 The state’s business cycle runs on a fiscal year timeframe, this year from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024 (FY2024). Each year we articulate our priorities to support better government in Missouri through our strategic plan. In fiscal year 2024, our mission and our goals remain constant, but our strategic initiatives continue to evolve. We are building on past years' success and adding new priorities.
Take a look at our current strategic initiatives »
Program Adopts New Attitude and Format
When it comes to creating a positive, welcoming environment, Staff Training & Development is making a shift. Instead of requiring training focused on behaviors the department wants to avoid, the newly revamped program reinforces behaviors we want to encourage.
The training course previously known as Addressing Discrimination, Harassment, Retaliation and Unprofessional Conduct (ADHRUC) has been replaced with a new course called Dignity, Courtesy and Respect in the Workplace, effective July 1, 2023. The course is required for all staff.
As was the case with ADHRUC, the Department of Corrections Civil Rights Training Unit will offer multiple versions of the course tailored to the particular needs of staff in each job type: frontline staff, supervisory staff, administrative staff and executive staff. The Civil Rights Training Unit also provides a course specifically for new supervisors.
All Dignity, Courtesy and Respect in the Workplace courses for supervisor-level staff and higher will be conducted as in-seat training. However, in the new fiscal year (FY24), frontline staff will alternate each year between in-seat and online training for this course, based on worksite.
The Training Academy and the Civil Rights Training Unit are excited to introduce Dignity, Courtesy and Respect in the Workplace to reinforce our commitment to a positive corrections culture. Questions? Please contact your training coordinator.
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State Launches New Staff Appreciation System
 The State of Missouri Office of Administration has announced the launch of MO Cred, a new platform for recognizing state team members’ learning, skills and experiences in a meaningful way. All team members are eligible to earn digital badges to highlight their commitment to professional development, personal growth and public service.
How It Works
The State of Missouri partnered with the company Accredible to launch MO Cred. The digital platform allows for the creation and issuing of statewide and department-specific digital badges. Recipients can share their digital badges on social media and LinkedIn and can embed them in email signatures. OA’s Division of Personnel (DOP) designs and issues statewide digital badges that team members may earn regardless of what department they work in. In addition, each department creates and issues its own.
This credentialing program is designed to recognize the learning, skills and achievements considered mid- to high-stakes and requiring moderate to significant commitment and going above and beyond what is required of a position. Therefore, each state department must adhere to established criteria:
Digital badges can be issued for
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Optional training opportunities not required of someone’s role or position
- Diversity and inclusion councils
- Awards (various things listed on the MO Appreciation website)
- Department-specific values
Digital badges cannot be issued for
- Required training, certifications, or Leadership Development Rule completion
- Credentialing or certifications completed by an outside organization
Our department identifies training opportunities that meet the established criteria and will issue the digital badges to team members who have completed the training. Once team members have earned their digital badges, they will keep them for life. Changing positions, changing state departments or leaving the state will not affect the badges that are earned.
How It Looks
 Missouri Department of Corrections badges are underway.
Peer Action Care Team (PACT) badges have been issued to team members. Correctional Emergency Response Team (CERT) badges and The Corrections Way Ambassador badges are in progress and will be issued soon.
Only Corrections Way Ambassadors who have completed the High Impact Facilitation Seminar will receive the ambassador badge now; other ambassadors must attend either the High Impact Facilitation Seminar make-up session in September or a regularly scheduled boot camp to be eligible. The lists for PACT or CERT team badges will be updated quarterly, and the ambassador list will be updated twice a year.
For more details, visit the MO Cred website at moappreciation.mo.gov/mocred.
Missourians Can Now Access a State ID on a Cell Phone
Digging out a driver's license or state ID every time you need to verify your age may soon be a thing of the past. The state of Missouri has launched a digital Mobile ID application.
- The mID is a convenient alternative option for proving identity from your mobile device. It is a voluntary, secure, digitized version of a valid Missouri-issued driver license, nondriver identification card or noncommercial instruction permit that a Missourian securely accesses through an app on a compatible smartphone.
