Module 1: Section 6: Authors and Contributors

Jeff Mellow is a professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at John Jay College and a member of the Doctoral Faculty in Criminal Justice at the City University of New York Graduate Center. He is a project team member of the National Institute of Corrections’ Transition from Jail to the Community Initiative, and site director in Manhattan for the Office of National Drug Council Policy’s Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program. His research interests primarily focus on program implementation and evaluation, developing effective correctional programs, improving the health care needs of justice-involved individuals, and community corrections. Dr. Mellow has conducted research and evaluations on a wide variety of correctional topics, including halfway back, reentry, and correctional health care programs.  He is lead author of The Jail Administrator’s Toolkit for Reentry and has recently been published in Crime and Delinquency, American Journal of Public Health, and Criminal Justice Policy Review. Dr. Mellow earned his Ph.D. from the School of Criminal Justice at the University at Albany of the State University of New York. He can be reached at jmellow@jjay.cuny.edu.

Gary E. Christensen has worked within the correctional field for the past 35 years. He has researched extensively the premise of evidence-based or outcome-driven practice within a correctional milieu and initiated several innovative correctional programs, including the Dutchess County Jail Transition Program (DCJTP), which has been recognized nationally for significant recidivism reduction and the enhancement of general public safety.  In addition to his responsibilities as jail administrator, Dr. Christensen also served in an advisory capacity to the Executive and Legislative branches of County Government as chair of the Dutchess County Criminal Justice Council (CJC) and authored legislation to counter the effects of police racial profiling and coordinated criminal justice system master planning and the implementation of system-wide, evidence-based criminal justice practice.  For his many contributions to the field of corrections, Dr. Christensen has received recognition from numerous local and state entities and, in 2007, received national acclaim by being named the Jail Administrator of the Year by the American Jail Association.  Since his retirement from public service, as president of Corrections Partners, Inc., Dr. Christensen continues to work with leaders throughout the field of criminal justice to enhance the implementation of evidence based practice throughout their systems of criminal justice. He has developed the Applied Correctional Transition Strategy (ACTS), a comprehensive software suite designed to enhance all aspects of daily jail transition as well as provide policy-makers with essential information to ensure that allocated resources lead to the most productive and cost efficient outcomes.  Dr. Christensen continues to serve on several national advisory boards investigating innovative responses to pressing issues within corrections and author publications for the field at large, inclusive of the Transition from Jail to the Community Implementation Initiative/Toolkit, Evidence-Based Decision Making Initiative,   and the Prison Rape Elimination Act National Review Panel.  Dr. Christensen is a Professor of Management, Leadership, and Organizational Psychology at the University of Phoenix, School of Advanced Studies, an Adjunct Professor at Marist College, and qualified as a Master Police/Peace Instructor by the State of New York.

Kevin Warwick began working in the field of Criminal Justice in 1981 and has over 33 years of experience working for a 2,000-bed county corrections facility. As assistant superintendent of community corrections, Mr. Warwick managed 15 community-based programs, including three partnership programs with probation, parole, and numerous community-based providers. In 1986, he designed and directed the first day reporting center in the country with the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department in Massachusetts. Mr. Warwick developed all of the reentry programs in Hampden county. Mr. Warwick has worked with jurisdictions all around the country in 48 states developing reentry programs, jail overcrowding programs, and management solutions. He is the lead technical assistance provider for the NIC Transition from Jail to Community project. He is presently a consultant working for many counties around the country on reentry planning and program implementation. He has published numerous articles on community corrections, jail treatment, and reentry programs. Mr. Warwick has a master’s degree in social work from University of Connecticut and is an adjunct professor at Western New England College, the University of Massachusetts and Community College of Vermont. He received the Jim Justice Professional Excellence Award in May 1994, presented by the Corrections Association of Massachusetts. Mr. Warwick is the president of Alternative Solutions Associates, Inc., providing various consulting services including training, development, evaluation of local criminal justice systems, and program design and development. He can be reached at warwickevin@msn.com.

Janeen Buck Willison is a Senior Research Associate in the Justice Policy Center at the Urban Institute. She has more than a decade of experience managing and directing complex multi-site fieldwork studies of youth and adult populations, including studies which employ experimental (random assignment) and quasi-experimental designs and performance measurement frameworks. Her research focuses on adult and juvenile reentry, specialized courts, juvenile justice reform, mental health interventions for offenders, and evidence-based practice and systems change. She is Principal Investigator for the National Institute of Justice (NIJ)-funded Evaluability Assessment (EA) of the FY2011 Second Chance Act (SCA) Adult Offender Reentry Demonstration Projects and the Evaluation of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention FY2010 SCA Juvenile Offender Reentry Demonstration Projects. Additionally, she serves as the Evaluation Director for the Transition from Jail to Community (TJC) initiative in six sites and co-leads an assessment of the National Institute of Corrections’ Norval Morris workforce transformation project.  Ms. Buck Willison is a graduate of Hood College and holds a Master’s degree in Justice, Law and Society from American University in Washington, D.C. She can be reached at jbuck@ui.urban.org.

