Latest News

Restrictive Housing Training at RiCI

Tue, 12 Feb 2019 16:07:35 GMT

Richland Correctional staff hosted colleagues from the Northwest and Northeast regions of the agency during a comprehensive Restrictive Housing training session. Bureau Chief (Behavioral Health) Tereasa Jamison, Classification Chief Brian Wittrup and Regional Director (Northwest) Dave Bobby facilitated an informative discussion regarding revised American Correctional Association (ACA) expected practices related to Restrictive Housing and other specialized management units.

Northeast Regional Prisons Discuss Restrictive Housing Standards

Tue, 05 Feb 2019 14:51:52 GMT

The Ohio State Penitentiary sponsored a training for the Northeast Regional prisons discussing the upcoming changes to the ACA restrictive Housing Standards that will be taking place. The Bureau of Classification Chief Brian Wittrup was the guest speaker providing insight on the proposed changes dealing with Restrictive Housing and Limited Privilege Housing offenders.

NERC Staff Attend Violence Symposium at Case Western Reserve University

Thu, 18 Oct 2018 14:28:08 GMT

The Begun Center of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland currently has 55 faculty, research and training staff, and students; many of whom shared details about their current work in behavioral health, suicide prevention, trauma, sexual assault kit testing, domestic violence homicide prevention, specialized dockets, the heroin-opiate crisis, school- and community-based research, human trafficking, juvenile justice, law enforcement, and much more.

Daniel J. Flannery PhD, while opening the symposium, said “2018 marks the 20^th year anniversary of our work aimed at preventing violence and all of its associated challenges. While there is great satisfaction in looking back over what we have accomplished, that comes with deep concern over our collective future, and whether we are doing enough to see real change in how we are addressing violence prevention research and education.”

NE Regional Operations Manager John Geras, who attended, said “It’s important to see the work taking place in our communities and universities as they may present ideas that can be used in our facilities to reduce this ever growing problem in our society.”

Innovative Leadership Award Recipient Todd Ishee

Mon, 07 May 2018 14:56:51 GMT

Mike Swiger and True Freedom Ministries have presented a prestigious award to ODRC. NE Regional Director Todd Ishee was awarded the Innovative Leadership Award by the organization. Mr. Swiger offered the award to Mr. Ishee with kind words regarding his creative ideas and innovations that have brought about positive change to the lives of ODRC Residents.

2017 Northeast Region Support Team Member of The Year Award

Fri, 26 Jan 2018 13:38:32 GMT

The Office of Victim Services staff joined Todd Ishee, Regional Director and the Northeast Region team at Akron APA to present the 2017 Northeast Region Support Team Member of The Year Award to Kristen Arapp, Victim Advocate. She shares this distinction award with David Kollar.

Kristen is currently pursuing her Master’s in Criminology and Criminal Justice at Kent State University. While working full-time and being the mother of her active 11 year old son Luke, she has maintained straight A’s through her graduate studies. She is professional and trustworthy. Kristen brings humility, integrity and compassion to her job as a Victim Advocate and team member of the Northeast region. She is passionate about knowing departmental policies and how it affects the work of Office of Victim Services and other professionals around her. She’s a creative problem solver and has an innate ability to think outside of the box. In addition, Kristen works closely with the Northeast Region prison’s staff providing information, guidance and support to them regarding victim related matters.

Quarterly PIO Training Held at WKYC

Fri, 18 Aug 2017 16:31:27 GMT

The quarterly Northeast Ohio Public Information Officer (NEOPIO) training was held at the WKYC news station in Cleveland. The format was informal and consisted of a meet/greet with reporters and assignment editors and a panel discussion on media relations.

Leadership Assets and Skills Presented in the Northeast Region

Mon, 05 Jun 2017 16:38:15 GMT

Staff from around the Northeast region of DRC came together for Leadership and Assets presentation. Oriana House Vice President, Michael Randle was invited to Garfield Heights to present leadership values and thought processes which are believed to be most effective. Thirty employees were in attendance for this staff development training.

NE Region Conducts Collaborative Union/Management Training Session

Fri, 24 Mar 2017 16:35:51 GMT

One hundred executive staff and OCSEA Union leaders gathered at Cleveland State University Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs to be taught the art of productive negotiations using a teaching tool called Harborco.

The training was facilitated by senior professor PhD Lisa Thomas of the University Center for Leadership Development. The large group was broken into smaller work groups of six and each person in the workgroup had specific points to maintain while they all worked towards a common agreement.

Regional Director Todd Ishee and OCSEA State President Chris Mabe were quite satisfied with the overall outcome of the days training and would like to see this conducted state wide.

NE Region Conducts Annual HOPE Channel Strategic Planning Meeting

Mon, 13 Feb 2017 15:27:50 GMT

The Trumbull Correctional Institution was the host of this year’s Annual HOPE (Helping Ohio Prisoners Excel) Channel Steering Committee Strategic Planning Session, which marks the first time female offenders have been on TCI grounds since the closure of the TCC Camp which housed ODRC female offenders up until 2010.

Attending the meeting were staff, community volunteers, and residents of the Northeast Reintegration Center, Grafton Reintegration Center, Lake Erie Correctional Institution and Trumbull Correctional Institution. The purpose of the meeting was to assess the progress of the HOPE Channel in the Northeast Region and to map a plan of action for future HOPE Channel growth and development.

Since its inception, NE Regional Director Todd Ishee has maintained a vision that ODRC residents develop, and operate a broadcasting channel under the supervision of staff and some highly talented and generous community volunteers. The content for the channel is written by, video-taped and edited by residents of prisons in the NE Region. Mr. Ishee’s vision is to have everyone in the Region to “Buy into the R” (which stands for Reintegration or Reentry).

By way of assessment the project continues to grow and its content is shown for several hours daily in the NE Regional Prisons. Plans were made at the Strategic Planning Meeting that will foster continued growth highlighting some amazing inmate testimonials and brand new ODRC Policies that impact the offender population. Additionally, programs created that run about 20 – 30 minutes on the HOPE Channel will be edited down to a 2 to 5 minute “Teaser” that will be published on ODRC Social Media sites. A Marketing plan was also developed that will significantly increase viewership on Social Media sites such as the ODRC Facebook Page, Twitter, Instagram, and You Tube pages.

NE Region Staff Complete Leadership Training at Cleveland State University

Fri, 10 Feb 2017 14:30:10 GMT

The Northeast Region participated in the third and final module of Leadership Training at the Cleveland State University. The training was conducted by Professor Lisa Thomas who is the Director of the Center for Leadership Development. Nineteen DRC employees participated in the training titled “Decision Making and Its Implications in the Workplace”. Fourteen DRC staff attend all 3 classes and graduated the CSU Leadership Academy. Those students were given an award along with a certificate.

We are looking forward to future classes at CSU and hope the relationships continues to grow.