Corrections_Today_January_February_2023_Vol.85_No.1

View From the Line

and “support” postings on the social media, be con sistent and acknowledge as many as possible. My personal rule is to monitor but seldom respond. – Inclusion matters! Include all or don’t respond to posts. Furnishings, tools and equipment – Ensure each work post/position has the furnishings, tools and equipment necessary to perform assigned duties. Is it clean and in good repair? Does it serve the team member? Is the desk draw er broken? Is the chair broken? – What does the team member say when asked, “Do you have what you need?” – As leaders. it is our responsibil ity to ensure everything works as it is designed. To give team members anything less, sends the message “they don’t care”. “I had to work all day with a ra dio that did not work properly”. – Achieving our mission is dependent on all furnishings, tools and equipment working as designed. – Do you pay more attention to the inmate needs than you do to team needs? More attention to correctional officers than counselors, teachers and others. Each role contributes to the overall organization and must be included. – It is time to realize that the year is 2022. Team members are still using the tools that existed in 1970. Be a leader! It is difficult to recruit and engage twenty somethings with 50-year-old processes.

Mark Your Calendars! Join us for future ACA Winter Conferences and Congresses of Correction! 153 rd Congress of Correction Philadelphia Aug. 10–13, 2023 2024 Winter Conference Washington, D.C. Jan. 4–9, 2024 154 th Congress of Correction Nashville Aug. 15–20, 2024 2025 Winter Conference Orlando, FL Jan. 9–14, 2025

• Provide suggestions on technology that is being used in other correctional envi ronments that could be used in yours. • Tablets for team members to document rounds and logbook entries. Ability to text a supervisor an issue or concern. Sure, they can be misused. It is our duty to ensure they are not. • Research and read to de termine what can be done to enhance the manner our mission is accomplished. We must be as current as pos sible with the available tools and techniques available to our workforce. Most importantly, listen and learn. Say thank you and demonstrate you care.

Most importantly — listen and learn. Say thank you and demon strate you care.

Kevin Myers is a Correctional

Administrator for the Tennessee Department of Correction.

Corrections Today January/February 2023 — 21