ICAOS - Spirit Sighting

Nominated: Brandon Watts / Texas

Wed, 03 May 2017 14:38:01 GMT

On Thursday April 27, 2017 @ 11:23 a.m. I contacted Brandon via e-mail regarding an offender who was wishing to transfer to Texas who had a release date of May 2, 2017…

On Thursday April 27, 2017 @ 11:23 a.m. I contacted Brandon via e-mail regarding an offender who was wishing to transfer to Texas who had a release date of May 2, 2017. Our office has been in a state of transition due to the loss of a staff member. As s result demands have been higher on existing staff. The offender’s case was inadvertently overlooked until April 27th when it was discovered that the TREQ had not been completed as thought. As such I reached out to Brandon who in the past has been absolutely fantastic to work with regarding cases. On this date I made a request to Brandon based upon our oversight to assist us in getting this offender to Texas without delay which would have caused his release to be in Ohio and homeless with no funds other than $75 in his hand. This would have been a set-up for failure and posed an undue hardship upon the offender through no fault of his own. Brandon immediately went into action and began making the appropriate contacts on his end to get the RFRI’s expedited and the TREQ expedited. Brandon understood that the offender was not at fault for this. He realized that a release as homeless would not be conducive to a successful reentry for the offender. Brandon went above and beyond in helping to get this offender’s RFRI’s approved and his TREQ expedited and approved if it was in fact a viable plan. On 4/28/17, I received notification from Brandon that the offender’s RFRI’s were approved and that the TREQ had been expedited and that an approval was imminent from the Texas Field Officer.

To those who have had contact with Brandon realize that he is not just a name in the directory. He is a person who you may go to for assistance and he will take the needed steps to get you a response whether he is personally responsible for that case or not. Brandon demonstrates pride and professionalism in the way he responds and assists those with questions or concerns regarding a case that is either going to his state or coming from it. I personally know from my past interactions with Brandon that he keeps his eye on the global picture as it relates to Interstate Compact. He not only does what is right regarding the safety of his state’s citizens, but he also does what is right for the offenders in an effort to give them a chance at a successful reentry into the community. Brandon is highly deserving of the recognition as he does exemplify the “Spirit of the Compact” while remaining humble regarding his efforts.

Submitted by: Daniel S. Smith, CPM / Ohio

Nominated: Christopher Lane / Florida

Mon, 23 Jan 2017 16:02:36 GMT

Nevada was in the process of retaking this offender from Florida when, five hours after she had been picked up from the local facility in Florida by our contracted transport, she…

Nevada would like to express our appreciation for the efforts of Unit Supervisor Christopher Lane in helping to resolve a case of a Nevada compact offender who is currently under compact supervision in Florida. Nevada was in the process of retaking this offender from Florida when, five hours after she had been picked up from the local facility in Florida by our contracted transport, she collapsed during the transport at a restroom stop in Florida and was admitted to the hospital due to what was diagnosed as pneumonia. She was hospitalized at Longwood Regional Medical Center in Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Florida. Due to the age of the offender and her medical condition, the costs associated with the retaking of this offender at this time would have been exorbitant.

After staffing the situation with Mr. Lane on January 13, 2017, he had expressed a willingness to allow the offender to return to supervision in Florida provided that the sentencing judge in Nevada was willing to quash his existing warrant.

While not a mandatory retake, the warrant had been issued by the Nevada judge upon reviewing the noncompliant behavior that had been provided to Nevada in a progress report from the supervising officer in Florida. When the circumstances of this case and the Florida willingness to continue to supervise the offender was presented to our sentencing authority, the warrant was quashed. The transport company was then able to provide the offender with her instructions to report to her Florida probation officer upon discharge from the hospital.

Submitted by: Shawn Arruti / Nevada

Nominated: Kristin Farrell-Logsdon / Ohio

Tue, 20 Dec 2016 20:09:38 GMT

Washington had a case where a registrable individual was released from prison in another state and by the time it came to our attention, the offender had…

Washington had a case where a registrable individual was released from prison in another state and by the time it came to our attention, the offender had released to his father’s residence. Ohio/Kristin allowed the individual to remain in OH while WA worked with him to develop a viable home plan. There was a lot of back and forth and Kristin enlisted the aid of Suzanne Brooks who was also instrumental in helping WA approve this individual’s home plan. There was a real team effort by the WA PO, Kyle Helm, and OH’s Interstate staff. All parties involved simply wanted to do the right thing which was to allow the individual a fair chance at completing his term of supervision in a place where he would most likely be able to experience success. Thank you Kristin and Suzanne.

Submitted by: Tanja Gilmore / Washington

Nominated: Frank Meserick, Mark Blan, Larry Thomas / Oklahoma

Tue, 08 Nov 2016 21:00:10 GMT

The state of Oklahoma started working with this offender in July of 2016. For about 5 months Oklahoma worked with the state of Kansas to find appropriate housing for the offender, due to him being a sex offender and having medical disabilities. After multiple residence plans had to be denied in Oklahoma, the Oklahoma compact office and field officers agreed to work with Kansas to find suitable housing prior to the submission of a formal transfer packet. Once a medical facility was located near family, Oklahoma continued to work out the details with the facility to ensure it was in compliance with local laws and supervision standards to meet the need for public safety. The Transfer Packet was then submitted and approved. Offender released without incident to an area of family and necessary support, allowing a safe environment for the offender and the community of Oklahoma. While the field officers in Oklahoma were fantastic to work with, DCA Frank Meserick went the extra mile to help coordinate these efforts.

Submitted by: Matthew Billinger / Kansas

Nominated: Krista Greenwood / Michigan

Wed, 19 Oct 2016 17:43:43 GMT

Officer Krista Greenwood displayed the Spirit of the Compact by immediately responding to a request for emergency reporting instructions for an offender… --

Officer Krista Greenwood displayed the Spirit of the Compact by immediately responding to a request for emergency reporting instructions for an offender who is both a Michigan parolee and a Kentucky parolee. Michigan provided Kentucky with placement information prior to offender’s release from Michigan DOC; kept Kentucky informed in reference to his release date and placement approval prior to Kentucky even submitting a transfer request. Officer Greenwood assisted with obtaining a signature on the Offender Application for Compact Services before Kentucky even had a chance to ask for assistance. Officer Greenwood logged into the system, printed out our form, and sent it back to us by way of a Compact Action Request. Because of Officer Greenwood’s efforts this transfer request was both effortless and timely. Thank you kindly officer Greenwood.

Submitted by: Angela Tolley / Kentucky