Centerforce’s own Executive Director, Carol F. Burton will be speaking at the event!  Be sure to come out and show your support!

See the attacahed links for more information and registration materials.

30th Symposium Brochure

Attached are handouts from a presentation done at CSU Fresno by PhD Candidate Mikko Aaltonen that examined the relationship between socioeconomic status and crime in Finland.

MTC 2012 HS Flyer

The event takes place February 16, 2012.  Doors open at 6 pm!

Read more to learn more!

First 5 Marin Volunteer Opportunity

“Children of incarced parents (CIP) are the collateral damage of the corrections systems,” and the majority of incarcerated individuals are parents.  With the process of realignment taking place, what are some things that can be done in order to protect CIP and smooth the transition of reunification?

Daddy’s Home:
Working with Re-Entering Fathers & Their Children

Across the nation, current economic conditions are forcing states and counties to reduce the number incarcerated persons in their jails and prisons. As a result, more prisoners are returning to their families and communities are faced with a growing population in need of re-entry and reunification services for formerly incarcerated parents and their children.

To address this issue, the Center for Children of Incarcerated Parents will offer “Daddy’s Home: Working with Re-Entering Fathers & Their Children”, the 22nd National CCIP Training Institute on February 29, 2012 at the California Endowment Center for Healthy Communities in Los Angeles, California. Practitioners in community-based agencies, probation and parole officers, social workers, advocates and other interested persons are invited to attend.

This 8 hour Institute will provide descriptive and statistical information about incarcerated, re-entering and formerly incarcerated fathers and their children. The Institute will explore issues in father-child reunification, offer practical information about service models and interventions for fathers and children, and introduce participants to basic skills for working with families involved in the criminal justice system. In addition, trainers will share the research and practical experience underlying the Center’s developmental, relationship-based approach to services. A training agenda is attached.

The Center’s trainers for this Institute will include:

• Irit Bar-Netzer, clinical supervisor for multiple Center projects and a psychologist working with re-entering fathers on parent-child reunification.
• Michael P. Carlin, director of the Center’s FatherRight Project and a certified mediator with expertise in the child custody issues of incarcerated parents.
• Denise Johnston, founding director of the Center, a child development specialist and a leading national authority on children of criminal offenders.

Early registration ($100) is offered from January 1-February 14, 2012. Regular registration ($150) is offered from February 15-28, 2012. Registration scholarships will be available for former prisoners and adult children of current or former prisoners. Registration fees cover all Institute costs, including training materials and a continental breakfast.

Download the registation form.

This Institute will accept 40 trainees; certification will be granted to those participants completing 8 hours of training. To register, print and complete the attached Registration Form and submit it by mail to CCIP at Box 41-286, Eagle Rock, CA 90041.

For more information, email the NTI Coordinator.

The Finnish Culture of Correction

California Culture of Corrections

Friday, January 27, 2012 9:00 a.m.  – 2:00 p.m.

Location: California State University, Fresno, University Business Center, Alice Peters Auditorium, Room: PB 191

Open to the public

This one-day seminar held at California State University, Fresno is sponsored by the College of Health and Human Services, Department of Social Work Education. It explores social issues related to crime, incarceration, and families in two very different locations: the welfare society of Finland and California, which has the largest prison system in the western world. The seminar will include presentations, the screening of a new independent film, and a panel discussion with the community.

Questions of how to deal with crime and punishment have always been at the core of what constitutes a just and moral society. The modern prison emerged from the spectacle of public hangings and the guillotine: punishments which came to be viewed as barbaric, capricious, and contrary to the basic principles of justice. As crimes became codified in the 19^th century, prisons were constructed as sites of correction that would enforce punishment, prevention, and penitence. This seminar considers the question: How do the distinct cultures of correction in Finland and California contemporary prisons in serve this purpose?

In the mid-1960s, Finland and the United States incarcerated their citizens at approximately equal rates, but the late 20^th century saw a dramatic expansion in prisons in California while Finland reduced its incarceration rates. Between 1982 and 2000, the California state prison population expanded by nearly 500% and Finland cut its prison population in half. We ask: how can we understand this different development and what are the human costs of high rates of incarceration?

