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 2010 YEARBOOK - OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

STANDING PROUD.

VISION: The Department of Corrections will create a culture that empowers individuals, encourages teamwork, employs best practices, and embraces diversity.

VALUES:

 

MISSION STATEMENT: “The mission of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections is to protect the public, the employees, and the offenders.”

Contents:

Historical Highlights

Foreward

Board of Corrections

Employee and Volunteer Awards

Executive Staff

Director’s Office

Employee Rights and Relations

Executive Communications

General Counsel

Internal Affairs

Administrative Services

Treatment and Rehabilitative Services

Community Sentencing and Offender Information Services

Field Operations

Female Offender Operations

Institutions

Operational Services

Private Prison and Jail Administration

Community Corrections

Charts and Statistics

Budget Information

Agency Directory

 

History

January 10, 1967 is an important day in corrections history. It was on this date that Governor Dewey Bartlett made a historic announcement in his Legislative address, when he said: “I have had prepared for introduction, today, a bill creating a new Department of Corrections. This bill has been prepared, after consultation with leaders of both Houses of the Legislature. It is a joint recommendation of your leadership and the administration. Briefly, this bill provides for the creation of a new state Corrections Department, consisting of a state Board of Corrections, a state director of Corrections, and three divisions: a Division of Institutions, a Division of Probation and Parole, and a Division of Inspection. The Division of Inspection will perform duties of the present Charities and Corrections Department.”

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Foreword

Welcome to a brief and partial review of history for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections in the form of this 2010 Yearbook. This is a unique way to capture portions of our history now, so questions such as who was in charge of our industries program and what did it look like, can be answered in future generations. Eventually, some information in these yearbooks will be incorporated into the next edition of our history book. For many years, our department has been nationally recognized for being one of the most efficient and effective correctional systems. This has been reinforced through comprehensive audits, legislative interim studies and a host of other reviews. This is a reflection of our dedicated professional employees’ “can do” culture and ability to overcome obstacles, and is supported by the narratives and photos contained in this yearbook. Years from now, the next generation of correctional employees can look at these reports to garner an improved understanding of progress and history. Also, because it will be on the website, anyone can access our history for research, studies, school assignments and an array of other possible usages. A sincere thanks and a wealth of gratitude is extended to all of our employees for making 2010 another safe and productive year. Although budget reductions placed many hardships on employees, the department continued to be a national leader in relation to key quality indicators of a well-managed correctional system.

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Board of Corrections

The Oklahoma Department of Corrections was created by legislation in 1967, and in that legislation, the State Board of Corrections was created to be the governing board of the Department. The legislation stated that the Board shall consist of seven members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. One member shall be appointed from each congressional district and any remaining members shall be appointed from the State at-large. The term of appointment is six years and the terms are staggered. No more than four members of the Board shall be of the same political party. Vacancies on the Board are filled for the unexpired term. Board officers include Chairperson, Vice-chairperson, and Secretary, which are filled annually. The Board normally meets monthly with the Director to review the administration and activities of the Department. The meetings are conducted in accordance with Oklahoma’s “Open Meetings Law.” In addition to tours of facilities taken in conjunction with regular Board meetings, Board members are encouraged to conduct at least one unannounced visit to a facility or district probation and parole office per year. The power and duties of the Board include the following:

Members:

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SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARDS

2010 Correctional Officer of the Year Larry C. Barker Correctional Security Officer III Sayre Community Work Center Northwest District Community Corrections

Corporal Barker began his career with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections in 2006. He is a graduate of Snyder High School. He has since attended Applied Leadership and CLD classes. Once he has taken the Basic Instructor Development, he would like to help teach classes for co-workers. Corporal Barker has served as Caustic/Flammable Control Officer since 2007 and during this time he set up an efficient system for tracking/controlling supplies and organized the vehicle maintenance files to improve routine and preventive maintenance on facility vehicles. Both contributions have resulted in increased efficiency and decreased costs. Corporal Barker communicates well with offenders, job supervisors and co-workers. He represents the agency well as he serves in the community as past president of the Chamber of Commerce, Rodeo Association, Lion’s Club and the American Legion.

2010 Correctional Officer Supervisor of the Year Cory E. Ketch Correctional Security Manager II Mabel Bassett Correctional Center

Captain Ketch began his career with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections in 1998. He is a graduate of Checotah High School. His knowledge, experience, and skills in responding to critical incidents serve as an excellent example of the role of a correctional officer supervisor. He has received facility meritorious service awards for his heroic efforts and life-saving measures involving suicide attempts by mental health offenders. During his 10 years at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center, Captain Ketch’s ability to bring order and direction to chaotic situations, professionalism, integrity and effective communication skills have proven to be an asset as he works with co-workers and offenders. Captain Ketch also serves as a member of the Booster Club of Bethel High School where he assists in raising funds to provide equipment and resources for the youth in the community.

2010 Probation and Parole Officer of the Year Nathan A. Rhea Probation and Parole Officer II Tulsa County District Community Corrections

Nathan A. Rhea, Probation and Parole Officer II, Tulsa County District Community Corrections is the Agency Probation and Parole Officer of the Year for 2010. Officer Rhea began his career with the Department of Corrections in April 2007. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Sociology/Criminology from the University of Oklahoma in 2005. He is now working on his Graduate degree in Human Relations at the University of Oklahoma – Tulsa campus. Officer Rhea is a dependable professional who is willing to help others on his team and, as a result, is highly respected by his peers, supervisors and clients. In addition, he conducts an average of 25 discretionary home visits each month. The large number of letters in support of his nomination substantiates the proficiency he demonstrates on the job and the reputation for excellence he maintains. Officer Rhea is certified as a Self Defense Instructor and OC Instructor for the agency. He was also selected by the Drug Court Team to attend the National Drug Court Conference in June 2010. Officer Rhea volunteers in his church, is a member of the National Helping Individuals with Criminal Records reenter through Employment Network (H.I.R.E. Network), and participated in the Hurricane Ike disaster relief efforts in Galveston.

Outstanding Employee of the Year Judy H. Brinkley Medical Services Treatment and Rehabilitative Services Division

Judy Brinkley is a nurse with the heart of a nurse. She volunteers her time to offer care to others in the community. She is also a wife and mom who cares for her family. Ms. Brinkley has been the "tip of the spear" for the Department of Corrections in the development and implementation of an electronic health record. Ms. Brinkley researched and developed work flows and templates for Department of Corrections medical processes, and developed dozens (if not hundreds) of forms and other methods of electronic documentation. Ms. Brinkley has worked long hours providing training for users. She has then gone home at night and made improvements in the process to allow for better ease of use. Ms. Brinkley has been available for consultation with users and has also worked closely with the vendor, encouraging a better and better product.

Professional Excellence Recipient Rita Cooksey John Lilley Correctional Center Field Operations Division

Rita Cooksey is a lifetime member of the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice, a member of Oklahoma Correctional Association and American Correctional Association. She is an active volunteer at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, providing many hours of service to the museum annually. Most impressively, Rita has established and held the "Kids At Risk Rodeo and School Supply Giveaway" for the past 15 years. Originally held in Spencer, Oklahoma, Ms. Cooksey expanded the rodeo to include the Boley area last summer, providing more than 35 children with school supplies and self confidence! Approximately 75 children were involved at the Spencer, Oklahoma location. Ms. Cooksey has been actively working for parity in the area of Female Corrections for many years and has served on various task forces to enhance this area of corrections. Rita Cooksey is a 29-year veteran with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. She has an extensive correctional background including positions in Institutions, Probation and Parole, Training, House Arrest, Community Corrections and Administrative experience. Ms. Cooksey has faced many challenges within the department and has met each challenge with determination and a positive attitude. Over the years. Ms. Cooksey has established a network of alliances throughout state government and is able to call on them for information or assistance at a moment's notice. When Ms. Cooksey was assigned as deputy warden at John Lilley Correctional Center, the employees embraced her openness and her professional manner. She has improved the classification audits, organized job assignments, assisted with transition to a secretarial pool and has generally been a cheerleader for the staff as well as offenders.