Contributors

The authors would like to thank the following individuals for their assistance in the development of this resource:

Kevin Barnes-Ceeney, former probation officer for the South Wales Probation Service and doctoral student at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, for all of his help in drafting the reentry revisited questions, section summaries, and resource content. His field experience and insights managing high-risk offenders was a great benefit when drafting the modules.

Jesse Jannetta, Allison Dwyer, Amy Solomon, Diana Brazzell, Andrea Matthews, and Shebani Rao at the Urban Institute for their tireless efforts in reviewing each module and providing excellent feedback.
We would personally like to thank our Transition from Jail to Community core team members in each of the following  counties for their time, effort, and commitment in implementing the TJC initiative.

Phase I TJC Learning Sites

Davidson County, TN

Jeaneice Shearon, TJC Site Coordinator and Re-Entry Coordinator, Davidson County Sheriff's Office
Carla Brookins, Re-Entry Specialist, Davidson County Sheriff's Office
Gerry Ivy, Re-Entry Specialist, Davidson County Sheriff's Office
Melinda McDowell, JMS Database Program Manager, Davidson County Sheriff's Office
Paul Mulloy, Director of Programs, Offender Reentry Center
Davidson County Sheriff's Office
Carmen Turks, Re-Entry Specialist, Davidson County Sheriff's Office
Chuck Willis, Pretrial Manager, Davidson County Sheriff's Office

Denver, CO

Shelley Siman, TJC Site Coordinator and Program Coordinator, Denver Crime Prevention and Control Commission
Shirley Beye, Diversion Officer, Life Skills Program, Denver Sheriff Department
Lisa Calderon, Director, Community Reentry Project
Cathie Dunphy, Denver Crime Prevention and Control Commission
Angela Hardin, Case Manager, Community Reentry Project
Regina Huerter, Executive Director, Denver Crime Prevention and Control Commission
Carol Lease, Executive Director, Empowerment Program
Michael Than, Major, Denver Sheriff Department
Paul Oliva, Captain, Denver Sheriff Department

Douglas County, KS

Shannon Murphy, TJC Site Coordinator and Reentry Director, Douglas County Sheriff's Office
Mike Caron, Programs Director, Douglas County Sheriff's Office
Deborah Ferguson, Adult ISP Officer III, Douglas County Community Corrections
Wes Houk, Sergeant, Douglas County Sheriff's Office
Marciana Vequist, Senior Therapist for Adult Outpatient Services, Bert Nash Community Health Center
Norm White, Customer and Community Affairs, Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitative Services

Kent County, MI

Ross Buitendorp, Clinical Director, Network 180 Addiction Services
Dave Anderson, Captain, Kent County Sheriff's Office
Randy Demory, Captain. Kent County Correctional Facility
Barb DeVos, Community Corrections Planner, Office of Community Corrections
Jack Greenfield, President/CEO, Arbor Circle
Andrew VerHeek, Community Corrections Planner, Office of Community Corrections

La Crosse County, WI

Jane Klekamp. TJC Site Coordinator and Manager, Chemical Health and Justice Sanctions, La Crosse County Human Services
Vicki Burke, Chair, Judiciary and Law Committee, La Crosse County Board of Supervisors
Doris Daggett, Captain, La Crosse County Sheriff's Department
Mike Kiefer, Programs Coordinator, La Crosse County Sheriff's Department
Mary Kay Wolf, Executive Director, YWCA La Crosse
Orange County, CA
Dominic Mejico, TJC Site Coordinator, Inmate Services Administration Manager, Orange County Sheriff's Department
Greg Boston, Administration Manager II, Inmate Services, Orange County Sheriff's Department
Melody Cantrell, Inmate Re-Entry Supervisor I, Inmate Services, Orange County Sheriff's Department
Sharron Gibson Casler, Director, Inmate Services, Orange County Sheriff's Department
Geoffrey Henderson, Senior Program Director, Phoenix House Orange County
Stacey McCoy, Assistant Division Director, Orange County Probation Department
Robert Rangel, Director, Program Division/Public Information Officer, Orange County Probation Department
Heather Wroniak, Research Analyst, Inmate Services, Orange County Sheriff's Department