- Downloading the mID app from the App Store or Google Play is free.
- The mID does not replace the physical card.
- The mID is secured by use of a secure pin or face capture from your mobile device. After securely accessing the mID, the user controls what information is displayed or shared, with the help of privacy view options.This feature enables users to verify their age at participating locations without exposing other sensitive data such as height, weight or address.
- Entities electing to accept the mID for verification may use the free downloadable Verify app available from the App Store or Google Play, online options, or other scanners or bar code readers.
In addition to the Mobile ID, the Missouri Department of Revenue is continuing development and testing for a new secure remote-renewal process, which will be available to Mobile ID-enrolled users who meet eligibility requirements, are 21-49 years of age, and certify meeting vision examination requirements within the preceding 12 months. This remote renewal process is still being piloted.
Learn more at the Missouri Department of Revenue website.
Laura Sanning, business manager at Tipton Correctional Center (TCC), has been named employee of the month for June 2023.
Sanning is a top-notch pinch hitter. When Boonville Correctional Center was left without a business manager as the end of the fiscal year and budget deadlines loomed, Sanning offered to step in.
She traveled to Boonville twice a week to restructure BCC’s business office and get the facility caught up. She balanced budgets and expenditures. She made sure the proper tools were being used in daily operations. And when a BCC budget manager came on board, she even helped train and mentor the new hire — all while keeping TCC’s business operations running smoothly.
Thanks to her boundless generosity and expert juggling skills, both facilities were able to keep operations afloat.
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Golf Tournament Supports Benevolent Fund
 Sign up now for the 22nd Annual Director's Cup golf tournament, scheduled for Friday, Aug. 18, at Tanglewood Golf Course in Fulton. The four-person scramble benefits the Missouri 10-33 Benevolent Fund, a statewide fund for the survivors of public safety officers who have given their lives in the line of duty, in service to their fellow citizens.
The cost to enter is $100 per person — $40 for golf, $60 for 10-33 fund membership. No foursome? No worries. Individual golfers are encouraged to sign up; teams will be formed as needed. Can't make it? Support the cause as a donor or hole sponsor.
Since the Missouri 10-33 Benevolent Fund's inception in 2000, 125 public safety professionals have sacrificed their lives in service to citizens of Missouri. Support keeps the fund afloat and furthers its mission of helping families who have lost loved ones in the line of duty.
For tournament information, call 573-522-5969 or email Mark.Stoehr@doc.mo.gov.
Honor Guard Attends National CPOF Event
 Last month the Missouri Department of Corrections Honor Guard represented our agency in St. Louis at the Correctional Peace Officers Foundation (CPOF) Project 2000 national meeting. Since 1990, CPOF has hosted the annual four-day event to memorialize corrections professionals who lost their lives in the line of duty during the preceding year. Surviving family members are honored guests at the gathering, which features an honor guard, seminars, and support group sessions as well as hosted meals.
Probation & Parole Staff Honored with Lifesaver Award
 Probation & Parole District 12 staff members Angela Hulst (Moody), a storekeeper, and Jennifer Jones, a probation and parole officer, have been recognized with the department's Lifesaver Award. Hulst and Jones were the first to respond when a community supervision center resident experienced a medical emergency. They provided first aid and lifesaving measures until emergency personnel arrived. Thanks to their quick response, the resident made a full recovery.
Staff Get a Jump on Charitable Campaign
Southeast Correctional Center (SECC) has kicked off staff participation in the local Shop with a Cop event, through which area kids with limited resources shop with law enforcement officers and other emergency personnel for holiday gifts.
SECC has set up a Shop with a Cop Wall of Honor to encourage donations and recognize fund-raisers. The goal is to raise $2,500 to sponsor 10 kids from the East Prairie and Charleston school districts.