Medal of Valor Recipient Donnie R. Martin Community Sentencing/Offender Information Services Division

August 21, 2009, at approximately 6:15 p.m., Donnie Martin was traveling south on US 75 in a State vehicle as he returned from a day of work in Tulsa to his assigned office in McAlester. He observed a vehicle in front of him, traveling in the same direction, move to the west shoulder and then into the ditch. No brake lights were noted. Donnie lost sight of the car over the crest of a hill but saw the top of a tree shake from an impact. He pulled over to the shoulder, turned on the emergency flashers, and called 911. He then proceeded to the sight of the crash. Donnie observed that a fire had started in the engine compartment of the wrecked vehicle and that the driver was still in the car. He returned to the State vehicle, retrieved the fire extinguisher, and attempted to put out the fire. The extinguisher depleted before the fire was completely out. After determining the male driver was the only occupant of the vehicle, Donnie checked the neck of the driver for a pulse and found none. He reported that information to the 911 operator and passed his phone to another person to maintain contact. Donnie then attempted to open the driver's side door but found it was jammed. Next, he tried, unsuccessfully, to pry open the door with his hands. Donnie then returned again to his vehicle to search for a tool to help with the door. Finding nothing, he went back to the wrecked car and continued attempts to open the door. Another man showed up with a digging bar, which was used to pry open the door. By this time, the inside of the car was filling with smoke. Donnie, along with the other passerby, removed the victim from the car, placing him a safe distance away. At this time, law enforcement arrived and instructed Donnie and his assistant to move the victim further from the vehicle. After doing so, Donnie left the immediate area so that CPR could be administered and he could relocate the State car to make way for emergency respondents arriving to extinguish the flames fully engulfing the wreckage and to administer further life-saving measures. Despite the efforts of employee Donnie Martin, the victim, unfortunately, died at the scene from massive injuries sustained in the crash. While Donnie's day-to-day duties as a computer programmer are important to the agency, he does not normally encounter life-or-death situations. On an ordinary workday, happenstance placed Donnie at the scene of a crisis. At great risk to his own personal safety, he did not hesitate to attempt the rescue of a fellow citizen. Donnie maintained a clear head and did everything within his power to ensure the survival of the driver and the safety of the scene.

Volunteer of the Year John Easley, Founder GENESIS ONE NETWORK

GENESIS ONE NETWORK, founded in 2000, is a Christian, faith-based reentry program that links an offender's personal growth and positive development while inside to the availability of resources on the outside. A spiritual transformation is essential to the successful transition from incarceration back to society. Genesis One's chapters within DOC facilities develop individual Life-Plans for its members that encourage change and growth in the important elements of their life: Spiritual growth, vocational growth, educational growth, living skills, positive behavioral change, as well as preparing them for successful reentry. All members are required to attend weekly group accountability sessions. G-1's Life-Plan utilizes all available programs and drives up the attendance in each: faith-based programs and DOC sponsored programs. Genesis One's outside team partners with those that can provide resources to Genesis One graduates as they are released. These resources include housing, employment, food and clothing banks, substance abuse recovery programs, legal, medical, and church/mentors. The overwhelming positive relationships with G-1 graduates have created a very receptive resource base.

2010 Teacher of the Year Phil Collins Howard Mcleod Correctional Center

Phil went to work for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections in 1984 as a Food Service Supervisor. He had worked his way through college as a food service worker, and was a full time supervisor upon graduation. His plan was to pass his probationary period, and then transfer to the education unit. Unfortunately, his plan didn’t happen any time soon. He spent seven years as a food service worker before he could even get an interview with the principal. In retrospect, those seven years grounded him in corrections. In December of 1991, Phil transferred into the Education unit as a teacher. In the past twenty years, He have taught ABE, GED, Literacy, and facilitated College courses. He assessed new receptions at the reception facility, and spent time managing the correctional library. He is currently the facility’s GED Examiner. He has fulfilled whatever role or duty was necessary to serve our students. Phil spent twenty-two years working at a men’s medium security facility and the last five years at a men’s minimum security facility. He has seen corrections change from a “lock them up” mentality to a perspective that says we need to effect change while we have the opportunity because a large percentage of our clients will be returning to their communities.

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Executive Staff

Organizational Chart

Director’s Office

Justin Jones, Director
The Director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections is the agency’s chief executive administrator and is responsible for the overall management and administration of the agency. The position provides the leadership and vision for the agency and is appointed by the Oklahoma Board of Corrections. The Director’s Office is comprised of the Director, an Administrative Assistant and two Executive Assistants. Other positions that directly report to the Director are as follows: Associate Director of Field Operations, Associate Director of Administrative Services, Deputy of Community Corrections, Deputy Director of Treatment and Rehabilitation Services, Deputy Director of Community Sentencing, Administrator of Internal Affairs, General Counsel, Civil Rights Administrator, and Administrator of Executive Communications.

Executive Assistant - Pam Ramsey
Pam Ramsey serves as Executive Assistant and is responsible for providing administrative support to the Director and ensuring the administrative day to day operations of the office, which includes communication and interaction with legislative leadership, government entities, the public, and executive and senior level personnel; handling of sensitive and confidential information; preparation of reports and correspondence; coordination of special projects and activities, and other duties to assist the Director in carrying out his responsibilities. She also serves as the liaison to the Oklahoma Board of Corrections.

Executive Assistant – Neville Massie
Neville Massie is an Executive Assistant to the Director. Her primary responsibility is to serve as the agency’s liaison with members of the legislature, legislative staff, and other governmental agency employees; as well as external civic and professional organizations.
Ms. Massie monitors legislation that may impact the department, solicits legislative initiatives from agency Executive Staff and represents the department at legislative committee meetings. She provides regular legislative status reports to the Board of Corrections, department Executive Staff and Upper Management staff.
In an effort to increase legislator’s knowledge and understanding of agency operations and issues, she coordinates facility tours for legislators and their staff.

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Employee Rights and Relations

Employee Rights and Relations – Elvin Baum, Administrator
The primary focus of the Employee Rights and Relations Unit (ERRU) is to serve the employees of the agency by providing technical expertise regarding the department’s affirmative action plan and assistance in adherence to employment related rules/ regulations, policies, procedures, laws, and agency practices. The unit provides training and development to all employees and supervisors on Civil Rights rules, regulations, policy procedures and laws, aids in conflict resolution, provides mediation information, and assists in resolving issues and conflict informally.
The Unit investigates formal discrimination grievances which come under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, sexual harassment, Americans with Disabilities Act complaints, cultural diversity and other related issues. In addition, the Unit assists all facility Affirmative Action Committees with problem solving, training, current information and updates. In addition, ERRU have written articles for “Inside Corrections” pertaining to Workplace Violence and “Stress.” By writing these articles, the unit has the opportunity to keep staff informed and aware of workplace issues.
The unit consists of team members, Joyce Perry, Civil Rights Administrator I, Kim Moon, Secretary V, and Elvin Baum, Civil Rights Administrator, and is available to any staff member and/or members of the public who may have questions or in need of information pertaining to the services provided.

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Executive Communications

Executive Communications – Joyce Jackson, Administrator
The Office of Executive Communications serves as the central point of contact for information about the Oklahoma Department of Corrections and its facilities to the media and the general public. The mission of the Office is to provide accurate and timely information to build public support and enhance public awareness, while promoting positive change.
This office is responsible for media relations, various informational publications and reports, to include facility brochures, fact sheets and the production of the Department’s quarterly magazine, Inside Corrections. This also includes the planning and implementing of special projects and numerous training events.
The Office of Executive Communications is responsible for the Department’s historical archives, the production of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections History Book and the implementation of Leadership Academy, which is the nation’s first citizen’s academy for corrections.
This office also provides a variety of communications services to the staff as needed. The Office of Executive Communications staff is creative and proficient at problem solving and generating communications that engage and inform various audiences.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

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General Counsel

General Counsel – Michael T. Oakley, General Counsel
The Office of General Counsel acts as the primary liaison with the Attorney General’s office in matters of civil litigation when the agency or its employees are sued. The Office represents the agency at Merit Protection Commission hearings and Risk Management, oversees the submission of agency administrative rulings until finalized by the Office of Administrative Rules in the Secretary of State’s office responds to Offender Lawsuits (assigned by the Attorney General’s Office), reviews all private prison contracts, assists in gathering information for the Attorney General’s Office, reviews all formal discipline action, assists employees in preparing for depositions and trial and gives legal advice to agency upper management as needed.
The Administrative Review Unit is responsible for reviewing, investigating and responding to offender misconduct and grievance appeals, which are submitted to the director for final review. This review is considered to be the last step in the internal administrative process. Offenders are required to exhaust their administrative remedies prior to filing litigation in the court system. The review conducted at both the facility and departmental level assists in preventing unnecessary litigation. Hundreds of offender letters are received in Administrative Review every year with a response forwarded for each one received. This unit is also responsible for conducting training for all staff involved in the disciplinary process, and continually conducts pre-service training in the disciplinary and grievance processes. The unit serves as a contact point for field staff, family members and legislators who have questions regarding the department's disciplinary process and grievance process.

