The latest step is the conversion of a former minimum-security prison in Kansas City’s West Bottoms into the Transition Center of Kansas City (TCKC), a residential probation and parole center for men returning to the greater Kansas City area after incarceration or referred to TCKC while on probation. Instead of going home to old habits, clients work with reentry professionals on building a new mindset and the foundation for a better life.

Under the Division of Probation & Parole, TCKC, formerly the Kansas City Reentry Center, has been fully renovated. It’s equipped with housing for 150 clients and workspace for 106 staff, as well as classrooms, computer labs, a professional-attire lending closet, programming space and other features that promote a therapeutic environment.

New features for staff include a fitness room, new locker rooms, an updated training classroom, a staff cafeteria, and meticulously remodeled upstairs offices, conference rooms and event space.

TCKC staff did the remodeling work themselves, expertly installing floors, painting walls and transforming the building into a corrections showpiece.

The center follows a four-phase programming model established at the Transition Center of St. Louis (TCSTL): intake and orientation, programming, pre-release planning, and discharge planning.

Clients remain in the facility for at least 60 days, with supervised transportation provided for job interviews and other approved outings. TCKC is partnering with more than 50 area organizations offering holistic reentry services, behavioral health treatment, technology and financial services, education, training and employment. All residents are expected to be employed before they leave.

The TCKC team showed off their hard work to the community March 25 at a packed open house, featuring tours led by staff and remarks by Superintendent Michelle Tippie, Division of Probation & Parole Deputy Director Jamie Liakos and Center for Conflict Resolution Restorative Justice Strategist Gregory Winship. Watch the video »

Held at MECC, our first official graduation ceremony featured a keynote address by a graduate of the PCC pilot program, remarks by LaunchCode and corrections staff, and demonstrations of students’ apps and coding projects. Students designed applications that streamline the visitor approval and medical request processes, keep incarcerated parents up to date on their kids’ schoolwork, and create networks for fans of music, TV and fishing.

Two LaunchCoders who completed the program and have been released now have good jobs in tech in the St. Louis area. Missourinet interviewed Chris Santillan, a Potosi LaunchCode graduate now employed with Unlocked Labs. See his story »

At a March 30 press conference, Governor Mike Parson announced that the state would move to an endemic phase of response to the COVID-19 virus. This means that COVID, like other viruses -- such as HIV, the flu or tuberculosis -- will continue to be present in certain geographic areas or populations and will be monitored and managed accordingly. Emergency measures are no longer in place.

Effective April 1, the state is reducing data reporting frequency, individual case reporting, case investigation and contact tracing. COVID tests, vaccinations and information will continue to be available, and the state will maintain a warehouse of personal protective equipment. For a guide to the state's transition to the endemic phase, please take a look at this booklet.

In spring 2020, Missouri became one of the first states in the U.S. to begin monitoring COVID-19 levels in wastewater, gathering data that can alert communities days in advance about pending COVID outbreaks. This cost-effective public health tool helps mitigate the spread of the disease, reduce the strain on health care systems and save lives.

The Missouri Department of Corrections was at the forefront of the effort, working in partnership with the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Health and Senior Services and the University of Missouri on procedures to test the wastewater in Division of Adult Institutions and Division of Probation & Parole facilities twice a week. Test results are used to inform surveillance testing, boxed-in testing, quarantine and isolation processes within facilities, helping to contain the virus.

The Missouri Coronavirus Sewershed Surveillance Project (CSSP) now has earned the Governor’s Award for Quality and Productivity (GAQP) Pinnacle Award, the highest honor in this annual recognition of excellence, efficiency, innovation and process improvement in state government.

Budget Director Trevor Foley represented the department on the award-winning team.

March was Women's History Month, and the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations marked the occasion by highlighting inspiring women in leadership positions in state government. The video series includes interviews with Director Anne Precythe, Division Directors Julie Kempker and Susan Pulliam, and Regional Administrator Kim Hubbard-Stewart. Watch the whole series, "Missouri Women Make Missouri Stronger,"on the DOLIR YouTube channel.

Division of Offender Rehabilitative Services Director Travis Terry has earned the Director's Award of Valor for an act of bravery that helped a sheriff's deputy.

While traveling on a Missouri highway, Terry observed a law enforcement officer struggling to apprehend a combative suspect on the opposite shoulder. Terry pulled over, sprinted across four lanes of traffic, and secured the suspect just as he was reaching for the officer's weapon. Terry's act of heroism prevented serious injury and may have saved lives.

When it comes to finding information that can keep his facility safe, Justin Crabtree, a sergeant at Algoa Correctional Center (ACC), leaves no stone unturned. Last summer an offender arrived in the ACC medical unit injured and covered in blood but would not disclose the cause his injuries. Staff suspected he had been assaulted, and Crabtree interviewed the offender, to no avail. Concerned about the safety of other residents and staff, Crabtree then set about combing through the day’s surveillance video until he found footage of the moment the injury occurred. Another offender had pushed the victim down a flight of stairs, causing head injuries. The assailant was quickly apprehended. Crabtree’s diligence helped prevent an escalation of violence and protect the safety of the institution.

Carolyn Cregar, a records officer at Northeast Correctional Center (NECC), knows how to clear a backlog.

When COVID-19 restrictions temporarily shut down the ability to move release and discharge files to Fulton Reception and Diagnostic Center, the process fell behind schedule. Then Cregar stepped outside her normal job duties and took on the task. She spent six months listing, organizing, tracking down, moving and gathering nine months worth of release and discharge files and packing them into more than 150 boxes, incurring a few paper cuts along the way.

Thanks to her above-and-beyond work ethic, the facility is properly caught up with release dates for the first time in years.

