Corrections_Today_March_April_2019

nEWS & vIEWS

Gary C. Mohr ACA President

these next two years and help bring them to a tangible reality. Two of the three initiatives are directly focused on supporting our dedicated members. First, I have been so impressed with the great work of the health care committees both at and in between our convenings. They have created workshops, webinars and training materials and have taken policy positions that have supported the delivery of best practices throughout our country and the world. The first initia- tive I am launching is to replicate this approach used by the health care committees and expand it to committees focused on facility op- erations and community supervision. Secondly, it is clear to me that the great work of our professional mem- bers is not limited to the confines of state or national borders. As a result, I am appointing an ad hoc commit- tee to develop an ACA professional registry for our members to commu- nicate their skill sets for jurisdictions throughout this globe. Finally, the terminology and the labels we use to describe people, programs, services and statuses are important. People like myself, or correctional systems use terminol- ogy like “seriously mentally ill,”

“evidenced-based programs” or hundreds of other terms that are not always consistently interpreted by practitioners. I will be appointing an ad hoc committee to build an ACA glossary of terms. Their work will be used to ensure consistent and appropriate language is utilized in the development of our performance measures, our policies, other official documents as well as language used for professional articles published in Corrections Today. We, standing together, will be faced with many challenges dur- ing the next two years. With the foundation of a strong professional membership, the legacies of our past leaders, the great and com- mitted effort and hard work of the staff of the American Correctional Association, with my wife, Linda, by my side, I am committed to serve you and the American Correctional Association humbly and with always a focus on our members and those we serve. Thank You!

Below is an excerpt of Mr. Mohr’s ACAWinter Conference Presidential speech. To view the speech in its entirety, please visit the ACA website at aca.org. I t is a great day to be alive! You will be hearing this often during the next two years. It is so true; today offers all of us the opportunity to make tomorrow better for so many people. That is what you have dedicated your lives and careers to do, and you are making a difference! Because of my respect for what you do and how you do it, it is very humbling to stand in front of you to pledge my service to you, our profes- sion and our great organization, the American Correctional Associa- tion. I have had the opportunity for the past four years as treasurer and president-elect to observe Presidents Livers and Linthicum and witness their unselfish service to ACA and its members. Recently, when in our ACA offices, I took time to view the pictures of our past presidents of this organization, and I realized what a responsibility this office has to serve its members. It is not only humbling and intim- idating, but I have to admit, it is a bit shocking to be standing here. I want to share three initiatives that I am asking you to embrace during

Gary C. Mohr ACA President

8 — March/April 2019 Corrections Today