2024 ACA National Harbor Program Book_Winter Conference

WORKSHOPS Thursday, Jan. 4 ▼ 10–11:30 a.m.

A-2J Healthy People, Healthy Business: Staff Wellness Matters! (CE, CEU) Track: Staff Wellness/Social Work NEW! Room: National Harbor 13 Employees are the most valuable assets in correctional settings, especially when trained, managed and appropriately deployed for success. Correctional operations rely on well-trained, experienced and devoted workforces to provide their community with cost-effective required security services and to support the larger mission of public safety. The physically and mentally demanding work conditions in correctional settings are associated with numerous adverse health and performance outcomes like exhaustion, psychological distress, dissatisfaction and impaired work performance. Historically, attention has been given to the health and wellness of justice-involved individuals, but limited consideration has been given to corrections staff. Maintaining a sound correctional workforce that can respond to stressful job environments is crucial. In collaboration with other concerned organizations, the American Correctional Association conducted onsite discovery visits with five correctional agencies to identify exemplary wellness programs offered to corrections staff. This session will present

the current state of staff wellness programs, identify opportunities for improvement and describe exemplary practices in correctional staff wellness programs. The insights gained from this session may be used to design effective wellness programming that enhances staff well-being and productivity and controls healthcare costs. Learning Objectives: • Understand the importance of solid Staff Wellness Programs in the corrections business. • Explore various resources on staff wellness. • Improve their existing staff Wellness Program. Moderator: Zachary B. Erdman , Operations and Policy Manager, Oregon Department of Corrections, Salem, Oregon Speakers: Zachary B. Erdman , Operations and Policy Manager, Oregon Department of Corrections, Salem, Oregon; Rosemarie Martin , Ph.D., Associate Professor, Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island; Ainisha B. Persaud , M.S., LCMFT, Employee Support Unit Chief and Staff Counselor, Prince George’s County Department of Corrections, Upper Marlboro, Maryland

80 — ACA 2024 Winter Conference | National Harbor, MD