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Offender Workforce Development
Plans are underway to hold a second Kansas and Missouri Offender Workforce Development Specialist (OWDS) joint training session following the success of the first bi-state endeavor in July 2008.
The Missouri and Kansas department of corrections are the first in the nation to form a partnership to provide OWDS training to practitioners. The two groups hope that by working together with the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) the training sessions will help uncover new ways to coordinate resources and break down geographical barriers particularly for those offenders who live in Kansas City.
Jim Chastain, program manager for Offender Workforce Development for the Kansas Department of Corrections, and his counterpart in Missouri, Susie Edwards, are currently organizing a second joint OWDS session for the Kansas City metropolitan area. The session to be held later this year has tentatively received a funding commitment from the Kansas City Crime Commission.
Chastain and Edwards also have been invited to present a pre-conference session on creating bi-state partnerships to enhance the delivery of training and services as part of the Defendant Offender Workforce Development Conference scheduled in Pittsburgh, Pa., April 5-9.
Since 2004, the Kansas Department of Corrections has offered the training programs designed by the NIC and endorsed by the National Career Development Association for those whose jobs involve workforce development and job preparedness. The comprehensive intense curriculum is designed to increase a facilitator’s ability to assist offenders in making informed decisions relative to career development, job retention and career advancement. The 180-hour OWDS training curriculum, which spans a three-month period, is comprised of 120-hour competency-based basic skill modules with an additional 60 hours of offender specific content.
For future information about OWDS training opportunities, please call Jim Chastain at (620) 694-2443 or (620) 474-2697 or e-mail at JimC@doc.ks.gov.
Facilities
Kansas Correctional Industries