Corrections_Today_March_April_2021_Vol.83_No.2

Professional Development

Certification Spotlight

Professional Certification More powerful than a speeding locomotive

Joseph Koenig, MCJ, CCM

C OLUMBIA: Corrections in 2021 is a dynamic, complex, and rapidly evolving industry. orrectional technology advances at a harried pace, as do rehabilita- tive and behavioral health research. Legislatures continually enact and amend laws that affect the way we do business. Courts continually interpret those laws in ways that can require a sudden and permanent “about-face.” Civil litigation is ever- present. Inmates placed in our care and custody present different chal- lenges and criminogenic needs than inmates placed in our custody 10 years ago. New correctional employ- ees differ from those who caught their first glimpse of razor wire 10 years ago. As correctional profes- sionals, if we do not continually learn, update, and enhance our skills, we can very quickly fall behind. We simply cannot “do corrections” today the way Granddad did. Among the litany of changes within the South Carolina Department of Corrections was the closure of Walden Correctional Institution, not long before I joined the agency. The former prison had opened in 1950 and housed some 297 male inmates.

When I darkened its doorway, Walden was being transitioned to office space to meet the transformative needs of a growing agency — but still retains much of its penal ambiance. It was within the block walls of the old institution that I found the office of Division Director Donna Strong. An un-Walden-ish glow radiated be- yond the shadows that shrouded her office door, a correctional burning bush shimmering against a concrete jebel. The source of the “glow” was a rather dignified American Correc - tional Association certificate, proudly displayed inside Mrs. Strong’s office, proclaiming her certified in Correc - tional Behavioral Health (Behavioral Specialty). And she encouraged and inspired me to pursue certification in my own discipline. Long ago, the Army had engrained in a young soldier the idea and habit of professional development, and it became a hallmark of my career. I looked to the ACA for professional development and networking oppor- tunities when I originally aspired to work for SCDC, and took advantage of the association’s online training, current bound offerings, and perfor- mance-based standards to build a

Photo courtesy Joseph Koenig, MCJ, CCM

better candidate. A key thing I learned was how much I didn’t know — and it challenged me to close that gap, even by a morsel. The ACA certifica - tion process would prove a broad step in that direction. ACA certification is not a “gimme” or a rubberstamp. It is not included with membership dues; it can only be earned. Anything in life worth achieving is just that way, and everyone who begins the certification Donna Strong is Director of SCDC’s Division of Quality Improvement and Risk Management.

60 — March/April 2021 Corrections Today