Category Transformation Show all
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Twelve "Thinking for a Change" Facilitators Graduate
By Bridget Letnes
In April, twelve DOC staff completed 32 hours of training to become Thinking for a Change facilitators.
Thinking for a Change is a cognitive behavioral program that has proven to reduce the risk of justice involved individuals continuing criminal behavior. It consists of 26 lessons that focus on how thinking drives behavior and helps to teach social skills and problem solving to reduce future criminal thinking and behaviors.
Among the graduates are Case Managers Rachel Nynas, Erica Heesaker, Brian Giese, and Troy Foucault from MCF-Moose Lake, Eric Hestness and Mike Richards from MCF-Stillwater, Central Services Administrative Specialist Valarie Martin from MCF-Rush City, Transitions Coordinator Mark Buhrandt from MCF-FRB, and Field Services agents Nicolle Mucciaccaro, Nichole Hassing, Harley Cook, and Amber Bok. Ten of the graduates completed four days of training in-person and two completed the training virtually.
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Lino Lakes Celebrates 2023 C-Tech Graduates
By Randall Bergman
Ten more proud graduates. Ten more chances for a brighter future.
Ten more examples of what we can do.
C-TECH at Lino Lakes facility sets its graduates up for success after leaving prison with employable skills. C-Tech Training Programs at Lino Lakes gives students hands-on, real-world training and provides industry-recognized certifications in Telecommunications, Copper Cabling, Fiber Optic Technologies, Energy Management, Grounding and Bonding Safety Techniques and 5G wireless technologies. Lino Lakes Facility addresses the labor gap in technology in the Twin Cities by teaching Lino Lakes' students employable technical skills.
Left to Right: Mary McComb (AWO) Randall Bergman (Education Director) Marcus Booth, Eric Carty, Michael Wind, Alexander Brown, James Dale, Bety Rios-Christensen (Instructor)
Not Shown: Jeffery Hookham, Otha Townsend, Dylan Young, David Pickett, Paul Trott
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Staff Attended Tribal State Relations Training (TSRT) at the Lower Sioux Indian Community in Morton, Minnesota
By Wendy Spry
A small cohort of DOC staff attended Tribal State Relations Training (TSRT) at the Lower Sioux Indian Community in Morton, Minnesota, on March 21 and 22, 2023.
The mission of TSRT is to "provide training and education for Minnesota state employees about American Indian tribal governments, histories, cultures and traditions, in order to empower state employees to work effectively with American Indians and promote authentic and respectful relationships between state agencies and American Indian tribes."
DOC staff attending this training found common ground with tribal nations in the areas of resource coordination, healthy communities and a desire for success for the people we serve. Equally important, they were able to learn American Indian history through a different lens. Some steps they hope to implement in their work included building effective communication and relationships with tribal nations, recognizing the importance of accurate data collection, and exercising compassion and empathy in their daily work.
(Tribal-State Relations Training (TSRT) is the official training offered to all State of Minnesota employees per Government-to-Government Relationship with Tribal Governments (PDF). Minnesota Statute 10.65 affirms the Government-to-Government relationship between the State of Minnesota and the 11 Tribal Nations in Minnesota.)
Left to right: Barbara Bauer, Dan Jones, Aarah Saugen, Morgan Woodbury, Wendy Spry, and Paul Dosunmu.
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Looking Back at Minnesota Walk for Recovery 2022
By Jolene Rebertus
For the last 10 years, the DOC has participated in MN Walk for Recovery – a community event to model hope and break the stigma of addiction. It's a day dedicated to show support to those who have been impacted by substance use disorders.
The DOC is a recovery ally and last September we joined in on a day of music, food, dance, art, and activities.
Enjoy some pictures from the day!
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Moose Lake's Chrissy Gamst Recognized for Transforming Lives Award
By Ian Heaslip
Chrissy Gamst, Corrections Security Caseworker Career at MCF- Moose Lake, is the winner of the Transforming Lives Award of the month in the category of Above and Beyond Call of Duty. The following narrative illustrates the great work that Chrissy does here at the facility!
Case Manager Chrissy Gamst has gone above and beyond the call of duty with regards to her job duties as a Case Worker-Career. At the beginning of the summer, she volunteered to take the lead in rebuilding the Restorative Justice committee at MCF-ML. The committee had lost some momentum during COVID and lost about half of its members. She dedicated herself to rebuilding the committee based on RJ principles while taking a person-centered approach. She facilitated several meetings with the remaining RJ committee members focused initially on finding new members. She listened to what the current members wanted with regards to criteria for new members. She then facilitated a welcome circle for the new members and allowed the members to set the standards for their participation and their accountability to one another.
As the work was being done in rebuilding the RJ Committee, she was able to work with the committee to provide RJ programming at MCF-ML. She had a presentation given to the committee by Laura Anderson, an intern for The Center for Restorative Justice and Peacemaking at UMD via Teams, which led to several incarcerated individuals at MCF-ML participating in a call for papers about their story. Ms. Gamst facilitated Inside/Out presentations during the summer and early fall. Finally, thanks in large part to the work she did to rebuild the RJ Committee, MCF-ML had a very successful RJ week, offering several different programing options through the shortened week.
MCF-ML is currently running 2 weekly sessions of RJ 101 where incarcerated people learn the principles of RJ and learn to apply those principles to their life. This is a direct result of the work Ms. Gamst has done with the RJ Committee. It should also be noted, Ms. Gamst was doing all of this work despite a large caseload of her own while covering the case load of one of her co-workers who was out on a medical. She accomplished all of this while presenting a great “can do” attitude even though it was a lot of detail orientated work. She certainly went above and beyond the call of duty.
L to R: Brian Collins, Warden; Chrissy Gamst, Corrections Security Caseworker Career; Kevin Szczyrbak, Corrections Program Director -
Lino Lakes Celebrates Recent Incarcerated Person College Graduates
By Latoya Shelby:
Lino Lakes recently held a Graduation Ceremony for the Incarcerated Individuals that completed their degrees from the MN Community & Technical College.
