Thanks to Texas Voices' Mary Sue Molnar for alerting me to TDCJ Ombudsman's upcoming "Public Awareness - Corrections Today (PACT) conference in Huntsville Saturday week. This "is a free daylong conference open to the public that is held every other year in Huntsville. This year's conference is scheduled for March 24, 2012, at the Sam Houston State University, George J. Beto Criminal Justice Center." According to the
description on TDCJ's website, the conference is:
structured to also benefit offender family members and advocates, as well as the general public, community leaders, criminal justice volunteers, and jail and prison ministries. It provides attendees with direct access to information about TDCJ programs, services, and policies and procedures. Participants have the opportunity to learn about virtually every aspect of the TDCJ, and how best to help those that are incarcerated or on parole.
As a part of the conference's agenda, informative presentations and panel discussions are held on varying topics. There are exhibit rooms where agency representatives are on hand to distribute brochures and information about their programs and have one-on-one discussions. Staff members are available throughout the conference to interact with attendees and answer questions.
The PACT Conference routinely focuses its main presentations on parole, incarceration, rehabilitation and health care. Topics timely in nature, such as agency organizational changes, or new programs and initiatives, are also highlighted. Representatives from the Board of Pardons and Paroles participate in the conference to address issues relating to the parole approval process. There also is an exhibit room dedicated to the GO KIDS (Giving Offenders' Kids Incentive and Direction to Succeed) initiative. This exhibit room includes resource tables for organizations that provide assistance to strengthen the bond between incarcerated parents and their children.
Presentations for this year's conference will feature programs related to operational matters of Correctional Institutions, Parole, Rehabilitative Programs, Community Justice Assistance, Health Services, and the Reentry and Integration divisions, as well as the Windham School District and the Board of Pardons and Paroles. ...
This agency's business is truly a people business and, as with any business, communication with your constituency is essential to being successful. The TDCJ PACT Conference provides an outstanding venue for our stakeholders to familiarize themselves with the agency and to interactively communicate with knowledgeable staff representing TDCJ and other criminal justice agencies. Don't miss this opportunity to join us on March 24, 2012!
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9 comments:
There should be an earful on healthcare.
Yes, healthcare should be a good subject. TDCJ now charges the inmate if they need to see a doctor. Most inmates and their families cannot afford that.
Wouldn't it be nice if they held these public conferences around the state...and on an annual basis so the folks for whom the conferences are for could attend. Somehow I'm suspicious of anything TDCJ says is for the "public". Nothing they do is for anyone but themselves and to cover up their wrongdoings. Medical care? Ha! Inmates are still being left out of the medical care loop. They are still languishing without medical care and dying. Sorry, but I've seen and heard way too much to believe anyone or anything can crack this egg we call our prison system. Sign me "just a cynical old lady!
Anon Cynical. I agree with you 100% everything is a cover-up, a lie or definately on their agenda, nothing right is ever done for the inmate. They don't intend on making much public, and you can forget about them traveling to us. Healthcare sucks. My list is way to long. Food 1 hardboiled egg and gravy with bread. Their will be no salvation for these crooks. Whenever an employee gets in trouble they either get moved or promoted.
Any idea what topics they may cover Doc?
The Ombudsman is worthless to say the least. I have friends on the Crain unit who get one razor a month to shave with and TDCJ say’s everyone in the system gets one a week. This unit is famous for mistreatment of inmates and sexual frolics by the officers. Call the Ombudsman and ask a few simply questions and the replies back are always “your accusations”, “your allegations” are not true because the unit says so. I saw something very interesting at visitation on the Terrace Unit on March 10 2012 and that was a female guard stripe search all the inmates with the door wide open and all the visitors could see and hear it all going on. All the visitors could stand there and watch and hear it all and just shake our heads in shame as the guard got to completely humiliate the inmate’s right before visitation. The people in charge of the Crain Unit will say this never happens but I have witness this many times with my own two eyes and this guard did not care at all about totally humiliating the inmates. So the visitation was ruined before it even began. Can you image sitting there for two hours watching your family member or friend totally humiliated and trying to visit with them? No need to call the Ombudsman office because they will only tell you that the unit says you are a liar. Nothing ever happens to the guards who cross the line and they do cross the line even in front of visitors at visitation. They do not care. The people running this unit are broken from top to bottom just like TDCJ and the ombudsman.
I am new to all this about prison. I just married someone that has been in prison just about all his life. The charges are really petty. My husband is dying of aids and he was sent back for passsing out in my car with a full can of beer. No breathalizer test or blood alcohol, or they say it was lost. So sentenced to safp for 6 months and still sitting in isf, 500 miles from me. His medication is 2000 a month. So let him go and they won't have to pay for it. He is ssupposed to take it at night, because of the bad side effects and at the same time. They will not do that. They are going to slowly kill him. As far as him being housed in Brownfield, Tx. He said all the prisoners love it there. Its vacation and food. They do not have any classes or programs to better them selves. I guess there is no helping some of them. Some of the fellows have been there a few times before. What is this about someone else taking over and the prisons being full to capacity in order for them to make money. Hello, these people will be right back in there, because there is no isf, safp or iptc, whatever they want to call it. We all know why they have to have commissary, because they are not being fed enough. I'm out of money, so my husband is starving. I have said my piece and there is a lot more I would like to say, but won't. The Texas criminal justice system is almost as crooked as the people they incarcerate, but its legal for them, because they think they are God.
after writting several complaint letters to everyone,the umbudsman, the board and corrections commitee which got me no answers, no help, they even told me that this conference was not going to take place this year. retaliation against those who do file complaints, was their response, while every's one delibrate ignorance from the corrections committee trickling down to the staff in texas prisons create dangerous conditions not only to live there but also to work there. You can only choke someone so long before they fight for air to survive the sad part is that there is only one person that will pay consequences as a result of that stuggle.our job is to vote for the loved ones in prison who can't. the over whelming number of prisoners in texas, make double, or triple numbers of voters that could replace judges, state reps, senators, even the governor who assign positions for judges, wardens, and people who sit on the board, and committees. these are the people who ignore our complaints and who count on our ignorance when it comes time to vote. all around texas, families need to vote!!!!
Everyone is right about all you said. Do not write the ombudsman because your loved one will be retaliated against. I wrote the ombudsman's office and since then my loved one has been in segregation twice, called out in the cafeteria (put in their kiddie time out), got two write-ups saying he was contemplating escape and ordering marijuana, and had phone privileges taken away. Oh, not to worry though, their the TDCJ website section on contacting the ombudsman states there will be not retaliation!!! The state of Texas complains about the prison system be overcrowded and takes one of their meals away, but still yet the units continue to write false cases on the inmates. What kind of system is this? Healthcare? - they accuse them of lying and still want them to get out there and work so they can ride their ponies and spout absurdities at them and tote their little guns - Barney Fife all the way. I truly wish I lived closer so I could attend this "Grits for Breakfast!"
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