2017 National Symposium on Corrections Worker Health

Second National Symposium on Corrections Worker Health

The second National Symposium on Corrections Worker Health was held on August 17, 2017 in Saint Louis, Missouri. Seventy five academic researchers, practitioners, and correctional organization leaders came together to discuss the how to advance health, safety and well-being for correctional workers. This event builds on the 2014 first National Symposium, held in Portland, Oregon.

The symposium program included podium and panel presentations by correctional department administrators from Connecticut, Oregon, Idaho, and California, and researchers from Northeastern University, Saint Louis University, University of Massachusetts Lowell, University of Connecticut, Desert Waters Correctional Outreach, and Threshold GlobalWorks.

Special thanks goes to Saint Louis University for hosting the event and coordinating logistics, the John Jay College of Criminal Justice-Prisoner Re-entry Institute, and the many collaborating partners/organizers who make up the National Corrections Collaborative.

Videos of selected presentation will be available soon – please check back in late September 2017.

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Agenda

• Welcome byMissouri House Representative, Bruce Franks, Jr
• Introduction byLisa Jaegers, PhD OTR/L & Mazen El Ghaziri, Ph.D., M.P.H., RN
• Background on National Corrections Collaborative by Martin Cherniack, M.D., M.P.H.
• Remarks: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (pdf) by Paula L. Grubb, Ph.D.
• Remarks: National Institute of Justice (pdf) by Angela Moore, Ph.D.
• The Many Dimensions of Correctional Staff Health (pdf) by Caterina Spinaris, Executive Director, Desert Waters Correctional Outreach
• Staff Health: Correctional Administrators' Concerns Moderated by Maureen Buell, National Institute of Corrections 
  Discussants: Scott Semple, Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Correction -Connecticut DOC presentation (pdf)
  Henry Atencio, Director, Idaho Department of Correction - Idaho DOC presentation (pdf)
  Katherine Minnich, Deputy Director, Human Resources, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation - California DOC and Rehabilitation presentation (pdf) 

Presentations

1. Presentation 1: Health Improvement Through Employee Control (HITEC) Project in Connecticut: Participatory Approaches for Correctional Officer Health and Wellness (pdf) Presented by Mazen El Ghaziri, Ph.D., M.P.H., RN, Martin Cherniack, M.D., M.P.H., and Jeff Dussetschleger, DDS, M.P.H.
2. Presentation 2:Wellness in Oregon’s Department of Corrections (pdf) Presented by Colette Peters, Director, Oregon Department of Corrections and Zach Erdman, Operations & Policy Manager
3. Presentation 3: A Participatory needs assessment to Identify Correctional Workplace Health Interventions 2015-2016(pdf) Presented by Lisa Jaegers, Ph.D. OTR/LandCity of St. Louis Division of Corrections representatives and research partner
4. Presentation 4: Stress, Trauma, and Suicide. Moderated by Ann Jacobs, Director, Prisoner Reentry Institute, John Jay College
   Speakers: Natasha A. Frost, PhD, Northeastern University -Correctional Officer Suicide and Officer Well-being presentation (pdf)
   Laurie Leitch, Ph.D., Director, Threshold Globalworks -Skill Power vs. Will Power presentation (pdf)
   Caterina Spinaris Ph.D., LPC, Director, Desert Waters Correctional Outreach -Corrections Worker Stress, Trauma, and Suicide presentation (pdf)

Round table presentations and discussions (30-minute sessions at each table - choose 2)

• Table 1: The Total Worker Health®in Corrections approach in corrections
• Table 2: Peer-to-peer CO support programs
• Table 3: Interventions directed to support CO family life and CO work-life balance
• Table 4: Workforce-led efforts to deal with substance misuse
• Table 5: Interventions directed to critical incidents and post-traumatic stress, mental health
• Table 6: Issues around using EAPs and other services for CO stress-related and other problems
• Table 7: Low hanging fruit for health and the wellness at the workplace
• Table 8: What’s on your mind for CO health and wellness?

• Martin Cherniack, M.D., M.P.H.
  Professor of Medicine
  Co-Director CPH-NEW
  University of Connecticut Health Center
• Jeff Dussetschleger, DDS, M.P.H.
  Project Coordinator
  Center for the Promotion of Health in the New England Workplace
  University of Connecticut Health Center
• Mazen El Ghaziri, Ph.D., M.P.H., RN
  Assistant Professor
  Susan and Alan Solomont School of Nursing
  Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences
  University of Massachusetts Lowell
• Natasha A. Frost, Ph.D.
  Associate dean for graduate studies in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities
  Associate professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
  Northeastern University
• Paula L. Grubb, Ph.D.
  Acting Team Leader
  Work Organization and Stress Research Team
  Division of Applied Research and Technology
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Ann Jacobs
  Director, Prisoner Reentry Institute
  John Jay College of Criminal Justice
• Lisa Jaegers, Ph.D. OTR/L
  Assistant Professor
  Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy, Doisy College of Health Sciences
  School of Social Work, College for Public Health & Social Justice
  Co-Director, Health Criminology Research Consortium
  Saint Louis University
• Caterina G. Spinaris, Ph.D., LPC
  Executive Director
  Desert Waters Correctional Outreach
• Maureen Buell
  National Institute of Corrections
• Scott Semple
  Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Correction
• Colette Peters
  Director, Oregon Department of Correction
• Katherine Minnich
  Deputy Director, Human Resources, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
• Henry Atencio
  Director, Idaho Department of Correction
• Laurie Leitch, Ph.D.
  Director, Threshold Globalworks
• Angela Moore, Ph.D.
  Division Director, Justice Systems Research Division
  National Institute of Justice
  U.S. Department of Justice