Dr. Marie Garcia is a Senior Social Science Analyst at the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the research arm of the U.S. Department of Justice. She is co-author, with Jay Whetzel and Scott Anders, of the article “All Hands on Deck! Toward a Reentry-Centered Vision for Federal Probation,” published in the December 2020 issue of Federal Probation. In this episode of Off Paper, Dr. Garcia and host Mark Sherman discuss the outcomes of NIJ’s many years of reentry research and how those outcomes translate to the reentry-centered, holistic, systems-oriented approach to probation and pretrial practice recommended in the Federal Probation article. 

Jay Whetzel, criminal justice consultant and former Probation Administrator at AOUSC, Scott Anders, Director of the St. Louis (Mo.) County Jail and former Chief U.S. Probation Officer, and Marie Garcia, Senior Social Science Analyst at the DOJ National Institute of Justice, talk about their article “All Hands on Deck! Toward a Reentry-Centered Vision for Federal Probation,” published in the December 2020 issue of Federal Probation. The article describes a holistic approach to reentry work, from pretrial through presentence and postconviction. Chris Dozier, retired Chief U.S. Pretrial Services Officer for the district of New Jersey, describes why she believes that “Reentry Begins at Arrest,” and Clark Porter, former inmate now M.S.W. and Community Resource Specialist for the Eastern District of Missouri U.S. Probation office, shares his reentry experience and what he thinks could make the process better for others.

To officers, understanding how they are trained and educated, and finding the right training opportunity among those offered by multiple agencies and actors can be confusing. Educators from the Federal Probation and Pretrial Academy, the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and the Federal Judicial Center discuss the training and education available to help officers navigate the complex issues they face every day, and to also help officers remain successful throughout their careers. Stephanie Denton, Chief of the Training and Safety Division of the Probation and Pretrial Services Office at the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, and Raquel Wilson, Director of Education and Sentencing Practice at the U.S. Sentencing Commission, join Mark Sherman, Assistant Division Director of Probation and Pretrial Services Education at the Federal Judicial Center, to untangle the what, where, and why of Probation and Pretrial Services Officer training and education. Also featured in this episode are Training Specialist Julie Capsambelis (Florida Middle Probation Office), Special Offender Specialist and Training Coordinator January Welks (Connecticut Probation Office), and Chief U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services Officer Robin Grimes (Ohio Northern Probation Office). 

Meredith Persily Lamel, coauthor of The Six Paths to Leadership: Lessons from Successful Executives, Politicians, Entrepreneurs, and More, discusses the different paths leaders take to arrive at their formal positions of authority, why those paths matter, and the opportunities and challenges inherent in each path so leaders can create more personal satisfaction and greater organizational success.