Phase II TJC Learning Sites

Ada County, ID

Michael Moser, TJC Site Co-Coordinator, Manager, Alternative Sentencing & Programs, Ada County Sheriff's Office
Christopher Saunders. TJC Site Co-Coordinator and Supervisor, Programs, Ada County Sheriff's Office
Amy Aaron, Manager, Planning and Research, Ada County Sheriff's Office
Joseph DeRosier, Jail Sergeant, Ada County Sheriff's Department
Brian Hippe, Sergeant, Pretrial Release & Compliance, Ada County Sheriff's Office
Lynn Jones, Alternative Sentencing Supervisor, Ada County Sheriff's Office
Sandy Jones, Manager, Misdemeanor Probation, Ada County Sheriff's Office
Timothy Leigh, Assistant Manager, Idaho Department of Labor
Paul Stoltenberg, Sergeant, Jail Inmate Classification, Ada County Sheriff's Office
DeLanie Valentine, Director, Adult Behavioral Health & Youth Services, Easter-Seals Goodwill

Franklin County, MA

Ed Hayes, TJC Site Coordinator and Assistant Deputy Superintendent of Treatment, Franklin County Sheriff's Office
Candace Angier, Former TJC Site Coordinator, Assistant Superintendent, Inmate Programs, Franklin County Sheriff's Office
Leslie Bannish, Assistant Deputy Superintendent, Classification, Franklin County Sheriff's Office
Rebecca Bialecki, Executive Director, North Quabbin Community Coalition
Fred Bliss, Assistant Deputy Superintendent, Business Process & Information Technology, Franklin County Sheriff's Office
Lucinda Brown, Community Relations Coordinator, Greenfield District Court
Tonie Deangelis, Chief Probation Officer, Greenfield District Court
Holly Kosisky, Asset Development & Community Collaboration Coordinator, Community Action
Tim Simons, Field Officer, Massachusetts Probation
Stephen Wheeler, Chief Probation Officer, Orange County Courts

Fresno County, CA

Kay Hickman, TJC Site Co-Coordinator, Fresno Probation
Michelle LeFors, TJC Site Co-Coordinator, Offender Programs Manager, Fresno County Sheriff's Office
Terry Barnes, Sergeant, Fresno County Sheriff's Office
Neil Dadian, Captain, Fresno County Sheriff's Office
Nancy Dominguez, Probation Services Manager, Fresno Probation, Adult Division, AB 109 Unit
Craig Downing, Fresno Probation
Pete Garcia, Fresno Probation
Stephanie Gibbs, Sergeant, Fresno County Sheriff's Office
Kirk Haynes, Probation Services Manager, Fresno Probation
Emma Hughes, Cal State Fresno
Paul Lee, Probation Officer, Fresno Probation
David Ruiz, Probation Services Manager, Fresno Probation
Joy Thompson, Division Director, Adult Probation Services, Fresno Probation
David Touma, Senior Systems and Procedures Analyst, Fresno Probation
Jared Verdiales, Probation Officer, Fresno Probation

Hennepin County, MN

Brad Kaeter, TJC Coordinator, Adult Probation Services, Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation
Stephanie Ahles, Acting Supervisor, Office of Policy, Planning, and Evaluation, Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation
Pamela Benson, Probation Officer, Adult Field Services, Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation
Jennifer DeCubellis, Area Director, Human Services and Public Health Department
Andrea Ferstan, Director of Income Strategies, United Way
Dennis Gilbertson, Division Manager, Adult Corrections Facility, Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation
Brittany Lockwood, Corrections Officer, Adult Corrections Facility, Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation
Ana Memedovich, Principal Planning Analyst, Human Services and Public Health Department
Connie Meyer, TJC Co-coordinator and Program Manager, Adult Corrections Facility, Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation
Deborah Nonemaker, Principle Planning, Office of Policy, Planning, and Evaluation, Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation
Tony Orozco, Corrections Officer, Adult Corrections Facility, Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation
Julie Rud, Manager, Office of Policy, Planning, and Evaluation, Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation
Jennifer Schuster-Jaeger, Area Director Organizational Change Management, Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation
Brent Sizer, Detention Lieutenant, Hennepin County Sheriff's Office

Howard County, MD

Patricia Schupple, TJC Site Coordinator, Deputy Director, Howard County Detention Center
Yolanda Bethea, Director, Community Supervision, Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services
Andrew Eckstein, Northern Regional Assistant Director, Community Supervision, Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services
Darlene Jolly, TJC Assistant Site Coordinator, Community Programs Counselor, Howard County Detention Center
Janet Jones, Adult Services Coordinator, Howard County Mental Health Authority
Jack Kavanagh, Director, Howard County Detention Center
Paula McCreary, Technical Services Manager, Howard County Department of Technology & Communication Services
Barrington Page, Program Administrator I, Howard County Health Department
Scott Pullen, Reentry Coordinator, Howard County Detention Center
Pam Sorensen, Classification/ Work Release Supervisor, Howard County Detention Center
Donna Wells, Executive Director, Howard County Mental Health Authority

