Corrections_Today_Spring_2026_Vol.88_No.1

PAST PRESIDENT’S CORNER

as they came online to reduce overcrowding at Angola and accom modate system growth. In 1990, while Warden at Wade, I picked up the newspaper one morn ing and discovered that the Federal Court had declared a state of emer gency in all of our state correctional facilities, (all still under Federal Court consent decree supervision). This was surprising to both the staff and to me. I’m biased, but I can honestly say I believed we had a good overall operation that sought to meet the needs of an inmate population with a broad universe of classification profiles in a modern physical plant. I didn’t like to think that our staff, their families, the inmate population or their families could question our value. It was difficult to conceive our community could doubt we were a safe and stable prison because of this generalized pronouncement. Into that environment, we began a journey to objectively validate our worth, a journey towards accreditation. I vaguely remembered an ef fort we had made at Headquarters years earlier about obtaining ACA accreditation. In our initial foray, we at central office created volumes of policy statements, generated directive memorandums and an even greater number of procedure memorandums. These were to co-exist with our body of Department Regulations. Implementation was, at best, spotty. That effort did not result in any thing being accredited but it did plant a seed about the existence of

the Commission on Accreditation for Corrections, (CAC) and the American Correctional Association (ACA), who could offer an ac creditation, the value of which was nationally recognized. The concept of accreditation was introduced to the DWCC staff. Enthusiasm began to develop. While our Headquarters was basically dis engaged from our idea, we decided to push ahead as a facility and see if we could make the cut.

commitments made by the Governor to ACA on our behalf. And so it began. For those concerned about the cost of accreditation, take a breath. It was possible to accomplish this at nominal expense. At Wade, we didn’t add a staff member as Accreditation Manager, we simply designated an existing capable and enthusiastic staff member to this function. Other staff chipped in to assist in the accreditation initiative. From the Accreditation Manager down, we all learned a lot about the process in a very short few months. We spent a little money on office supplies and the purchase of nec essary items such as Flammable/ Toxic/Caustic (FTC) certified storage cabinets and the supplies necessary to effect tool-control in all areas. There were other minor ex penses. The quest for accreditation at DWCC was not a direct budget item. We absorbed the contract and other costs by making adjustments to DWCC’s existing budget. Now to the direct effects. DWCC became a much, much safer prison — to the benefit of the public, the staff and the inmate popu lation. We secured and accounted for flammable, toxic and caustic materials in properly constructed and secure cabinets in all required areas of the prison physical plant. Tool control became a focus for everyone, particu larly the maintenance department. Fire safety entered a new dimension. Regular and routine exercising of emergency responses in all security and other threat areas dramatically improved institutional safety. Com munication between and within major departments was enhanced.

DWCC became a much, much safer prison — to the benefit of the public, the staff and the inmate population.

I contacted Hardy Rauch, Direc tor of Standards and Accreditation at ACA, and he willingly enabled the staff in the division, includ ing Jeff Washington, Bob Verdeyen and many more to help our dream become a reality. In an effort to maximize com munity awareness of the journey we were undertaking, our local legislator helped arrange for a small contingent of DWCC staff to meet with the Governor at the Governor’s Mansion. We met in his office and secured his signature on our accreditation contract. We got lots of pictures, lots of hometown press and lots of ex citement about a Louisiana operated prison possibly becoming nationally accredited. Obviously, this meant we had to work very hard to fulfill the

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Spring 2026 | Corrections Today

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