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Internal Affairs

Internal Affairs – Johnny Blevins
The Internal Affairs Investigation Unit is responsible for conducting both procedural and criminal investigations under the authority of the Director. Investigations encompass matters concerning offenders, employees and other identified criminal activity which impacts correctional operations. During CY 2010, the Investigation Unit was assigned 194 investigations and 70 preliminary Inquires. The unit completed 282 total investigations presenting 60 cases to the District Attorney of jurisdiction for the filing of criminal charges. As a result of their assignments staff also completed 33 forensic computer audits and 13 polygraphs.
The Fugitive Unit is comprised of agents dedicated to the apprehension of DOC escapees and offenders who have chosen to abscond parole supervision. Agents are also called upon to assist Probation and Parole Officers with the apprehension of offenders with a violent history as well as to assist the US Marshal’s Violent Crime Task Forces. In January 2010, the DOC lifetime fugitive list identified 85 total DOC fugitives. During CY 2010, the fugitive hotline added 173 escapes (144 escapes from community corrections, 29 from minimum security with no escapes from medium or maximum security) and 57 offenders who absconded parole. Assigned agents apprehended 119 DOC escapees and parole absconders while 112 additional fugitives were apprehended by various law enforcement agencies across the nation. The assigned agents assisted Probation and Parole Officers with the apprehension of 59 offenders and assisted the US Marshal Task Force with the apprehension of 67 fugitives. Additionally, this unit completed 19 out of state transports.
The Intelligence Unit is responsible for continuous collection, evaluation, collation and analysis of raw information into meaningful intelligence for correctional action. The Intelligence Unit also registers offenders as Security Threat Group members. To date, 1,627 offenders are registered. The unit develops on-line training available to all staff, trains at the DOC pre-service academy, produces a monthly Intelligence Bulletin and has conducted training at numerous facilities/districts as well as outside law enforcement agencies.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

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Administrative Services

Administrative Services – Linda Parrish, Deputy Director
The Division of Administrative Services consists of the following units:

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

PERSONNEL
20 Year Retirement and Voluntary Buyout
July 1, 2010, marked the 20th anniversary of the agency’s Hazardous Duty (20-Year) Retirement Plan for Correctional Officers, Probation and Parole Officers, and Fugitive Apprehension Agents. A Director’s News Update was issued on June 20 reminding employees that according to Oklahoma Statute, contribution at the higher rate (8%) was for a maximum of 20 years. Following that, the employee must return to the OPERS standard contribution rate of 3.5%, which would result in a net increase to their monthly take-home pay.
Identifying affected employees proved to be a manual task, as no automated reports were available from OPERS to identify the employees to be converted each payroll period
Staff in the central Personnel and Information Technology units spent several months developing reports and researching time/leave and payroll records. As anticipated, the first month for conversion (July) proved to include the most employees with 75. To date, a total of 142 employees have been returned to the standard retirement contribution rate.
During calendar year 2010, the agency processed a total of 253 Voluntary Buyouts (VOBOs). The first group (Spring 2010) was funded by the department and included 60 employees. This VOBO did not require that employees be retirement-eligible; resignations were accepted for those employees who wished to participate and receive the severance benefits.
The VOBOs offered for July and December 2010 were funded by the Voluntary Buyout Reimbursement Revolving Fund authorized in HB 2363. In order to qualify for this buyout, employees had to be full-retirement eligible (with no reduced benefit) as of the VOBO date designated by the agency. This resulted in a additional 193 VOBO retirements.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Network Expansion and Improved Security
Network bandwidth expansion was completed in 2010 for all 17 institutions, all Oklahoma City locations and selected Community Corrections Centers. This expansion enabled DOC to implement or increase the use of the following applications and functions:

The improvement in the network has resulted in more efficient operations, maximum utilization of personnel (medical, escort, etc.) increased use of distance learning, efficiencies in parole board hearings and savings in fuel costs.
In addition, security was improved with the implementation of encryption of laptops and flash drives. New procedures and equipment for secure access to DOC resources were put into place. The annual information security audit resulted in the best rating in the history of the audits. Information security awareness was also stressed through education, facility audits, and e-mail blasts of information security tips.

CONTRACTS AND ACQUISITIONS
On-line Posting of Solicitations
The development and implementation of the system for online posting of in-house competitive solicitations on the DOC website has had the biggest impact on the purchasing process during calendar year 2010. During 2010, the Contracts and Acquisitions Unit developed a standardized solicitation template that incorporates necessary terms and conditions to ensure compliance with purchasing statutes. The template provides a standardized format for all in-house solicitations, which eliminates confusion and frustration on the part of vendors. Along with the development of the template, the contracts and Acquisitions Unit also worked with the Information Technology division to establish the technical requirements and process for posting all of the in-house solicitations in one location on the DOC website. This allows a centralized location for vendors to go to and see all current DOC in-house solicitations. The website also allows them to download and print the solicitation documents if they are interested in responding to a particular solicitation. Prior to this online system being developed, DOC Buyers would have to print and then fax or mail out the entire solicitation package to each suggested or potentially interested vendors. The new system has made the process much more efficient and eliminated direct printing and paper costs.

DEPARTMENTAL SERVICES Accounts Payable and Auditing Accounts Payable staff scans all vouchers and invoices into the PeopleSoft accounting system. This replaces the previous assembly system in which all vouchers and the original invoices had to be attached, folded, batched and sent to the Office of State Finance daily.
The Internal Audit Unit scheduled and conducted 60 audits during the period of July 2010 to April 2011. Audit planning and risk assessment utilizes key performance indicators such as ratio analysis, trending and other auditing tools and techniques available to measure economy, efficiency and effectiveness of key areas of agency operations.

TRAINING AND STAFF DEVELOPMENT
Relocation of Training Academies
The Oklahoma Correctional Training academies at Wilburton and Norman were closed and relocated to the Department of Public Safety in Oklahoma City in May of 2010. Office space at DPS had to be totally renovated prior to occupancy. This was accomplished utilizing inmate labor with supervision by training staff at a nominal cost to the agency. All furniture, equipment, files, etc. were moved from Wilburton and Norman to Oklahoma City. The total move was accomplished in one month by training staff at minimal cost to the agency. The move also required a revision to training schedules in order to accommodate the limited training and dormitory space while continuing to meet the needs of the agency.
Additionally, as part of the contract with DPS, the training unit was tasked with opening and operating the kitchen/dining hall at DPS to provide meals for DOC and DPS trainees. Funds generated from these meals help defray DOC’s cost for office, classroom and dormitory space. Classes held at the academy since the move to DPS include:

The closing and relocating of the two training academies was accomplished with a significant reduction in training staff due to staff retirements during this period of time. Although 14 staff left the agency, the remaining staff continues to provide quality training programs and customer service to the agency. Reorganization is on-going and will continue in 2011 with the goal of ensuring continued development of staff and optimum class offerings.