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Stay Safe in Hot Weather
Last month MODOC Wellness distributed staff dehydration-prevention bundles to the department's largest worksites. The bundles included electrolyte drink mix, coolers and cooling cloths for employees who work in the heat. Bundles came with information about the dangers of dehydration and the role high consumption of caffeine and sugar can play.
In Vandalia, staff working outside at Women's Eastern Reception, Diagnostic & Correctional Center (WERDCC) were excited to get new gear designed to help them stay cool in extreme heat. Staff soak the towels in cold water and drape them over their necks and heads. Evaporation of the water creates a cooling effect.
If you're working in the heat, keep an eye out for signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke in yourself or your colleagues. Make sure hydration stations are available and are being used. Also please follow facility leaders' instructions regarding ice distribution and use of electric fans.
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Community Gardens Underway
 In July 2023, more than 94% of the state of Missouri is experiencing drought conditions; 20% is in severe drought. Still, staff and offenders brave the heat to keep Restorative Justice gardens flourishing. So far this season, Western Reception, Diagnostic & Correctional Center (WRDCC) has donated more than 1,000 pounds of fresh produce to area nonprofit organizations, providing fresh food to people who need it. This batch of squashes went to local churches.
Jefferson City Publication Recognizes ACC Innovations
 The Jefferson City News-Tribune recently highlighted Algoa Correctional Center (ACC) programs designed to improve reentry outcomes and make the facility safer for staff and offenders. In a series of articles, the publication delved into the ACC reentry center, where teams of staff work to ensure offenders nearing release are equipped with the tools they need for successful integration into the community. It also took readers inside the ACC honor dorm, where residents, incentivized to engage in positive behaviors, experience more freedom of movement, resident-led conflict resolution, dedicated recreation spaces and more. The program has brought about a significant decline in conduct violations throughout the facility.
Corrections Way ambassadors serve a vital role in supporting The Corrections Way (TCW), a foundation of conduct and communication built around a core of common values guiding our work. Ambassadors steer fellow staff to resources and answer questions about Corrections Way training, practice and initiatives. They keep TCW at the forefront at sites across the state. They facilitate TCW workshops, conduct leadership walks, create TCW bulletin boards, assist with planning for quality conversations, de-escalate staff tensions, send motivational emails, create TCW newsletters, and assist with planning fun activities that build morale. They are a dedicated group of people who want to create a working environment where everyone belongs — an environment built on trust, respect and rapport!
High-Impact Facilitation Seminars
 Recently staff at the forefront of The Corrections Way took part in High Impact Facilitation Seminars to help participants build confidence, sharpen their abilities and take their facilitation efforts to the next level.
In three sessions held over the course of three days, the Carden Group, the consulting firm that worked with the Department of Corrections to develop The Corrections Way, worked with corrections staff to build competence. Advisers actively transferred skills to the teams so they can continue their work toward improving the work culture, engaging team members, building value, and creating clarity and alignment to an overall purpose. For change to truly be a transformation, the tools, skills and attitudes have to be woven into the DNA of an organization. At each level, the internal structure, support and enthusiasm to drive even greater momentum are imperative for ongoing success.
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Director's Coin of Excellence
 Meet the newest recipients of the Director of Staff Training & Development Coin of Excellence, who rose to the top of Class 15 at each of the department's three training centers. The new team members were 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.
Congratulations to Robert Goforth from Eastern Reception Diagnostic & Correctional Center (ERDCC), Terrin Ellis from Chillicothe Correctional Center (CCC) and Mackenzie Baldwin from Northeast Correctional Center (NECC). Welcome to the family!
Training Academy Newsletter
Check out Training Academy Corner, a monthly newsletter of the Missouri Department of Corrections Training Academy, to meet new trainers and stay up to date on training requirements and course offerings.
Mission
Improving Lives for Safer Communities
Vision
Excellence in Corrections for a Safer Missouri
Values
We value safe work environments, a capable workforce and reduced risk and recidivism.
We value integrity and respect.
We value supportive leadership.
We value employee participation and teamwork.
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