Jacksonville, FL

Tammy Morris, TJC Site Coordinator, Captain, Howard County Detention Center
Kenneth Arnold, Director, River Region Human Services
Waylon Barkley, Captain, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office
Katherine Burns, Reentry Coordinator, Jacksonville Reentry Center
Jennifer Caldwell, Public Safety Analyst Supervisor, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office
Mike Jowers, Leuitenant, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office
Barrington Page, Program Administrator I, Howard County Health Department
George Pratt, Sergeant, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, Pretrial Services
Kristen Smith, Aftercare Services Manager, River Region Human Services
Celbrica Tenah, Public Safety Analyst II, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office
Tara Wildes, Chief, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office

Santa Barbara, CA

Kim Shean, TJC Coordinator, Probation Manager, Santa Barbara County Probation Department
Stephen Foley, District Attorney, County of Santa Barbara District Attorney
Tanja Heitman, Deputy Chief Probation Officer, Santa Barbara County Probation Department
Tom Jenkins, Retired Commander, Community representative; former Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office
Mark Mahurin, Lieutenant, Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office
Tim McWilliams, Lieutenant, Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office
Rai Montes De Oca, Public Defender, Office of the Public Defender
Ali Neuffer, District Attorney, County of Santa Barbara District Attorney
Takashi Wada, Interim Director, Alcohol, Drug & Mental Health Services

San Diego, CA

Billy Duke, TJC Coordinator, Captain, San Diego County Sheriff's Department
J.J. Anderson, Community Programs Director, San Diego County District Attorney's Office
Charlene Autolino, Chair, Disability Health Center
Kenneth Barnes, Program Director, Health and Human Services Agency
Matthew Braner, Deputy Public Defender, San Diego County Public Defender's Office
Wayne Brooks, Lieutenant, San Diego Sheriff's Department
Christine Brown-Taylor, Reentry Manager, East Mesa Detention Facility and Reentry Services, San Diego County Sheriff's Department
Frank Clamser, Detentions Support Captain, San Diego County Sheriff's Department
Robert Ford, Deputy Public Defender, San Diego County Public Defender's Office
Erika Frierson, Lieutenant (Facility Commander) Vista Detention Facility, San Diego County Sheriff's Department
Michael Hall, Supervisor, PRO Division/Smart Probation, San Diego County Probation
Grace Liu, San Diego County District Attorney's Office
Rachel Solov, Deputy District Attorney, San Diego County District Attorney's Office
Christine White, Supervising Probation Officer, Evidence-Based Practices Operational Support, San Diego County Probation
Lourdes Zavala-Garcia, Senior Pretrial Services Officer, Pretrial Services

We would also like to thank the following agencies and their representatives for contributing transition materials and information for this online learning resource:

Greg Chanis
County Administrator
Sullivan County, New Hampshire

Kathleen Coughlin
Deputy Commissioner for Programs & Discharge Planning
New York City Department of Corrections
New York, New York

Ross Cunningham
Superintendent
Sullivan County Department of Corrections
Claremont, New Hampshire

Randy Demory
Captain
Kent County Correctional Facility
Grand Rapids, Michigan

James Harns
Commander Snohomish County Department of Corrections
Snohomish, Washington

Nancy Jacobs
Director
Criminal Justice Research & Evaluation Center
John Jay College
New York, New York

Stefan LoBuglio
Chief
Pre-Release & Reentry Services
Montgomery County Department of Correction & Rehabilitation Pre-Release Center
Rockville, Maryland

Martha Lyman
Director of Research
Hampden County Correctional Center
Hampden County, Massachusetts

 

And finally, a special thank you to our active partners Kermit Humphries, Jim Barbee, Pat Taylor, and Danny Downes at the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) for the support and hours of expertise they have contributed to the Transition from Jail to Community Initiative and the development of the TJC online learning resource. Their commitment to this project along with NIC Director Morris Thigpen, NIC Research and Evaluation Chief, Chris Inness, and NIC Jail Division Chief, Virginia Hutchinson cannot be overstated.

This project was supported by Cooperative Agreement No. 09K110GJY4, awarded by the National Institute of Corrections. The National Institute of Corrections is a component of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Points of view or opinions in this Toolkit are those of the authors and do not represent the official position of the United State Department of Justice.

Additional information and links to our TJC Partners, materials, and other jail reentry relevant projects and resources are available on the TJC homepage.

References

Robinson, M., and G. White. 1997. The Role of Civic Organization in the Provision of Social Service: Towards Synergy. Research for Action 37. Helsinki, Finland: World Institute for Development Economics Research.