2023 Down South Restorative Justice Conference
RJ in a Local Detention Setting (Leon County)
Leon County, and specifically the City of Tallahassee, has been struggling for years with an increase in violent criminal activity. Several community-based initiatives have been launched to stem the growing tide of violence impacting our neighborhoods. Increased police presence and a full County detention facility have not stopped the bloodshed and violence plaguing the city.
Sheriff Walt McNeil has created a vision for reentry and programming focusing heavily on restorative practices. With the belief that redemption is vital to successful community reintegration, he has empowered his reentry team to deliver programming – inside and outside the detention facility – that addresses the individual and their unique experience.
Picking up after a two-year COVID hiatus, programming runs full force at the detention facility and has many unique elements in the curriculum catalog. Many new program offerings include opportunities for incarcerated persons to learn about themselves and discover ways to become the neighbors we hope they can be. Additionally, programs designed to lay the groundwork for future restorative justice practices are being integrated into the available programs.
A specific challenge for the Leon County reentry team is preparing men and women to leave the detention facility and transition to state prisons. Roughly one-third of incarcerated persons in the Leon County Detention Facility will leave on a bus heading towards many years (and some for a lifetime) of incarceration. Our challenge is to help create better citizens in the state system. Community partners and program staff deliver mentoring and self-improvement classes.
Those persons leaving our Detention Facility are directed towards a community-based reentry hub we call the RISE Center. RISE stands for Reentry, Innovative Services, and Empowerment. Several community-based vendors provide programming and services that assist individuals transitioning from incarceration to community inclusion. This service is a “soft hand-off” from custody to the community.
Not everyone has the desire or the will to change their behavior and, ultimately, the outcomes of their choices. Still, for those that do, we provide multiple opportunities to receive support to facilitate change in their behavior.
This workshop will walk participants through the process of determining program offerings, showcase several programs, and talk about the philosophy of second chances championed by Sheriff McNeil and his team. He repeatedly says, “We’ve been doing the same thing for many years and were getting the same results. Maybe it's time to do something different.”
Sheriff Walt McNeil has created a vision for reentry and programming focusing heavily on restorative practices. With the belief that redemption is vital to successful community reintegration, he has empowered his reentry team to deliver programming – inside and outside the detention facility – that addresses the individual and their unique experience.
Picking up after a two-year COVID hiatus, programming runs full force at the detention facility and has many unique elements in the curriculum catalog. Many new program offerings include opportunities for incarcerated persons to learn about themselves and discover ways to become the neighbors we hope they can be. Additionally, programs designed to lay the groundwork for future restorative justice practices are being integrated into the available programs.
A specific challenge for the Leon County reentry team is preparing men and women to leave the detention facility and transition to state prisons. Roughly one-third of incarcerated persons in the Leon County Detention Facility will leave on a bus heading towards many years (and some for a lifetime) of incarceration. Our challenge is to help create better citizens in the state system. Community partners and program staff deliver mentoring and self-improvement classes.
Those persons leaving our Detention Facility are directed towards a community-based reentry hub we call the RISE Center. RISE stands for Reentry, Innovative Services, and Empowerment. Several community-based vendors provide programming and services that assist individuals transitioning from incarceration to community inclusion. This service is a “soft hand-off” from custody to the community.
Not everyone has the desire or the will to change their behavior and, ultimately, the outcomes of their choices. Still, for those that do, we provide multiple opportunities to receive support to facilitate change in their behavior.
This workshop will walk participants through the process of determining program offerings, showcase several programs, and talk about the philosophy of second chances championed by Sheriff McNeil and his team. He repeatedly says, “We’ve been doing the same thing for many years and were getting the same results. Maybe it's time to do something different.”
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Bradley Janowski is the Director of Reentry and inmate Programs at the Leon County Sheriff’s Office. In this role, he supervises five departments that provide reentry-focused programming to persons incarcerated at the Leon County Detention Facility. In addition, he directs the LCSO RISE Center. The RISE (Reentry, Innovative Services, and Empowerment) Center provides formerly incarcerated individuals with support services and programs to assist with transitioning from prison to the community. In partnership with many community-based organizations, the RISE Center serves as a “one-stop-shop” for reentry services in Leon County.
Mr. Janowski started his career in private security, law enforcement, and corrections. He has been certified as a correctional and probation officer and has worked in dozens of facilities nationwide. Professionally, he holds the following certifications: Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF), Offender Workforce Development Specialist – Instructor (OWDS, OWDS-I), Reentry Employment Specialist (RES), Moral Reconation Therapy facilitator (MRT), Thinking for a Change facilitator (T4C), Endorsed Correctional Chaplain, and Facilitating Correctional Treatment Groups instructor (NIC). For the past twenty-five years, and before joining the LCSO, he has managed reentry-focused non-profits focusing on employment, housing, treatment, and community integration. He authorized and delivered a reentry and community-based mentoring curriculum in several prisons and communities. Bradley is a graduate of St. Cloud State University (Minnesota) with degrees in Public Administration and Criminal Justice and holds Executive education certificates (Executive Director Leadership and Executive MBA) from the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota). Bradley has been married for 34 years to his wife, Jackie, and together, they have three adult children and several grand pets. They live in Tallahassee and enjoy time at the beach and exploring throughout the Southeast. |