Three Rockville Correctional Facility Staff Honored at IDOC Commissioner's Awards Ceremony
Rockville, Ind. – Rockville Correctional Facility (RCF) Warden Julie Stout is pleased to share that three RCF staff members, Kyle Curtsinger, Jeffery Deakins, and Paul Johnson, have received the prestigious Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) Commissioner’s Employees of the Year Award for excellence in the performance of their duties.
Kyle Curtsinger is the Physical Plant Director at RCF leading a staff of plumbers, electricians, carpenters, and other craftsmen in maintaining the functionality of the entire RCF complex. This includes everything from mowing the grass, to building maintenance, to keeping a fleet of vehicles road worthy. Kyle was singled out for this award not only for his outstanding coordination and prioritization of the various tasks at hand, but in large part for his foresight in the early days of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Kyle ensured RCF had the supplies on hand to deal with the ever-changing health protocols and set into motion an outstanding pandemic response plan. Part of this plan included the construction of barriers in several locations throughout the facility to accommodate spaces repurposed for quarantining and isolation of positive COVID-19 patients. This was all done in a matter of hours on a weekend and was made possible by Kyle’s foresight and planning.
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Jeffrey Deakins and Paul Johnson are Chaplains in RCF’s Offender Chapel Services Division. These two men work in concert not only with one another, but with Community Services Coordinator Susie Martin to ensure the religious needs of a varied and diverse offender population are addressed. As the global pandemic began to rage in 2020, volunteers were no longer allowed inside IDOC facilities. Jeff and Paul immediately began looking for workable solutions to assist in delivery of religious services. Among their innovative responses was the request and subsequent installation of updated technology enabling delivery of religious programming to offenders in their housing units. In a time of extreme uncertainty amongst the offender population Jeff and Paul were able to provide comfort by way of positive messaging from volunteers known to the offender population via video. Additionally, for over a year without volunteers in the facility, Jeff and Paul led evening services in the offender housing units, one unit a night, Monday through Friday. Jeff and Paul appeared together at a Kairos National Conference where they presented a workshop detailing the effects of Kairos volunteers on the RCF offender population. Their presentation was the hit of the conferences receiving recognition from the national leadership who is now using RCF’s materials to recruit more volunteers nationwide. These Chaplains have never become negative, complained, or faltered because of their increased responsibilities during the pandemic, in fact they have consistently positively reinforced the message, “we can do this” to the offender population and their fellow staff.
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Warden Stout commented, “Kyle has established solid working relationships with his staff, facility venders, and facility staff enabling installation of solutions in a timely fashion. He is a pleasure to work with and most deserving of the Physical Plant Employee of the Year Award.”
“Chaplains Deakins’ and Johnson’s accomplishments throughout the pandemic have been nothing short of remarkable exemplifying the core values of the Indiana Department of Correction,” said Pam Ferguson, RCF Deputy Warden of Re-Entry.
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