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Treatment and Rehabilitative Services

Treatment and Rehabilitative Services – Kenny Holloway, Deputy Director
The Division of Treatment and Rehabilitative Services is responsible for the provision of medical and mental health services for all offenders incarcerated in the Department of Corrections. Medical and mental health staff is assigned to all facilities to ensure appropriate access to these services. The Division maintains four infirmaries and three mental health units.
The Programs Unit oversees all offender programs to include drug and alcohol treatment and adult educational services. Educational services include literacy, adult basic education, GED, and college courses. Drug and alcohol treatment programs include cooperative agreements with the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, as well as RSAT programs funded by grants through the District Attorney’s Council. Career and Technical training programs allow offenders the opportunity to acquire work skills and Reentry programs focus on the offender’s employment, housing, treatment aftercare, and other services vital to successful return to the community.
Religious and Volunteer services provides oversight and coordination of the many volunteers who provide religious and program services to the offender population. These volunteers form a critical partnership with the Department of Corrections providing thousands of hours of support each month. The Victim Services unit is committed to assisting victims of crime by providing information related to the custody and status of offenders who are incarcerated or under the supervision of the agency.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

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Community Sentencing and Offender Information Services

Community Sentencing and Offender Information Services – Sharon Neumann, Deputy Director The Community Sentencing and Offender Information Services Division administers the provisions of the Oklahoma Community Sentencing Act (22 O.S. §988.1-.24). Positioned between probation and prison on the criminal justice continuum, Community Sentencing provides the courts an innovative punishment option for non-violent offenders. Assessment, supervision, and treatment are combined in a manner that directly confronts criminal behavior and protects public safety.
In each county, a planning council, a group of citizens and elected officials specified by law or appointed by the chief judge of the judicial district, plans the local Community Sentencing system and with the assistance of the Community Sentencing Division locates treatment providers and resources to support the local system. The partnerships among the Department of Corrections, the local Community Sentencing systems, and the contractors providing services for participating offenders characterize this “¢ents-able” community punishment sentencing option.
The division is also responsible for the development and maintenance of COMIT, the offender information management software supporting case planning linked to identification of criminogenic needs, the Statewide Automated Victim Information and Notification (SAVIN), and a web based vouchering system for offender treatment services. In March 2010, Community Sentencing and Offender Information Services assumed responsibility for the grants administration unit.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Highlights
On February 22, 2010, production of the movie “Heaven’s Rain” began at OSP. This is a film on former Senator Brooks Douglas in relation to his family’s disaster many years ago.

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Field Operations

Field Operations – Edward Evans, Associate Director Organizational Chart

The Division of Field Operations is comprised of Female Offender Operations, Institutions, Operational Services, Private Prisons and Jail Administration, Procedures and Accreditation, Safety Administration, and Dietary Services.
These entities provide direct supervision of all agency institutions, to include both male and female offenders at minimum, medium, and maximum security, and death row, as well as female offenders under community corrections supervision; three contract private prisons housing Oklahoma male offenders and oversight of the remaining three private prisons which contract for out-of-state offenders; in addition to offenders in contract county jail programs. The division also oversees classification and population, Central Transportation Unit (CTU), sentence administration and offender records, sex offender registration, Agri-Services, Oklahoma Correctional Industries, and construction and maintenance.
Field Operations Administrative staff work closely with members of the legislature and their staff, other state agencies and law enforcement entities, as well as members of the public to respond to questions and provide information on agency-related matters and offender specific concerns.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

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Female Offender Operations

Female Offender Operations – Laura J. Pitman, Ph.D., Deputy Director
Organizational Chart

The Oklahoma Department of Corrections established the Division of Female Offender Operations in December 2008. This division faces a unique challenge. While the division is responsible for all operational issues associated with the oversight of female offenders from reception through reentry at two correctional centers, two community corrections centers, one community work center, and two contract residential centers, the division also has a parallel mission. The division’s parallel mission is to “Reduce Oklahoma’s female incarceration rate to at, or below, the national average while protecting the public, the employees, and the offenders.”

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Eddie Warrior Correctional Center – Mike Mullin, Warden

Dr. Eddie Warrior Correctional Center (EWCC) is on the original site of the Indian Mission School Haloche Industrial Institute in Taft, Oklahoma. In 1909, Stephen Douglas Russell founded the Deaf, Blind, and Orphan Institute (DB&O) which housed deaf, blind, and orphaned children. From 1909 until 1961, the DB&O Institute was self-sufficient. The state operated children’s homes under many different names until May of 1986 when legislative action transferred the facility to the Department of Corrections. The facility became the George Nigh Staff Development Center handling the department’s pre-service and in-service staff training. During the 1988 special legislative session, called to address prison overcrowding, the center was designated as a minimum security prison for female offenders.
EWCC is named after Dr. Eddie Walter Warrior, business manager for the DB&O Institute.
EWCC houses minimum-security female offenders. The facility is divided into two general population units and the Regimented Treatment Program (RTP), a 12-month military-style program with substance abuse and domestic violence components added to address addiction and family violence issues. The RTP unit is housed in one of the original buildings built for the DB&O Institute in 1909.
The Helping Women Recover program is a 60-bed, gender-specific program designed to meet the treatment needs of female offenders who are addicted to alcohol or drugs. The program is funded through private grant funds and, in its current form, has been in operation since October 2009. The program offers trauma informed substance abuse treatment, early childhood development classes, domestic violence classes, cognitive restructuring, anger management and relapse prevention. The program utilizes a combination of full and part-time licensed therapists who provide 11 hours of weekly group therapy along with individual therapy and treatment.
In January 2010, the department contracted with the University of Cincinnati to evaluate the program using Evidence Based Correctional Program Checklist (CPC). The objective of the assessment is to conduct a detailed review of programming and services offered to offenders and to compare the practices with the research literature on best practices in corrections. The Helping Women Recover program was the first gender-specific program in the country to rate in the “highly effective category” in a correctional setting. To date, approximately 200 offenders have successfully completed the program.
Namesake Eddie Warrior
Eddie Warrior was appointed business manager for the Deaf, Blind, and Orphan Institute by Governor Roy Turner. Warrior was later promoted to principal and subsequently to superintendent of the Taft School System in 1961. The E. W. Warrior Junior High School was dedicated in his honor in 1979. He retired in February, 1979, after 18 years of service. He died in June, 1979.

Mabel Bassett Correctional Center – Millicent Newton-Embry, Warden

The Mabel Bassett Correctional Center is the only maximum security institution for women in the state of Oklahoma. The center was originally located in northeast Oklahoma City, adjacent to the Department of Corrections Administration Building. Opened as a community treatment center in January 1974, the center was changed to a medium security facility in 1978. In 1982, Mabel Bassett was converted to include maximum security. Offenders assigned to Mabel Bassett range from minimum security to Death Row.
Additionally, Mabel Bassett Correctional Center supervises the security of all Department of Corrections offenders requiring hospitalization, through an agency contract with the OU Medical Center. The unit also supervises the holding area where offenders from all Department of Corrections facilities are held awaiting medical appointments at the Medical Center.
Mabel Bassett Correctional Center houses the Assessment and Reception Center for females incarcerated in the state of Oklahoma. Mabel Bassett Assessment and Reception Center (MBARC) is a maximum security unit that receives females sentenced to prison by the courts. During the reception period that ranges from approximately ten to thirty days, staff determines, through various assessments, which Department of Corrections facility the offender will be assigned to and what program criteria they meet.
In 2009, Mabel Bassett Correctional Center entered into a collaborative effort with the VERA Institute of Justice, New York, in its Family Justice Project, an initiative to develop tools to improve family and social networks, community involvement, and government resources relative to successful re-entry.
Relational inquiry tools were developed through offender interviews and administrative staff work groups which were implemented by case management staff in 2010.
In November 2010, Margaret diZerega, Family Justice Director of Training and Technical Assistance, and Lily Brent, Family Justice Training and Technical Assistance Coordinator, conducted follow-up interviews and distributed a survey to approximately 150 offenders, as well as provided updated training to staff in the use of the relational inquiry tools.
Highlights
The incarceration of Oklahoma Women Solutions Initiative Summit (Oklahoma SIS) was held April 30, 2010. The summit, sponsored by the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women, Oklahoma Women’s Coalition, and Oklahoma Department of Corrections provided state leaders, lawmakers, and citizens from across the state the opportunity to come together for the purpose of identifying solutions related to the incarceration of women in Oklahoma.

NAMESAKE - MABEL BASSETT
Mabel Bassett served as the third Commissioner of Charities and Corrections. She was a reformer and a diligent lobbyist like her predecessor, Kate Barnard. During her tenure, Ms. Bassett worked to establish and maintain standards for juvenile and adult correctional facilities, and also the state’s mental institutions. She was responsible for establishing the State Pardon and Parole Board in 1944 in an effort to create a more equitable system for offenders to be reviewed for a pardon, leave, or parole. She was also involved in building the facility that once housed women at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary with funds raised through legislative appropriation. Among her other accomplishments, Ms. Bassett fought for the statute, enacted by the Eighth Oklahoma Legislature, making wife and child desertion a felony. She was also responsible for the Industrial School for Negro Boys at Boley, Oklahoma, which is known today as the John Lilley Correctional Center. The Club Women of Oklahoma recognized her by appointing her to the State Federation of Women’s Clubs. For her outstanding services for the betterment of mankind, she was inducted into Oklahoma’s “Hall of Fame” by the Oklahoma Memorial Association on Statehood Day (November 16) in 1937.

