Family and Friends Newsletter-May, 2019

Missouri Department of Corrections sent this bulletin at 05/02/2019 12:08 PM CDT

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Family and Friends Newsletter | May 2019

Offender Accountability Program

Offender Rulebook stack

Conduct rules are essential to ensure safety and security for everyone within the correctional institution. The conduct rules and offender accountability program are designed to clearly identify prohibited conduct and to promote responsible behavior. The department is committed to fair and impartial enforcement of the conduct rules. It is our expectation that each person will comply fully with the rules and treat others with respect and civility. We encourage offenders to utilize their incarceration to make and demonstrate improvements in their lives. Compliance with conduct rules and active involvement in work, education and other rehabilitative programs available at the institution will help to make an offender’s period of incarceration productive and prepare them to successfully reenter and live in a free society.

Effective May 1, procedures relating to offender discipline have been replaced with IS19-1.6 Offender Accountability Program. The new procedure will expand and further define offender rules, modify corrective sanctions, provide positive behavior incentives, and shift from a disciplinary approach to recognizing offenders for both positive and negative behaviors. New rulebooks will be distributed to the offender population and made available on the offender tablets.

Corrective sanctions may be imposed for conduct violations, on a case by case basis during the corrective hearing process and should be tailored to individual circumstances. The corrective hearing officer or adjustment board may adjust any part or all to modify sanctions, as long as it falls within the established guidelines.

The new Offender Rulebook has been distributed to the offender population and can be found on the Department of Corrections website.   

Prison Performing Arts

Prison Performing Arts

Prison Performing Arts (PPA) is a performing arts program dedicated to enriching the lives of adults and youth in Missouri’s criminal justice system. PPA fosters individual and social change by providing incarcerated adults and returning citizens with opportunities to participate in the arts as artists, students, and audience members. PPA programs aim to improve literacy and communication skills, instill responsibility, promote non-violent expression of emotion, inspire personal development and nurture discipline and teamwork. Offenders in the program study a play, audition for parts, rehearse and then perform their own productions for fellow offenders, their families, and the public.

PPA programs in the Missouri Department of Corrections include:

  • The Men of the Theatre Company, Northeast Correctional Center (NECC) Bowling Green, MO
  • The Vandalia Women's Theatre, Women's Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center (WERDCC), Vandalia, MO
  • The Pacific Project, Missouri Eastern Correctional Center (MECC), Pacific, MO

If you would like to attend a PPA play, visit http://prisonartsstl.org/ for show times.

Resources for Families of Incarcerated Individuals

Kairos logo

Kairos Outside offers a comfortable, non-judgmental retreat for women to support each other as they journey through the incarceration of a friend or relative.

The Kairos Outside Weekend is a 2 ½ day program based on a series of talks by volunteers designed to address the pain of enduring separation from the one inside and the judgment of others from their community. Guests hear the talks in small groups and the program is interspersed with music, prayer, and fun activities.

Kairos Prison Ministry is a Christian program, although no religious affiliation is necessary. Any 20-year-old or older female family member whose life has been impacted by the incarceration of a loved one, or a woman who was unable to attend Kairos Inside while in prison, is eligible to attend Kairos Outside.

Kairos Outside Helps Women Impacted by Incarceration:

  • By providing a safe place to share
  • By offering unconditional love and acceptance in a Christian setting
  • By women journeying together in small groups through SWAP (Share, Witness, Account & Pray) and    Reunion Meetings
  • By fostering spiritual growth and community
  • By promoting participation in small groups
  • By creating an opportunity for a relationship with God

After the Weekend, the women journey together through SWAP and Reunion meetings to grow in their Christian faith and become active members of the Kairos Outside community. They support and encourage each other as they deal with the impact of prison on themselves and their families.