This seminar examines the differences in cultures of correction between these two societies, what factors are considered to contribute to crime, and the impact of incarceration on societies, families and communities. We welcome community participation in this event!

PROGRAM

9.00 Opening

9:15 Mikko Aaltonen: Do the social determinants of crime still matter in a welfare state?

10:00 Kris Clarke: The Nordic culture of correction

10:20 Julie Lifshay: The California culture of correction

10:45 Coffee Break

11:15 Film: “Troop 1500”

“Troop 1500” follows five Girl Scouts in Texas as they unite with their mothers who are in prison for serious crimes, giving them a chance to rebuild their broken bonds. Facing long sentences from the courts, the mothers struggle to mend their fractured relationships with their daughters. On the other side, the film shows the constant strain on the children waiting for their mothers to finish out their sentences.

12:15 Carol F. Burton: Comments on children and families affected by incarceration and the impact of California prison realignment.

12.30 Debbie Reyes: Comments on the California Prison Moratorium Project

12:45 Panel Discussion: Mikko Aaltonen, Julie Lifshay, Carol F. Burton, Debbie Reyes (Kris Clarke, moderator)

1:30 Closing

Speakers:

Mikko Aaltonen, M.Soc. Sc. (doctoral candidate, University of Helsinki, Department of Social

Research – Population Research Unit, Finland), Visiting Fulbright Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania Population Studies Center

Kris Clarke, Ph.D (University of Tampere, Finland), Assistant Professor at California State University Fresno, Department of Social Work Education

Julie Lifshay, MPH, Ph.D (University of California, Berkeley), Health & Special Projects Manager, Centerforce

Carol F. Burton, LCSW, executive director of nonprofit agency Centerforce which for over 30 years old has served to transform the lives of people living in prison

Debbie Reyes, California Prison Moratorium Project, a grassroots community activist and organizer for over 20 years and recipient of a Soros Justice Fellowship for her campaign “Uncaging the Valley”

The training provides basic skills of a peer health educator, including: understanding of the importance of confidentiality, having cultural awareness and humility, recognizing the existence of personal health values, understanding the role and skills of a peer health educator, awareness of how individuals change behavior and the concept of harm reduction, and how to communicate with peers about health information and support them to make their own decisions about their health. Furthermore, the training provides education about transmission, prevention, and sequelae of Hepatitis A, B, and C so that the peer health educators can utilize their newly acquired skills to provide this information to others living in incarcerated settings. The training includes slides for the participants (with directions to facilitators in the notes section), handouts for participants, and evaluation tools.

Day 1 Materials

1. HPHEPP Level I – Day 1 Training Slides
2. Day 1 – Activity Sheet 1.1 – Peer Introduction Activity
3. Day 1 – Activity Sheet 1.2 – What is Health
4. Day 1 – Activity Sheet 1.3 – Role of Peer Health Educator
5. Day 1 – Activity Sheet 1.4 -RUTSMAP
6. Day 1 – Activity Sheet 1.5 – Cultural Awareness and Personal Pledge
7. Day 1 – Daily Feedback Form
8. HPHEPP Level I Peer Health Educator Training Pre-Assessment

Day 2 Materials

1. HPHEPP – Level I Day 2 Training Slides
2. Day 2 – Handout 2.1 -The Circles of Influence
3. Day 2 – Daily Feedback Form

Day 3 Materials

1. HPHEPP – Level I Day 3 Training Slides
2. Day 3 – Handout 3.1 – Hepatitis A, B, C Table
3. Day 3 – Handout 3.2 – Hepatitis A General Fact Sheet – CDC
4. Day 3 – Handout 3.3 – Hepatitis B General Fact Sheet – CDC
5. Day 3 – Handout 3.4 – Hepatitis C and Incarceration Fact Sheet – CDC
6. Day 3 – Handout 3.5 – The Liver Fact Sheet – HCV Advocate
7. Hepatitis Jeopardy
8. Day 3 – Daily Feedback Form

Day 4 Materials

1. HPHEPP – Level I Day 4 Training Slides
2. Day 4 – Handout 4.1 – Communication Skills Check List
3. Day 4 – Activity Sheet 4.1  - Peer Educator Presentation Feedback Form
4. Day 4 – Daily Feedback Form
5. HPHEPP  Level I Peer Health Educator Training Post-Assessment