During the programming phase for its events, the Committee convenes and considers current and urgent correctional issues gleaned from the membership during training programs and by survey. The Committee prioritizes the issues, organizes selected issues into categories. For the Special Issues Seminar, the Committee chooses a particularly poignant issue or issues for one day of intense discussion. For All Directors Training other categories are organized into meaningful sets of presentations, then the presentations are sequenced logically for the potential training event. Finally, for each program piece, the Committee develops a list of member candidates to make presentations, as well as outside speakers to be invited as appropriate. Finally, the topics developed for the New Directors curriculum for training is reviewed for possible improvements, the list of new administrators eligible for training are reviewed, and possible experienced Directors are vetted for making the presentations.
The next phase of the programming is the development of commitments from solicited speakers. In many cases, this means some re-shaping of the agendas to ensure appropriate fits of speakers with subject matter. During this phase, the logistics of the meetings are set in place in keeping with the Committee's decisions as to site, dates, and other arrangements. The execution of the program at each training has a long and well-received history with evaluations that document their success.
ASCA's training also includes provision for one-on-one visits between two administrators. This is a program, funded by NIC, that emphasizes learning and progressing in professional proficiency by sharing best practices with one another onsite.
Another ongoing training assistance feature is Guideposts for Correctional Administrators, a manual of helpful articles and reports sent to every newly appointed administrator.
The National Institute of Corrections has funded ASCA trainings, seminars, one-on-one visits, and Guideposts for Correctional Administrators via cooperative agreement for thirty years. The ASCA trainings and seminars are vital to the professional growth of our administrators, and ASCA enjoys a productive and longstanding partnership with NIC that contributes to the goal of the Association to steadily improve the profession and the skills of its members.
National Institute of Corrections - Our Program and Training Partners
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It’s funny how things always seem to work out. I’ve been thinking about that a lot these past few months as I prepare to retire. Well, that and how sometimes the paths we take in life bring us to places we didn’t expect. I’d like to tell you a story that touches on both of these statements. In the spring of 1994, I was back in my home state of Mississippi, working as deputy director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services. I came back to Mississippi after being replaced as the director in the Alabama Department of Corrections (party changes in governors’ offices have a way of doing that to those of us in corrections). I had just begun to settle into my new role in human services when an announcement from the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) Advisory Board came across my desk. They were going to do a national search for a director of NIC. To me, the National Institute of Corrections was a very familiar agency and one that I had come to rely on. I had used its services extensively while serving as director in both Mississippi and Alabama. I was always impressed with the quality of the work that NIC had done for me and the promptness of its response. Although I didn’t think I had much chance of being selected and appointed for such an important national role, I decided that the experience of applying would be interesting and well worth the effort. The first big surprise came when I received a call from the chairman of the screening committee inviting me to Washington for an interview. Already this was more than I expected. I got my ticket and headed up to Washington. When I arrived and saw the seven or eight other candidates I was up against, I was convinced that my chances were quite slim. My competition comprised people who I had known and respected for years, people who I just knew would have a better shot than I of being recommended to the attorney general for appointment. After the interview, I returned to Mississippi and thought, “Well, that was a valuable experience!” A week or so later, I received my next surprise: a call from the then Bureau of Prisons (BOP) director Kathy Hawk informing me that I was being recommended to Attorney General Reno for the appointment. I didn’t know the attorney general, and I had never met her. I wondered what her reaction would be to the recommendation. Then I experienced one of the best things that ever happened to me: I was appointed and I began a magical eighteen and a half years as director of NIC. As I move toward my retirement at the end of this month, I have more I need to say than I can in this column. The success and achievements of NIC are the result of the outstanding staff who work tirelessly both in DC and in Colorado. They are bright, dedicated to the profession, and come here with many years of varied experiences—all of which serve NIC well. I know the services that NIC provides to the field have been and will continue to be a critical resource for local, state, and federal corrections. I could not be more proud of the staff and their work over the years. In addition to being proud of the staff, I am appreciative of the uniqueness of NIC and the sixteen-member advisory board that provides policy direction to the Institute. They provide support, guidance, encouragement, and direction to NIC in so many areas. During these eighteen plus years, we have been fortunate to have the support of outstanding practitioners, interested private citizens, and ex officio members all having served on the board. They have been a source of support to me and their guidance has been a positive influence on our services. I also want to express my appreciation to those I have served under. The three BOP directors—Kathy Hawk Sawyer, Harley Lappin, and Charles Samuels—and the five attorneys general—Janet Reno, John Ashcroft, Alberto Gonzales, Michael Mukasey, and Eric Holder—all of whom have had the confidence in me to allow me to continue in this appointed position and serve our country in a role that I have treasured. To all of the thousands of employees working in the field of corrections across this country: