We are pleased to announce that Andelin Goolsby will replace Dick Crites as the KPEP Accreditation Manager when he retires in October.

Dick joined KPEP in July of 2004, when we started the accreditation process. Under his leadership, KPEP has been awarded accreditation through the American Correctional Association (ACA) at five of our facilities. Our newest facility in Kalamazoo is scheduled for an audit in October with expected accreditation in January at the ACA winter conference. We are thankful for Dick's contributions and wish him well in retirement.

Andelin has been with KPEP for 10 years and has worked in various positions within the organization. She is currently the Program Manager at the KPEP Olmstead Rd. facility and has experienced the accreditation process first hand. She brings outstanding organizational skills and attention to detail to the position. Those qualities, along with her knowledge of the entire organization, will make this a smooth transition.

KPEP has been and will continue to be committed to the accreditation process. It is a commitment to excellence that we hope serves as a model for others.

Workforce Development Program a Success

We are nine months into our first year as the contractor for the MPRI workforce development program in Calhoun County. We have taken our longstanding approach to employment for offenders and applied it to this project. The results have been outstanding thus far. Through the first nine months in Calhoun County, 87 people have been referred to the program and 79 were enrolled in the program after the initial intake. Of the 79 participants, 66 (83.5%) have obtained employment. Reported employment rates with this population are generally around 20%. What is even more remarkable is that these are all real jobs with no subsidies paid to the employer. We have been able to help people find jobs without subsidies, saving the state thousands.

KPEP has a history of running a very successful employment program. The same principles that work in our residential program are working with this population. Our approach has always been to teach people how to successfully find employment. We believe people are capable, and providing a hand up rather than a hand out is the key to their long term success. As a fairly large employer, we understand that employers are looking for honest, hard working employees who show up to work on time. We have found that most employers are willing to give people a chance, in spite of their criminal histories.

The credit for the success of this particular program goes to KPEP Calhoun Program Manager Andy Jerue and Workforce Development Coordinator Ashley Thompson. They took on a project that had limited success and applied our principles with some creative additions. We are very proud of the community service component that has been added to the program. Important work gets done in the community. Unemployed parolees get an opportunity to earn some financial assistance through their work and fill in a gap on their resumes. This concept may seem simple to many people, but represents a major change in how many folks do business. While all of us in this field believe in helping people, how that help is delivered can look very different.

Instead of simply giving people money for assistance in finding employment, we provide them an opportunity to earn money by doing community service work. Ten hours of work earns $100 in assistance. This approach is more meaningful than simply giving people money. There is pride and dignity in meaningful work. Ashley has reported that some clients have made connections with employers and gained employment through their community service work. Many employers are impressed with the fact that the person showed initiative by volunteering to perform a job.