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Female Offender Community Corrections and Residential Services – Sharon Harrison, District Supervisor
Hillside Community Corrections Center

The Hillside Community Corrections Center was originally opened as the Mabel Bassett Community Treatment Center in January, 1974 and changed to a medium security facility in 1978. In 1982, the center was converted to include maximum security offenders.
On May 1, 2003, the Mabel Bassett Correctional Center relocated to the former private prison facility in McLoud, Oklahoma. The former facility was then converted to the Hillside Community Corrections Center.
Project Mend is a Girl Scouts of America program designed to help strengthen the parent-child relationship by bringing offenders and their daughters and sons, ages 5 to 17, together to participate in troop projects. Strengthening this bond also reduces recidivism rates. The program encourages the pairs to bond physically and emotionally over crafts, singing and other activities. The mothers will also attend parenting classes and planning sessions to organize activities for their daughters. The program also encourages the girls and their mothers to discuss issues such as drug abuse and teen pregnancy.

Female Offender Community Corrections and Residential Services
Kate Barnard Community Corrections Center – Sharon Harrison, District Supervisor

The Kate Barnard Community Treatment Center was opened in June, 1977. The center is housed in a former motel located in northwest Oklahoma City. The facility is a u-shaped two story building which houses the residents and staff. Food service is located in front of the main building, with the maintenance shop and storage area located behind the main building.
KBCCC provides offenders with an opportunity to seek, obtain and maintain employment in the community prior to release through the work release.
The 80+ percent of incarcerated women who have been victimized by domestic violence and/or sexual assault prior to incarceration presents a great need for knowledge, empowerment, and safety planning that the YWCA Oklahoma City’s Domestic Violence for incarcerated Women’s program fulfills. The nine-week program prepares offenders to reenter the community to live safe, successful, and fulfilling lives for themselves and their children. The program served 631 incarcerated women in three facilities during 2010.
NAMESAKE - Kate Barnard
Kate Barnard was a key figure in the history of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. She was elected the first Commissioner of the Department of Charities and Corrections during a time that women were not allowed to vote in Oklahoma. Ms. Barnard, concerned about numerous complaints regarding the treatment of Oklahoma offenders, made an unannounced visit to Lansing, Kansas. Upon her return to Oklahoma, Ms. Barnard set out to terminate the contract for prison services with the state of Kansas and started an effort to build the first Oklahoma prison. From the time of her election in 1907 until the end of her two terms of office in 1915, Ms. Barnard got 30 statutory laws passed through the Oklahoma Legislature, a record that few legislators could boast about or compete with even today.

Altus Community Work Center

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Institutions

Division of Institutions - Bobby Boone, Deputy Director
Organizational Chart

The Division of Institutions provides oversight, direction, and supervision to the fifteen state operated male facilities housing minimum, medium, and maximum security offenders.
The division is responsible for ensuring that the facilities under its jurisdiction meet the agency mission of protecting the public, the employees, and the offenders by providing a safe, secure, and healthy environment in which to work and live.
This office provides oversight of fiscal management and ensures facilities effectively manage their budgets.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Charles E. “Bill” Johnson Correctional Center – Janice Melton, Warden

The Charles E. “Bill” Johnson Correctional Center (BJCC) is the newest of the 17 facilities operated by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. the facility houses 550 male, felon drug offenders, ages 18-40. The minimum-security facility consists of six metal buildings, four modular buildings, a brick building inside the compound and seven buildings to include maintenance, warehouse, auto mechanics, wellness center, storage, work crew tool area, sawmill, greenhouse and a single-story dormitory under construction outside the perimeter fence. Inside the compound are the administrative offices, medical facilities, a dining hall, the education building, laundry, four program buildings, three housing units and a chapel. On September 5, 1995, the facility received the first trainee for the Regimented Treatment Program. In 2010, the facility was given the news that it would be expanding. The CareerTech Skills Center and the multi-purpose building were closed to begin the renovations of the building into housing units.

NAMESAKE - CHARLES E. “BILL” JOHNSON
Charles E. “Bill” Johnson, for whom the facility is named, was a catalyst in the pursuit of the correctional center designed to impact drug offenders. When he learned about the possibility of such a program being placed in a community in Oklahoma, Mr. Johnson recruited his friends and business associates to help in the pursuit of making the facility a reality. Unfortunately, Mr. Johnson died on February 18, 1995, at the age of 66, and was unable to see the completion of the facility he had worked so hard and faithfully to bring to his hometown.

Highlights
1940 The McAlester News-Capital makes the first announcement of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary’s First Annual Rodeo, advertised as the biggest “behind the walls” rodeo in the world, scheduled to be held October 12-13, 1940.
1972 The use of the automation to process information for the Department of Corrections began in 1972. The first application was a simple listing of inmates.

Dick Conner Correctional Center – Greg Province, Warden

The post-OSP riot master plan included a medium security facility to be constructed in the Tulsa area. It was eventually decided that the facility would be built just north of Hominy, Oklahoma, within the boundaries of the original Osage Indian Reservation. Originally, the facility was to be named the “Hominy Medium Security Facility.” It was next decided that the facility would be named Jess Dunn Correctional Center in honor of the former OSP warden killed in an escape attempt. However, a 1977 Joint Senate-House Resolution renamed the facility, for the third and final time, the Dick Conner Correctional Center. The facility’s namesake is R. B. “Dick” Conner, a former local Sheriff of Osage County and former OSP warden. The facility was built for $12.8 million. Dick Conner Correctional Center received its first offenders in August, 1979, and reached its original design capacity of 400 during the spring of 1980.

NAMESAKE – DICK CONNER
R.B. “Dick” Conner started in law enforcement as the Sheriff of Osage County in 1932. He was later appointed warden at Oklahoma State Penitentiary in August 1943 by Governor Robert S. Kerr. He retired after four years and returned to work as a sheriff’s deputy in Tulsa County. Conner died in 1955 at the age of 63 after almost 30 years of service in corrections and law enforcement.

Howard McLeod Correctional Center – BRUCE HOWARD, WARDEN

HMCC is a minimum security institution located approximately 30 miles southeast of Atoka, Oklahoma. Construction of the institution began in November, 1961, and was completed a year later. The facility was constructed by offenders from Stringtown Correctional Center (currently Mack Alford Correctional Center), who were supervised by Stringtown Vo-Tech instructors. The center is a 5,000 acre site. HMCC was under the direction of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary until July, 1973.
In 1978, a name change was implemented by the Oklahoma State Legislature, from McLeod Honor Farm to Howard McLeod Correctional Center. The building now known as west dorm was built from Oklahoma State Penitentiary brick and lumber saw milled from trees harvested from state land. HMCC is the only correctional center in Oklahoma that has ever utilized a saw mill to produce lumber.

NAMESAKE - HOWARD MCLEOD
The Howard McLeod Correctional Center (HMCC) was named after Howard C. McLeod, who started in corrections at the Oklahoma State Reformatory in Granite, Oklahoma. He later served as chief sergeant and assistant deputy at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary from 1940 to 1955. He was appointed warden at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary and served in that capacity from 1955 to 1959. McLeod’s concern for meaningful labor for offenders led to the purchase of an “Honor Farm” outside Farris, Oklahoma, in Atoka County. That farm, known as the McLeod Honor Farm, later became the Howard C. McLeod Correctional Center. McLeod died in 1959 at the age of 63.

Jackie Brannon Correctional Center – Emma Watts, Warden

In one sense, Jackie Brannon Correctional Center (JBCC) was the third state correctional center, originally opening in 1927. But it operated as a trusty unit of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary, on OSP grounds, until being officially established as a stand-alone minimum security institution on July 1, 1985. The facility is named in honor of Jackie Brannon, who began his correctional career in 1961 as a Correctional Officer at OSP. In 1981, he was promoted to Deputy Warden of the OSP Trusty Unit, in which capacity he served until his death in 1984. It is this same trusty unit, since expanded, that bears his name.
JBCC is located on 1,300 acres in the northwest section of McAlester, Oklahoma. The facility has three housing units that house 737 inmates. The facility sends out Prisoner Public Works Program crews to assist with work in the city, county, and with the Department of Transportation. There is also a six month Substance Abuse Treatment Program for offenders who meet the enrollment requirements. Burial rites for all indigent Oklahoma offenders are performed at JBCC.

