For Darin Armstrong, getting a job in December was a win. What made it even more significant is that he was released from the Cedar Creek Corrections Center only a month earlier. The Washington State Department of Transportation hired him as a natural resource technician. Armstrong, a previously incarcerated individual…

As inmates get ready to release from prison, many will find themselves eligible for work release. Work release is offered to eligible participants six months before release from prison and requires individuals to find a job, gives an opportunity to reconnect with family, and eases transition back into the…

A prison can conjure images of concertina wire, heavy cell doors, and prominent watchtowers. Not bees, sheep, and other forms of wildlife. But these critters and more have become a common sight in Washington’s correctional facilities. Bringing wildlife into correctional facilities is possible through the Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP)…

Over 20 men in the Twin Rivers Unit at Monroe Correctional Complex had reason to celebrate in January. They were the first group to complete the New Freedom class, a gang intervention graduation. The Twin Rivers Unit is known as a safe harbor, a place for those who have…

TACOMA — Mary Lamb spotted a pair of coyotes while waiting for a bus taking staff from the former McNeil Island Corrections Center (MICC) North Complex to the passenger ferry. Startled, she didn’t know what to do. “They’d look at me and they’d look back at each other,” the Department…

The noise of the room begins to fade as people take their seats and get out their folders to start the biweekly session of Thinking for a Change. …

The Department of Corrections Emergency Operations Unit receives requests to assist during natural and man-made disasters. This can be a wide variety of tasks including tracking resources, developing evacuation plans for effected communities, or responding to calls for help. …

LITTLEROCK — With homelessness increasing, finding shelter is becoming an issue for some in Washington State. Incarcerated men at Cedar Creek Corrections Center are helping communities by building tiny homes and positively changing their own lives through learning new skills and trades. Centralia College Instructor Bruce Carley oversees the…

November 27, 2018 By Rachel Friederich (email) DOC Communications Kacei Lidwell (far right) speaks with fellow reentry panelists Amy Moore (left) and Lisa Savard (center). Lidwell is now a published author and business owner. (Rachel Friederich, DOC Communications) See Photo Gallery BELFAIR — A nutrition assistant at a local hospital…