Progressively Transforming the Perception of Corrections

The message at the Ohio Reformatory for Women (ORW) is simple -“We have high expectations for our women — when they are here and when they leave.”

Those are the words of ORW’s Deputy Warden of Special Services, Teri Baldauf, when asked what makes the prison’s approach to rehabilitation so transformational.

To best understand the progressive nature of ORW, one must look at the institution’s history of forward-thinking, its collaboration with local communities, and the desire by staff to truly be focused on rehabilitation. At ORW, rehabilitation is a core principal, not just a suggestion.

“[The women] do what we expect,” Warden Ronette Burkes-Trowsdell explained. “And so if we don’t expect it, they won’t do it.”

And those expectations — for staff and offenders alike — are visible all around the institution.

As we walked around the institution speaking with staff and offenders for this story, we watched firsthand as the transformational mission of the institution played out. And that sight, as many have come to notice, is the norm at ORW.

It is the work of the staff that supports the mission of this institution. In an industry that is known for corrections work, the ORW staff’s focus on rehabilitation is evident. From correction officers to nurses, teachers, and more, there is a palpable environment of respect. That rehabilitative work is an expectation around the compound, set forth by the warden herself.

“It’s weird to say, but I know that many of the staff I encounter here really care about me becoming a better person,” shared Kim, an offender at ORW. “When you have a warden who shows that she truly cares, it inspires you. And we know she cares because she does more than just talk about it — she’s true to her word and follows through. We don’t want to disappoint her here or after we leave.”

For Burkes-Trowsdell, this work is much more than just a job.

“I truly believe in my heart this is mission work and there is a calling for people who work in this field,” Warden Burkes-Trowsdell explained. “I believe we really have a responsibility as human beings to help save other human beings.”

That passion of ORW leadership, such as Warden Burkes-Trowsdell, Deputy Warden Baldauf and Deputy Warden of Operations Leon Hill, is emphasized of staff around the institution. It is seen in the interactions by staff and offenders as well as comments made by women who have since been released from ORW.

“He always treated us like we’re human beings not like inmates,” a restored citizen commented on a video of ORW Officer of the Year Adam Wojton. “He is fair and very respectful to all of us.”

That commitment has resulted in unique and transformational programming being brought into the institution — from a cosmetology school to a nursery allowing incarcerated mothers the opportunity to raise their children.

The Tapestry Therapeutic Community (TC) is a long-term (6–12 months) residential Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) treatment program. The TC approach views AOD abuse as a reflection of chronic deficits in social, vocational, familial, economic, and personality development. The aim of the Therapeutic Community is to promote pro-social behavior, attitudes, and values as a method to attain abstinence from alcohol and other drugs and eliminate antisocial behaviors.

Then you have the powerful Skype sessions. Once a month, the ORW Inside Out Choir wear their distinctive teal t-shirts with a decal of a pink butterfly in flight, hold colorful hand-made paper crafts, and wait anxiously in front of a blank television screen. Tapestry and ORW staff, along with volunteers from the Harmony Project in Columbus, Ohio, wait just as anxiously alongside them.

By way of a Skype video call, the women in the program sing children’s songs, wave their hand-made butterflies, and use playful puppets to interact with the children a half a world away. The children, whom are all ill and depend on the Sunflower House and their amazing staff for their care, smile, clap and giggle in delight until it is their turn to sing to the Tapestry family.

Another powerful endeavor is the Achieving Baby Care Success program. In June 2001, ORW opened Ohio’s only nursery program within an institution. The ABC’S Program allows incarcerated pregnant women to maintain custody of their infants after they are born. Each participant has an individualized treatment plan so that the problems that resulted in her incarceration are thoroughly addressed.

Hands-on parenting instruction is available for every mother in the program. Eligible mothers for the program are screened and must be serving a short-term sentence for a non-violent crime. The criteria for the program ensures that the mothers and infants leave the institution together.

Lastly, the focus on education at ORW has left a profound effect on staff and offenders alike. After ODRC Director Gary Mohr gave a call to action placing high importance on education around the department, the ORW education staff went all in. This resulted in the institution hosting their largest GED graduation class in Spring 2018.

However, the progressive approach doesn’t just apply to programming. While institution tours are available and happen often for the general public, it isn’t uncommon for ORW to invite individuals with incarcerated loved ones at ORW inside the institution for an in-depth tour. These specific tours often occur if family members have concerns or questions regarding the institution and are conducted by the warden, deputy wardens, and administrative assistant.

The tours are done to provide transparency and to also give families the opportunity to see the daily happenings of the institution firsthand.

“Having a loved one incarcerated can be very difficult,” Baldauf shared. “We want to be open and transparent and address any questions or concerns they may have. And by giving them an inside look, it helps to provide clarity and reassurance.”

To outsiders, these programs might seem groundbreaking and unusual. But for ORW, it’s just about doing the right thing.

“I never really thought about us as being progressive,” Warden Burkes-Trowsdell said with a smile. “I thought of us as just doing what’s right. So I appreciate the progressive term, but I don’t want us to get caught up in the whole thing about ‘we’re so progressive, we’re so progressive’. No, we need to do what’s right. As long as we remain focused on that and stay humbled in that, you can call us progressive.”

Regardless of what you call them, one thing is clear — ORW is progressively transforming the perception of corrections from the inside out.