James Crabtree Correctional Center – David Parker, Warden

James Crabtree Correctional Center is located in Helena, Oklahoma on the grounds of the old Connell Agriculture College. The institution has a history that precedes statehood. The facility was originally established in 1904, and has served the people of the state of Oklahoma as a county high school, a junior college, an orphanage, and a Department of Human Services training school for boys. On May 24, 1982, the former Helena State School for Boys was transferred to the ODOC as the James Crabtree Correctional Center.
This facility was named in honor of James Crabtree, a former warden.
Since the transfer of this facility to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections the James Crabtree Correctional Center has undergone three major construction phases. It currently is composed of eight housing units, and houses medium and minimum security offenders. James Crabtree Correctional Center is the only medium security prison in Oklahoma that primarily operates as an open dormitory style facility.

NAMESAKE - JAMES CRABTREE
James Crabtree started in corrections at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary as an officer. His career was temporarily interrupted by the Korean War in 1950. He returned to corrections in 1952 at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. In July 1973, Crabtree was appointed Associate Warden of the Ouachita Vocational Training Camp. He was named Warden of the Ouachita Correctional Center in 1978, a position he held until he retired in 1981.

Jess Dunn Correctional Center – Mike Mullin, Warden

The Jess Dunn institution was originally constructed in 1930 and used as a mental hospital for black patients only. Through the years, the institution has been used as a tuberculosis sanitarium, a juvenile girl’s facility, and a juvenile co-ed home. In April 1980, the facility was transferred from the Department of Human Services to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (ODOC).
At one time, Dick Conner Correctional Center was to be named after Jess Dunn, prior to legislative intervention. Thus, it seemed only logical to name this facility, the next acquisition subsequent to the Conner facility, after Jess Dunn. Jess Dunn served as warden of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary from 1938 until August 10, 1941, when he was killed during a shootout resulting from an offender escape attempt. Also killed were a sheriff’s jailer (a former OSP guard) and 3 of the 4 offenders involved in the escape attempt. The remaining offender was later executed for Jess Dunn’s murder.
The institution is located on approximately 1,100 acres and is comprised of six major buildings that house residents and administration. Maintenance shops, OCI farm complex, laundry, vo-tech, supply, and other support operations are housed in other assorted buildings on the institutional grounds. Originally, the facility was co-ed with approximately 302 of its population being female. The ODOC no longer operates co-ed facilities.
Another interesting twist to JDCC is that it shares a warden and associated administrative staff with the Eddie Warrior Correctional Center (EWCC), a female facility. EWCC is a separate facility from the JDCC but they are separated by only a few hundred yards. Together, they are known today as the Taft Unit. This merger occurred on January 1, 2001. The positions of business manager, human resource specialist, warden’s assistant, procedure officer and training officer also serve in a dual capacity at both facilities.

NAMESAKE - JESS DUNN
Jess Dunn served as warden of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary from 1938 to 1941. Dunn was killed in a shoot out that resulted from an offender escape attempt on August 10, 1941. Jess Dunn Correctional Center is a minimum security facility located in Taft, Oklahoma. It opened in 1980.

Jim E. Hamilton Correctional Center – Haskell Higgins, Warden

The area now occupied by Jim E. Hamilton Correctional Center, formerly Ouachita Correctional Center, dates back to 1933 when it served as the home of the Civil Conservation Corps. The facility grounds were later utilized by the U.S. Forestry Department and, in the early 1960s, by the Hodgen Job Corps.
The facility is located in Hodgen, Oklahoma on the northern edge of the Ouachita National Forest. The town of Poteau is approximately 28 miles to the North.
In 1969, the Federal Government made the decision to demolish the existing campsite, but the plan was delayed when legislation was sponsored by Senator James E. Hamilton to introduce a better plan for the site. Camp Hodgen, as it was called then, was the first offender training facility in the U.S. offering vocational-technical training by the State Department of Vo-Tech Education in cooperation with the State Department of Corrections.
In 1971, the first offender Vo-Tech students arrived at the facility. The JEHCC is the largest correctional vocational training program in the state. The Vo-Tech program has grown to a total of 8 different skill areas currently available at the facility: industrial electricity, air conditioning and refrigeration, welding, building construction, masonry, building maintenance, industrial maintenance, transmission repair, front end/suspension and engine performance. Training in an academic enhancement program and a comprehensive reintegration program is also provided as part of Career Tech Skills Center. The state department of Career Technology Education provides training opportunities to all eligible offenders at no cost.
In addition to providing training opportunities for offenders, CareerTech also provides the Oklahoma DOC and other state agencies, assistance with special construction projects and repairs on state vehicles. This service has saved state, county and municipal agencies many valuable tax dollars for repairs and preventative maintenance of precious agency resources. JEHCC has benefited immensely from having a CareerTech center on site. Several facility buildings have been built either partially or entirely with skilled offender labor provided through the training programs.

NAMESAKE - JIM E. HAMILTON
Former Oklahoma State Senator, Jim Hamilton, served in the Senate from 1967 until 1976. In 1984, after an eight year absence from the legislature, he was elected to the State House of Representatives where he served until 1998.
The Ouachita Correctional Center was officially changed to the Jim E. Hamilton Correctional Center, in honor of Senator Hamilton on December 10, 1998.
Highlights
1977 - Female correctional officers were employed and allowed to work in male institutions.
2003 - Oklahoma becomes the first correctional system in the nation to place offender records on the internet.

Joseph Harp Correctional Center – Mike Addison, Warden

The Joseph Harp Correctional Center is a medium security institution located near the town of Lexington, in central Oklahoma. The facility officially opened on September 26, 1978, and received its first offenders two days later. The site of the facility had been used by the Navy as a firing range during World War II. After the war, the land was turned over to the Mental Health Department, which in turn transferred it to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections in 1971.
Joseph Harp Correctional Center is named in honor and memory of Warden Joseph Harp who served as warden at the Oklahoma State Reformatory from 1949 until 1969. Warden Joseph Harp was clearly an innovative leader and professional in the field of corrections. Under Warden Harp, Oklahoma State Reformatory was the first institution to establish a fully accredited academic High School behind prison walls. Warden Harp recognized that one of the greatest needs of many offenders was a high school education. As early as 1950, Warden Harp proposed in a legislative report the need for: a Department of Corrections; a merit system of employment; a statewide probation system staffed with competent officers who would make pre-sentence investigations; a reception center for all felons coming into a prison system; and a full time pardon and parole board.

NAMESAKE - JOSEPH HARP
Joseph Harp served as warden at the Oklahoma State Reformatory from 1949 until 1969. Warden Joseph Harp was clearly an innovative leader and professional in the field of corrections. Under Warden Harp, Oklahoma State Reformatory was the first institution to establish a fully accredited academic High School behind prison walls. Warden Harp recognized that one of the greatest needs of many inmates was a high school education.
As early as 1950, Warden Harp proposed in a legislative report the need for: A Department of Corrections; a merit system of employment; a statewide probation system staffed with competent officers who would make pre-sentence investigations; a reception center for all felons coming into the prison system; and a full time pardon and parole board.

Highlights
Joseph Harp Correctional Center’s CERT members participated in the opening ceremonies for the Special Olympics Summer Games on May 12, 2010.

John Lilley Correctional Center – Jane Standifird

John Lilley Correctional Center (JLCC) is located on a 256-acre site, one mile east of Boley, Oklahoma on State Highway 62 in Okfuskee County. Geographically, the facility is located almost in the center of the state; its location being essentially rural, yet it is a relatively short distance between the two largest cities in the state, Oklahoma City and Tulsa; between the Turner Turnpike on the north and Interstate 40 on the south.
JLCC was first built as a tuberculosis sanitarium/hospital for blacks in 1923. In 1925, the facility became the State Training School for Negro Boys and housed black males who had previously been incarcerated at the Boys Training School in McAlester. The institution was integrated in 1965, and the name was changed to Boley State School for Boys.

NAMESAKE - JOHN LILLEY
John H. Lilley, for whom the facility is named, was appointed superintendent of the facility at its inception. He remained as superintendent until his death in 1933. Lilley, himself called the “Orphan Boy,” was known to love the kids he served. He died at his residence on the Training School campus as a result of declining health following an auto accident. State Commissioner of Charities and Corrections at that time was Mabel Bassett, and she delivered a eulogy at John Lilley’s funeral. Permission was granted by the Governor and the State Board of Public Affairs for John Lilley to be buried upon institutional grounds and a monument presently stands at the entrance of the facility marking John Lilley’s gravesite.