Thank you for your support and participation in NIC training and technical assistance. Your dedication to rehabilitation and public safety are to be commended. Thank you also to all of the resource providers who joined with our staff to deliver these services; you, too, have been integral to NIC’s success in providing quality services to the field. When I announced my retirement last April, my hope was that we would have a new director appointed by now and that we would be able to facilitate a smooth transition of leadership. Though a new director has not been selected, the process has begun. In the interim, we are fortunate to have Deputy Director Robert Brown serve in the role of acting director. While the process moves forward to appoint a new director, I urge your enthusiastic support of Acting Director Brown as I know he has the best interests of the agency in mind. I know that this great agency will continue under new leadership to be the most responsive resource in federal government for corrections across this country. As for me, I don’t plan to just go off into the sunset. Corrections has been a true passion for me, and it’s something that I cannot simply walk away from. I look forward to finding ways to stay connected and continue to contribute to this work that I genuinely love. As I said in the beginning of this message, things have a way of working out. Thank you for joining me along this portion of my path; see you sometime down the road. Morris Thigpen, Director |
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Morris Thigpen
Director, NIC |
"The National Institute of Corrections is proud of thirty years of partnership with ASCA to conceptualize, develop, plan, and execute relevant informational and instructive training programs that will not only assist individual correctional administrators with directing their correctional agencies, but which will also raise the level of professional and efficient administration of all correctional agencies as a whole. ASCA trainings and programs are critical pieces of NIC’s contributions to professional correctional development." Morris Thigpen also serves ASCA as Chair of the Michael Franck Committee and is an active member of the Past Presidents Committee, having served as President of ASCA in 1984-1985, when he was Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. He is also an Associate Member of ASCA. Click here for more information about Morris' career.
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BeLinda Watson
Chief, Prisons Division, NIC |
In her role as Chief of the Prisons Division at NIC, BeLinda Watson Barney is NIC’s primary liaison with the Program & Training Committee. In that capacity she helps guide the work of the Committee by providing information about NIC’s programs that relate most directly to the work of ASCA members and in particular keeps members aware of training resources and opportunities offered by NIC. She also oversees and works closely with ASCA staff with regard to the Cooperative Agreement between NIC and ASCA that provides support to ASCA to conduct New Director Training Programs, All Director training Programs, and Special Issues Seminars. Her contributions are valued and enhanced by her lengthy career in corrections beginning as a line officer within the South Carolina Department of Corrections and as a senior administrator in the District of Columbia Department of Corrections. Additional information about her career may be found by going to the link below. |
www.nicic.org - for more information about NIC as an organization, to reveiw NIC program plans and funding opportunities.
www.nicic.org/Library/ - for more learning about corrections from articles, materials, manuals etc.
Click here to access the National institute of Corrections Training Catalog
ASCA Training Programs
All Directors Training (ADT)
The 2012 All Directors Training was held on October 26 and 27, 2012 at the National Corrections Academy in Aurora, CO.
Click here for photos from ADT Day 1.
Click here for photos from ADT Day 2.
ASCA, in a cooperative agreement with NIC, provides an annual training program for all ASCA Member Administrators. The two day program focuses on current issues facing corrections through a series of presentations and discussions. Each day includes two sessions in the morning and two in the afternoon. The All Directors Training (ADT) programs have been presented annually since 1985. Click here for a full program description.
The Program and Training Committee met on July 21, 2012 in Denver, CO and reviewed and approved the draft agenda for the 2012 All Directors Training to be held on October 26 and 27, 2012 at the NIC Training Academy in Aurora, CO.
Click here for the 2012 All Directors Training agenda.
Special Issues Seminar (SIS)
The 2012 Special Issues Seminar was held on October 25, 2012 at the National Corrections Academy in Aurora, CO.
Click here for photos from the 2012 SIS.
ASCA in cooperation with NIC has developed a one-day program with an agenda based on current critical issues and experiences to address the evolving trends in populations and management priorities continuously affecting the nature of the correctional administrator position. The Special Issues Seminar (SIS) programs have been presented annually since 1998. Click here for a full Special Issues Seminar Program Description.
The Program and Training Committee met on July 21, 2012 in Denver, CO and reviewed and approved the draft agenda for the 2012 Special Issues Seminar, featuring a day of presentations and discussions concentrating on Administrative Segregation, to be held on October 25, 2012 at the NIC Training Academy in Aurora, CO. Click here for the 2012 Special Issues Seminar agenda.
New Directors Training (NDT)
ASCA in cooperation with NIC meets the unique training needs of newly appointed Directors by offering each of them the opportunity to attend a three-day training and orientation program that focuses on the issues they will face early in their tenure. The program combines presentations by experienced Director/trainers with ample opportunities for the newly appointed Directors and experienced Directors to fully discuss the issues and their concerns. The New Director Training (NDT) programs have been presented at least annually since 1985. Click here for a full New Director Training Program description.
A New Directors' Training Program was held in Aurora, CO at the National Corrections Academy beginning Thursday evening September 27th and ending mid-morning Sunday September 30th.
Click here for photos from the September 2012 New Director Training.