unit manager at a northeastern prison was suspended for mistreating several inmates.
  
• Following a conversation at the Conveners Conference, a contract physician was terminated at an eastern prison.
  
• And, joy to the world, a truly obnoxious front desk sergeant, who by virtue of his union clout made life miserable for all official visitors, is now assigned to perimeter patrols at a western institution. This reassignment followed several complaints from us.

The significance of these items, I believe, is that they indicate a measure of access. When the Prison Society takes an issue to DOC, it is taken seriously. We are heard. And, we get action - well, sometimes, at least. I know of no other advocacy group that has more influence than the Prison Society.

In the broader arena, we remain steadfast in support of a moratorium on the death penalty. We are doing media tours with small, upstate newspapers; continuing our involvement with an interfaith coalition, and doing speaking engagements with a variety of social action organizations.

We also are moving forward with an initiative to gain parole eligibility for life-sentenced prisoners in Pennsylvania. We are pursuing a low-keyed strategy aimed at building a level of influential support for the concept before advancing it to public scrutiny.

In both cases, these issues still require some time. We continue to advance them knowing that the current administration, which has taken such an intractable stance on our issues, is coming to an end.

You'll be glad to know that I am also coming to an end to these remarks. But before I do I want to say a word about where we are headed.

I see three priority initiatives that the agency will address in the coming year.

One is to make a dramatic improvement in the level of our external communications. This will occur through improved production of our newsletter and our website, and more frequent and more strategic outreach to media.

Second is a commitment to find a way to increase the availability of college level education in our state prisons. Frankly, it's a disgrace for a civilized society to admit that it knows the most effective way of reducing recidivism and then refusing to implement it.

Last, and by no means least, is a focus on re-entry. This is a major issue confronting our nation. PPS will seek to expand its programming in this area and to generate greater public awareness of the importance of this issue.

I said at the outset that the Prison Society is doing well. There is a vibrancy and vitality at the agency which is not what you might expect at the ripe young age of 214. My sense is that we are just reaching the fullness of our maturity.

Finally, I want to thank you for your support. We would have accomplished nothing without it. I look forward to working with you in the months ahead.