Lexington Assessment and Reception Center/Lexington Correctional Center – Eric Franklin, Warden

The Lexington Correctional Center was opened in 1971. It consisted of a collection of wooden naval barracks hastily constructed during late World War II. It initially had a capacity of 120 inmates.
Although the facility opened in 1971, it remained obscure with virtually no documented history until 1977 when the Lexington Assessment and Reception Center (LARC) opened adjacent to the Lexington Correctional Center (LCC). Since the opening of LARC, both LARC and LCC have been under purview of a common warden and have become virtually synonymous. Most staff refer to the reception unit as “LARC” (pronounced “lark”) and the remaining housing units as “Lex.”
The Lexington Assessment and Reception Center began construction in 1976 as a part of the Oklahoma Master Plan, authored by F. Warren Benton, Ph.D. The maximum security receiving, medical, support services, and administrative core building composed Phase I; Phase II constituted three medium security housing units.

Mack Alford Correctional Center – Anita Trammel, Warden

In the early 1930s, the Mack Alford Correctional Center was used as a sub-prison of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Oklahoma. Offenders assigned were “trustees” and worked the farm and cattle. The sub-penitentiary was established for four basic reasons by Governor Murray: To separate first term convicts from the seasoned convicts; to construct a tubercular ward for segregation; to provide work for the new convicts; and to raise food and lower the cost of penal institutions. At some point in the 1930s, the offenders were returned to the main institution and this facility became a federal, state, and local Venereal Disease Hospital. Early in the 1940s, the facility was used as a German Prisoner of War Camp. During the late 1940s, the State Penitentiary again used the facility as a sub-prison. In 1948, the offenders were returned to the main prison and this facility then became the Stringtown Training School for White Boys. In August of 1956, the facility again became an Honor Farm of the main institution. In 1959, the Vocational Rehabilitation Schools were added and the institution became known as the Vocational Training School, a sub-unit of the main institution. In 1968, the institution erected the current fence and towers and became a medium and minimum security sub-unit. In July 1973, the unit was separated from the main institution. In November, 1977, the name was changed to Stringtown Correctional Center and the security level was made medium. The center’s name was officially changed to the Mack Alford Correctional Center, on March 27, 1986, in honor of Warden Mack Alford, a 30-year veteran of corrections who died on March 10, 1986.

NAMESAKE - MACK ALFORD
Mack Alford was appointed warden of the Stringtown Correctional Center in September 1973. His career in corrections started in 1955 as an officer at the Boys Training School in Stringtown, Oklahoma. After several promotions, he moved to Helena, Oklahoma, to work at the Helena Boys Training School and from there to the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. Mack Alford served as warden of the Stringtown Correctional Center until his death in March, 1986.
1981 The Oklahoma Department of Corrections becomes the first correctional system fully accredited by the American Correctional Association (ACA).

Northeast Oklahoma Correctional Center – Rodney Redman, Warden

Northeast Oklahoma Correctional Center (NOCC) is a minimum security facility for adult male offenders. The facility is located on the grounds of Eastern State Hospital renamed Oklahoma Forensic Center in Vinita, Oklahoma. A trusty unit was established to provide institutional support to the hospital in 1980. The relationship between the Department of Corrections and the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services at Eastern State Hospital began in 1985 with the establishment of the Treatment Alternatives for Drinking Drivers (TADD) program. In 1987 the Department of Corrections Agri-Services Unit began leasing the farmland at Eastern State Hospital.
After several years of this expanding relationship, the legislature passed laws in 1994 transferring three large buildings at Eastern State Hospital to the Department of Corrections for use as prison bed space. In December 1994, the first offenders were transferred to the newly established facility. Subsequently, a new 264 bed housing unit, a dining/kitchen facility, Central Control, and the warehouse/maintenance building were constructed. In recent years, a chapel and a canteen have been added to the physical plant. A portion of the offender population continues to provide institutional maintenance and support functions for both the Oklahoma Forensic Center and NOCC. Other offenders are involved in Prisoner Public Works (PPW) programs and institutional farming operations.

Highlights
The following facilities recently successfully underwent ACA reaccreditation audits:
Jess Dunn Correctional Center: Mandatory 100% - Non Mandatory 99.9%
Hillside/Kate Barnard: Mandatory 100% - Non Mandatory 100%
Oklahoma State Penitentiary: Mandatory 100% - Non Mandatory 99%
Oklahoma State Reformatory: Mandatory 100% - Non Mandatory 99.7%


Oklahoma State Penitentiary - Randy Workman, Warden

Prior to statehood in 1907, all felons convicted in Oklahoma Territory were transferred to Kansas, at a cost of 25 cents per day. After statehood, McAlester was chosen as the site for the Oklahoma State Penitentiary and 1,556 acres northwest of McAlester was set aside for the maximum security facility.
Construction began in 1908, when $850,000 was appropriated by the legislature. Offenders were returned from Kansas to do the work. The first buildings constructed at the site were the West Cellhouse and the Administration Building. Later, the Rotunda and the East Cellhouse were constructed. Additional buildings were constructed on an as-needed basis.
In order to provide work for the offenders, an industry program was developed. A tailor shop, shoe manufacturing plant, and cane mill were among the first industry programs implemented.
As the population inside OSP grew, new housing units were added. The “F” cellhouse was added in 1937, and later the New Cellhouse was constructed. Of the four main housing units occupied, only the new cellhouse no longer exists. This unit was severely damaged in the riot of 1973, and was torn down in 1976. Later, a 50-man disciplinary unit was built west of the main institution. The offender population nicknamed this unit “The Rock.”
The most costly prison riot in the history of the nation broke out on July 27, 1973. Damage was estimated to be between $20 million and $40 million.
A federal court in 1978 found conditions at the penitentiary unconstitutional. Consequently, four new housing units were built and in 1984, the aging East and West Cellhouses were closed. A Special Care Unit, which opened July 20, 1992, ensures that the needs of special management offenders are met. This unit provides mental health care to offenders, thereby reducing the need for long-term hospitalization outside the facility.
G Unit is utilized as a segregation housing unit for Jackie Brannon Correctional Center and Southeast District Community Corrections offenders. It has a capacity of 25.
The newest addition, “H Unit,” provides new quarters for disciplinary segregation offenders, death row, and the lethal injection death chamber. H Unit also houses Administrative Segregation and Level III general population offenders.

Highlights
1972 The lawsuit, Battles vs. Anderson, changed the history of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. The suit was filed April 24, 1972, by Bobby Battles, an offender serving time for Grand Larceny at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary out of Garvin County. The lawsuit created changes to the operation of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections in its policies and procedures affecting the treatment and rehabilitation, medical care, education and training, as well as the basic care of the state’s offender population.
A federal court in 1978 found conditions at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary unconstitutional. The lawsuit, filed before the 1973 riot, was changed to a class action suit. U.S. District Judge Luther Bohannon put the Department of Corrections under federal control. Active supervision under the lawsuit was finally dismissed during Director Larry Meachum’s term (1979-1987). The last issue of the lawsuit, which was medical care for offenders, was settled 27 years later, in 2001.


Oklahoma State Reformatory - James Rudek, Warden

The legislature created the Oklahoma State Reformatory (OSR) in 1909. The construction of OSR was accomplished with offender labor. The construction material was primarily granite rock from the Reformatory’s own mountain, “Wildcat Mountain.” There are no original buildings on the ten-acre walled compound. The oldest structure on the yard is the first floor of the school building (Lakeside High School) built in 1921, with an upper floor added in 1949. All other buldings were built after 1957.
OSR’s first female Warden, Clara Waters, was the first female Warden in the United States to head a state prison, and the first female to head an all-male prison. Mrs. Waters served as warden at the Reformatory for nine years after being appointed by Governor Henry s. Johnston in 1927, when she was 37. She brought five years of experience with her (gained from helping her husband, Dr. George Waters, previously Warden). She required all offenders, hard-boiled and errant youngsters alike, to attend Sunday church services. She organized Bible classes, literary societies, set up a recreation program and an education program to teach each offender a trade. This program eventually evolved into Lakeside School, the first fully accredited “behind-the-walls” high school in the United States.
As additional history, famous aviator and Oklahoman, Wiley Post, once served time at OSR. In 1921, he was convicted and sentenced to ten years for stealing a car, but was paroled after one year.