Justin Hennings, a sergeant at Fulton Reception & Diagnostic Center, takes decisive action in a crisis.

When Hennings was working his post as a food service sergeant, a power outage forced the institution to run on a backup generator, preventing the food service team from cooking enough of the planned breakfast to feed the institution. Hennings alerted the shift commanders, kept the area secure, and worked with the food service staff on a backup breakfast plan, successfully ensuring everyone was calm and fed. But that was just the start of his day.

After everyone had been served and he was completing a security check of the kitchen, Hennings noticed sparks and smoke coming from an electrical outlet. He alerted the fire and safety officer, evacuated offenders and staff from the building, took a roll call to ensure everyone was accounted for in a safe location, and then returned to the scene to help contain the fire while waiting for the Fulton Fire Department to arrive.

His quick actions helped ensure no one was hurt and the kitchen damage was minimal.

Gregory Hancock has been named warden of Missouri Eastern Correctional Center (MECC), effective March 28, 2022.

Hancock began his career with the Missouri Department of Corrections in 2006 as a Correctional Officer I at the Southeast Correctional Center (SECC).

He served as a sergeant, captain, lieutenant and major at SECC before being promoted to deputy warden in September 2020.

Congratulations to new Southeast Correctional Center Officer Dylan Effan, recipient of the Director of Staff Training & Development Coin of Excellence for the Eastern Region Training Center. Effan was nominated by peers and selected by training center staff for demonstrating a high standard of excellence in areas including attendance, appearance, class conduct, class participation and test scores during basic training.

Continued efforts are being made to bring awareness to the Peer Action Care Team and the support they can offer coworkers. Now, thanks to one team member's creativity, it's easier to see which people at your worksite are P.A.C.T. people. P.A.C.T. members not only wear lapel pins but also display a placard, which helps identify members' work stations and signify a safe space to receive support and find resources. Do YOU have an idea for how to improve the PACT team? We’d love to hear it! Please contact Meckenzie.Hayes@doc.mo.gov with your ideas, or with any P.A.C.T. questions or concerns.

Part One: The Recruiting Competition

Duration: Sunday, January 30, 2022 – Saturday, April 30, 2022

How it Works: Each facility uses innovative recruitment strategies to hire new correctional offers and tracks the number hired during the Recruiting Competition.

Part Two: The Retention Competition

Duration: Sunday, May 1, 2022 – Saturday, October 29, 2022 (begins immediately following the Recruiting Competition)

How it Works: Each facility uses innovative retention strategies to retain new correctional officers and tracks the percentage of new hires acquired during the Recruiting Competition who are still employed at the end of the Retention Competition. If a tie occurs in the Retention Competition, the number of staff hired in the recruiting phase will serve as the tiebreaker.

Sign Up!

Each facility wishing to participate must submit an application (email format) for each competition. Apply by Feb. 7 for the Recruitment Competition and by May 1 for the Retention Competition. The application should include:

• Competition Leader – Contact name, contact information and site name.
• Plan of Action – What the site will do to boost recruitment and/or retention.

SUBMIT COMPETITION APPLICATIONS TO: Darin.Gerke@doc.mo.gov with the subject line: WINNING. All competition applications should be sent to the same address with the same subject line.

Win!

• Winners receive an onsite, all-staff barbecue, complete with desserts, presented by the Talent Acquisition Team.
• EVERYONE BENEFITS. The Talent Acquisition Team will compile best practices and present them at a wardens’ meeting and in the staff newsletter so each site can benefit from proven techniques.

Read all the rules »

I have more than 20 years of experience in law enforcement and corrections at multiple agencies. I have never before encountered training that specifically targets how to be a better supervisor in dealing with subordinates and everyone else you interact with. This is the reason why I became an ambassador.

This program gives people the tools to learn how to engage in quality conversations, building even greater trust, rapport and respect, which, of course, leads to the overall success of the MODOC. We work with staff to enhance their communication or simply teach them a new way to communicate, building skills that can be used in everyday conversations or during a difficult conversation.

Ambassadors hold classes for supervisors and front-line staff. We speak informally with other staff about the vision of The Corrections Way. We discuss how communication styles vary from person to person and how to recognize and adapt to others' ways of thinking. We teach simple steps to encourage quality conversations and to manage conflict by de-escalating and planning for difficult conversations. We get people to learn how their jobs are valuable and how they impact others. This can be done by simplifying communications and setting clear expectations. No matter whether you are a new employee or a grizzled veteran, everyone has the opportunity to learn and grow. I wish I'd had these tools earlier in my career, and I am glad they are being offered now.

Last month when an elderly visitor arrived at Western Missouri Correctional Center expecting to see an offender, she encountered two obstacles: It wasn't a visiting day, and she wasn't on the visiting list.

Instead of turning the confused woman away, Functional Unit Manager and Corrections Way Ambassador Sarah Morris, who encountered the situation on her way back from lunch, offered to help. Morris printed out a visiting application and sat down with the visitor to help her fill it out. She then escorted the visitor, who used a cane, to her car to ensure she made it across the parking lot safely.

The 2022 application period is now open for the Correctional Peace Officers Foundation scholarship program serving active CPOF members and qualifying family members enrolled full time in higher-education degree programs.

Applications and documentation are due Friday, April 15, 2022. Visit the CPOF website for eligibility requirements and application instructions.

We're working hard to retain staff and to make the Missouri Department of Corrections a great place to work and show how important each person is in what we do.

YOU CAN HELP.

• Warmly welcome new employees.
• Thank your coworkers.
• Keep a positive mindset.
• Give appreciative feedback.
• Recognize individual strengths.
• Remember the vital role you play in supporting the department's mission.