Centerforce, whose mission is to support, educate and advocate for individuals, families and communities impacted by incarceration, hosted its 9th Annual “Inside/Out Summit” on Oct. 6-7 at the Double Tree Sonoma Wine Country in Rohnert Part, California. The theme, More Than One in One Hundred: the Crisis, the Issues, the Solutions, was in response to the report that came out in February from the The Pew Center on the States, which stated that there are now more than one in 100 adults incarcerated in the United States – more than any other nation.
The successful two-day event included 15 workshops on a variety of subjects: Reentry, Employment and Mental Health, Employment for Veterans, Substance Abuse Treatment, Eliminating the Death Penalty, California Prop. 5 (NORA), Props. 6&9, Inside Arts Programs, Visitation Programs, Restorative Justice, HIV Programming, Supporting Children and Families, Making, Mending and Maintaining Relationships, and Advocacy.
Special panelists and speakers included, Secretary of California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Matthew Cate, actor of M*A*S*H fame, Mike Farrell, Chief Medical Officer Receiver Clark Kelso, Dr. Terry Hill, and Centerforce Executive Director Carol F. Burton. The keynote speech was delivered by Superior Court Judge and author Norbert Ehrenfreund who was a journalist at the Nuremberg Trials in 1945. His powerful and emotional message resonated through the hall as he spoke passionately about the legacy of Nuremberg and its effects on due process and fair trial. He also addressed the audience as an influential force – a large group of people who understand 3 words: “people can change.”
Special plenary sessions included: The 2nd Annual Socratic Dialogue, Incarcerated Medicine Session, Sentencing Reform Caucus, and Ask-a-Funder. Phillip Jay Seiler, a formerly incarcerated Lifer at San Quentin Prison participated on the Socratic Dialogue panel along with representatives from 10 organizations; California Inspector General, David Shaw; CCPOA, Pam Douglas; Stanford Criminal Justice Center, Kara Dansky; Prison Law Office, Don Specter; Prison Legal News, Paul Wright; Crime Victims United of California, Nina Salarno-Ashford; Probation-Parole and former Warden of San Quentin, Jeanne Woodford; author of 3 books on incarceration, Sasha Abramsky; Vacaville Police Chief, Rich Word, and Taxpayers for Improving public Safety, David Warren. The moderator was Ron Clement, formerly of the Haigh-Scatena Foundation. The format of the Socratic Dialog involves revealing a hypothetical scenario in which the panelists must discuss outcomes in order to foster positive solutions.
The Incarceration Medicine Session was moderated by Dr. Jacqueline Tulsky and featured an update on the Receivership by Dr. Terry Hill, Chief Medical Officer under Receiver Clark Kelso. Panelists who posed questions to Dr. Hill were doctors Lisa Pratt, MD of San Quentin and Denise Taylor, MD of California Men’s Colony. The session was extremely informative and was followed by an enthusiastic audience question and answer period.
The Sentencing Reform Caucus was moderated by Carol F. Burton and included panelists Mike Farrel of Death Penalty Focus, Dan Abrahamson of Drug Policy Alliance and Elizabeth Gaynes of Osborne Association. This session was unique because it included questions for the panel that were blogged into the Centerforce website prior to the Summit.
This year, the “Jeanne Woodford Award,” in Recognition of Outstanding Leadership in Proactive Correctional Community Collaboration went to San Quentin Warden Robert Ayers, Jr.
The Socratic Dialogue, Keynote speech, Opening speech by Secretary Cate, Incarceration Medicine, and the Sentencing Reform Caucus will air on SQTV sometime in November or December. Look for your weekly programming updates!