 

William S. Key Correctional Center - Marvin Vaughn, Warden

The William S. Key Correctional Center was formally opened on December 6, 1988 as a minimum security institution at Fort Supply, Oklahoma, and named after the late General William Key. General Key served as warden of Oklahoma State Penitentiary on two different occasions.
Sue Frank was appointed the first warden of the William S. Key facility and was also instrumental in the establishment of the Historic Foundation, dedicated to restoring and interpreting the history of the Camp Supply era, a former military site which was an Army supply base in the late 1800s. The facility shares its grounds of some 3,552 acres with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, the Department of Career and Technology Education and the Oklahoma Historical Society, which is responsible for the Fort Supply Historic Site.

NAMESAKE - William S. Key
The William S. Key Correctional Center was named after the late General William Key. General Key served as warden of Oklahoma State Penitentiary on two different occasions. He was president of the U.S. Wardens Association and also served as chairman of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board from 1928 to 1932. Key was best known for his military activities, serving as commander of the 45th Division in 1940, commanding general of the U.S. Forces in Iceland from June 1943, until December 1944, and commanding general of the U.S. Forces in Hungary from January 1945, to August 1946.

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Operational Services – Marty Sirmons, Chief

Organizational Chart

The Operational Services Unit consists of, and provides oversight to, the Classification and Population Unit, Agri-Services, Oklahoma Correctional Industries, and the Construction and Asbestos Abatement Units.
The Classification and Population Unit is responsible for collecting and reporting agency offender counts, review of security assessment tools and offender transfer requests, offender sentence administration, the Sex Offender Registry, and reception and initial classification and placement of new offenders. The Central Transportation Unit (CTU) is also a part of this unit; four separate sites are located within the state and CTU is responsible for transporting all offenders after initial classification.
Oklahoma Correctional Industries (OCI) provides necessities for housing of offenders, including clothing, cell furnishings, and cleaning products, as well as office furnishings for staff. Products are also produced and sold to other governmental entities. The Agri-Services Unit produces food products, including meats and vegetables for offender consumption. Both provide large numbers of meaningful jobs for the offender population.
The Construction Unit is responsible for large new construction projects throughout the state, as well as remodeling endeavors and project inspection. Asbestos-contaminated buildings are abated by the Asbestos Abatement Unit, for both the Department of Corrections and for other state agencies.

Construction and Asbestos Abatement Units
ACCOMPLISHMENTS

The Asbestos Abatement Unit worked throughout 2010 to remove asbestos material from buildings at James Crabtree Correctional Center and at Jackie Brannon Correctional Center. Asbestos abatement staff has worked closely with facility leaders and staff to ensure the normal operations of both facilities were impacted as little as possible.
The Construction unit completed a warehouse building at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center, giving that facility much-needed storage for goods vital to the institution’s operation. A new elevated water tower and line-loop system was completed at Mack Alford Correctional Center, providing the facility and surrounding areas with improved water provision. SPOTLIGHT
Renovation work began at Bill Johnson Correctional Center to transform two areas, formerly used as Career Tech and as a laundry/multi-purpose building into housing for offenders. When completed in 2011, these renovations will result in additional bedspace for 184 offenders.
This project has required close communication and support by facility leaders and staff, operational services staff, and staff from the Division of Institutions, to ensure the project is cost-efficient and is completed in a timely manner.

Oklahoma Correctional Industries - J.D. Colbert, Administrator

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Following months of discussion, reviews, and planning, Oklahoma Correctional Industries won the bid for a Tulsa County Fairgrounds project (metalwork). This project is valued at over $600,000.
The Oklahoma Correctional Industries Upholstery Shop at Mack Alford Correctional Center completed a rush order for the Pontotoc County Courthouse consisting of 329 pieces of seating in four weeks from the date of the order. OCI staff worked closely with the representatives of the county to coordinate the project with the critically short deadline.
The OCI Metal Fabrication Department produced a prototype above-ground storm shelter for the new private industry customer ASSI (Area Septic Systems, Inc.) which has been tested by Texas Tech University for safety and stability. Texas Tech certified the shelter, which places in among the top products of its type in the field.
SPOTLIGHT
The standout achievement of Oklahoma Correctional Industries for 2010 was the managed growth of private partnerships. The partnerships with private industry began by employing less than 50 offender workers, and by the end of the year, employed 435 offenders in various jobs.
Private partnerships are a designed focus to diversify revenue steams in order to mitigate the impact of forecasted drops in sales of traditional products and services on profitability. By diversifying in this manner, Oklahoma Correctional Industries remains profitable during very troubling times for correctional industry endeavors as well as other government agencies. The private sector division now provides nearly half of the industries’ annual revenues.
This accomplishment was achieved with maximum support from both agency executive staff and staff at facilities where private partnership entities are located.

Agri-Services - Dick Davis, Administrator

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The Agri-Services Meat Processing Center and Food Processing Plant both became federally-inspected facilities, allowing Agri-Services to expand the customer base to include the federal penal system and state systems outside Oklahoma.
Agri-Services produced and processed ten varieties of fruits and vegetables on three different Agri-Services units, including potatoes, tomatoes, onions, cabbage, broccoli, carrots, green beans, melons, greens and turnips.
The Agri-Services Unit increased cooperative efforts with extension agents, the horticulture department, and vegetable specialists from Oklahoma State University. These professionals assisted with identification of crops that are conducive to soils on the various farm units. Additionally, the OSU Food and Agricultural Products Center worked cooperatively with Agri-Services to efficiently and effectively process and package fruit and vegetable products for use by the Department of Corrections.
SPOTLIGHT
In 2010, Agri-Services worked jointly with local FFA (Future Farmers of America) chapters in utilizing their greenhouses in a community effort to grow seedlings that can be transplanted to the farm units. The practice allowed Agri-Services to obtain plants at a lesser cost while strengthening our community relationships by giving the students a practical learning experience, as well as a fund-raising opportunity.

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Private Prison and Jail Administration – Renee Watkins, Administrator

Organizational Chart

Due to overcrowding in the Department of Corrections facilities during 1994, interested sheriffs contracted with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections for bed space in an effort to alleviate overcrowding. In 1995, State Statute 57 § 561 was enacted, authorizing the Oklahoma Department of Corrections to contract with private prison operators to house Oklahoma offenders, thereby creating the Private Prison and Jail Administration Unit.
The unit also has statutory responsibility to monitor not only private prisons and county jails housing Oklahoma DOC offenders, but any private prison operating within the state. As of April 2011, a total of 14 county jails and six institutions, with oversight of 7,559 offenders (2,370 non-Oklahoma, 4,738 Oklahoma, 451 county jail offenders) are monitored by the unit. Three institutions house Oklahoma offenders and one houses California offenders.
In addition to annual renewal contract negotiations with the private prison corporations, the unit is responsible for liaison between the individual facilities and the department, review and approval of new construction/renovation, serious incident review, statistical information, state statute/contract/policy compliance, and annual auditing of each contract facility.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Highlights
Diamondback Correctional Facility notified their staff on March 2 that their last day of operation would be May 6, 2010. Arizona terminated or did not renew their contract with Corrections Corporation of America (CCA).

PRIVATE PRISONS WITH OKLAHOMA INMATES

Private Prisons and Contract Jails in Oklahoma
Diamondback Correctional Facility (DBCF)
Watonga, OK
Capacity 2160
Currently unoccupied

Great Plains Correctional Facility (GPCF)
Hinton, OK
Capacity 2000
Currently unoccupied

North Fork Correctional Facility (NFCF)
Sayre, OK
Capacity 2400 California Offenders

Lawton Correctional Facility (LCF)
Lawton, OK
Capacity 2526 Oklahoma offenders

Cimarron Correctional Facility (CCF)
Cushing, OK
Capacity 1620 (660 Oklahoma offenders plus 960 unoccupied)

Davis Correctional Facility (DCF)
Holdenville, OK
Capacity 1620 Oklahoma offenders
360 maximum security
1260 medium security

Counties with Jail Contracts
Roger Mills, Greer, Kiowa, Comanche, Tillman, Cotton, Jefferson, Marshall, Oklahoma, Choctaw, LeFlore, Okmulgee, Nowatta and Ottawa

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Community Corrections - Reginald Hines, Deputy Director

Organizational Chart