Last week, I had the opportunity to visit a unique facility here in southern Indiana- the Branchville Correctional Facility. It was an experience that I don’t get to have very often, and wanted to share this eye opening process with you.

If you aren’t familiar with the Branchville Correctional Facility in Perry County, it is a male-only, medium-level security facility with about 1,400 offenders. Having been in operation for over 30 years, this facility does not house any “lifers,” meaning that once their time is served, they will eventually leave the facility and work towards integrating with society hopefully to never return to a facility like that again.

Knowing this, the facility offers numerous programs including Alcoholics Anonymous, GED instruction as well as a faith- and character-based community that encourages offenders to choose alternatives to criminal thinking and behavior by providing a focus on spiritual and character development, life-skills training community service and intentional preparation for living as a law-abiding citizen. They also teach computer skills and offer apprenticeships so that inmates can learn the skills required for specific occupations.  Programs like this work to reduce recidivism rates and help with the transition back to a normal life.

One thing that particularly intrigued me though was their Inmate to Workmate Program. In the legislature, we have often debated the merits of punitive or rehabilitative approaches in the criminal justice system but this facility takes rehabilitation to a whole new level: everyone there works!

A great number of the men who enter those walls have never held a job. By having a job during their time in prison, they are able to learn very valuable lessons including interpersonal skills, the responsibility of having somewhere to be each morning, punctuality and how to manage their time to accomplish all of their duties.

Having a job is not something they are just thrown into though. The facility has individuals who teach them not only how to look for jobs but how to apply for those that they’re qualified for. While they are required to disclose their previous offenses, they are taught how to approach the subject without making it the main focus. As they turn their life around, they are taught to display their skills and what they have accomplished since their crime and since doing their time.

I recently saw a study from the RAND Corporation concerning this very topic. They are a nonprofit institution that conducts research and analysis in order to help improve policy and decision making. In August, they conducted a study on inmates who participated in correctional education programs and found that they were 43 percent less likely to become repeat offenders than those who did not participate in such programs.

The above and beyond work being done at this facility is something that is going to stay with many of these men for a long time. The things that they are learning are not designed to be temporary behavior but rather it is meant to create a pattern which will continue upon their release, allowing them to truly change their lives.

When it comes to my work at the Statehouse, corrections has not been an issue which I have focused on. Obviously not every prison in our state operates this way, and it may not work in every situation. However when I left this facility, I felt like I had a whole new perspective on the correctional system in Indiana. I was pleased to see so many working on a better future.

By JessWilson TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Bicentennial Commission on Wednesday launched an effort to endorse local projects so they can be celebrated as part of the state’s 200^th birthday celebration in 2016.

The Bicentennial Legacy Projects will be those in which communities partner with organizations on projects that are culturally inclusive, create a legacy for the future, are celebratory, and are engaging and inspiring to youth and young adults.

The commission’s co-chairs – former Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman and former U.S. Rep. Lee Hamilton – and first lady Karen Pence issued a joint statement about the program.

“From the day we were tasked to lead this important project, we have encouraged communities and groups from across the state to think about ways they can contribute to our state’s bicentennial,” the statement said. “These projects will strive to leave a lasting legacy in honor of Indiana’s 2016 bicentennial.”

Visit http://www.indiana2016.org/ – the state’s new bicentennial website – for more information

Jesse Wilson is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, an online news site powered by Franklin College journalism students.

INDIANAPOLIS – This has been the first year in which our state has had a drastically new infrastructure in place to look at the problems facing Indiana’s abused and neglected children.

I have been fortunate these past few months to serve on both the Child Services Oversight Committee and the Commission for the Improvement of the Status of Children—key components of that infrastructure—and I would like to share my impressions of what has taken place and what needs to be done.

      The task we face is enormous.

At the last Commission meeting, State Health Commissioner William VanNess reported that Indiana has “consistently had one of the worst infant mortality rates in the U.S.,” dating back 110 years.

Indiana’s infant mortality rate of 7.7 per 1,000 live births is third highest in the nation.

Lifestyle choices such as smoking and obesity make a big difference in these statistics in Indiana.

We should be able to reduce the incidence of these and other at risk indicators—serious birth defects, low birth weight and early births, SIDS, complications in pregnancy and accidental suffocation. They accounted for 57 percent of all infant deaths in the nation in 2010.

Of course, infant mortality is a priority. Just as important are child fatalities as a result of abuse and neglect.

Of the 292 child deaths reported to the state Department of Child Services in 2011, 40 were due to child abuse or neglect.

• 48 percent of the 40 deaths were due to abuse among children under the age of one;
• 38 percent of the 40 deaths were due to neglect among children under the age of one; and
• 6 of the total number of deceased children had prior history with the Department of Child Services.

What can we do to reduce child fatalities in abuse and neglect?

We should expand proven prevention and treatment efforts and support those programs at home and in the legislature with funding.

We, in state and local government, the chambers of commerce and economic development groups should address what will surely be one of the Commission recommendations, i.e. to fight child poverty.

Low income was found in 75 percent of the child abuse and neglect fatalities. Consider that 49 percent of all our youth in Indiana now live in low income households and the issue is magnified.

Why governments and chambers of commerce and economic groups? One way to fight child poverty is more good paying jobs in Indiana. Today 24 percent of all jobs in Indiana are in occupations that pay wages below the poverty level. Indiana’s median household income is $48,393 compared to $52,762 nationally. Vanderburgh County’s is even less: $43,334.

As policymakers, we should be placing a greater emphasis on initiatives that provide good-paying jobs to attract new residents and businesses to Indiana and convince them to stay here.

The legislature can encourage people to live here. We can adopt policies that promote Indiana as a fair and equitable place to live and raise a family.

Yes, the challenges we face are staggering.

But what excites me is that there are scores of individuals across this state who recognize the problem are committed to doing something about it.

They are lawmakers and parents and judges and law enforcement officers and committed advocates. They are brought together by their desire to make things better for our children.

We have a big task ahead. All of us. But the goal is worth it and I’m excited to be part of it.