Tuscaloosa, Ala. – The Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles hosted Koppers, a Pittsburgh-based global provider of treated wood products, wood treatment chemicals, and carbon compounds, at the Tuscaloosa Day Reporting Center to discuss potential job opportunities for probationers and parolees.
Officers are trained to help probationers and parolees find employment after being released from prison, as employment is shown to reduce the possibility of recidivism. Sustaining a job is a requirement to graduate from the Day Reporting Center program and successfully complete supervision at a field office. Bureau employees from both our Field Operations and Special Populations divisions attended the event.
After a presentation by Koppers Director of Global Inclusion and Diversity Lance I. Hyde and the Bureau’s Deputy Director of Parole Rehabilitation Rebecca Bensema, Bureau employees toured one of the Koppers utility pole facilities in Vance, Ala.
Deputy Director Bensema said, “We appreciate the hospitality provided to the Bureau by Koppers and value their continued efforts in bolstering employment opportunities for the populations we serve.”
Koppers is working with police chiefs, faith-based organizations and community centers across the country to create job opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals within their own workforce. Montgomery Police Chief Ernest Finley facilitated communication between Koppers and Bensema.
The Field Operations Division – which includes the majority of our Probation and Parole Officers – is responsible for supervising probationers and parolees, maintaining file materials on all active parolees supervised by the field offices and reviewing various reports to include violation reports, annual reporting requests, audits, and other departmental reports. Field Operations is also tasked with fleet management, drug testing and other tasks as required.
The Special Populations Division is responsible for the education, behavioral, and treatment programs administered by the Bureau, including the Alabama Certain Enforcement Supervision Program, Day Reporting Centers, Day Reporting Center Lites and other programs. These programs provide intensive treatment, education, behavioral modification and supervision for moderate to high risk clients supervised by the agency.
Day Reporting Centers provide counseling, educational training and supervision for probationers and parolees. With a focus on employment assistance, substance abuse treatment, mental health, and cognitive restructuring needs, DRC staff is committed to reducing recidivism rates and improving public safety through behavior change. Currently, full Day Reporting Centers are located in Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile, Montgomery, and Tuscaloosa. Day Reporting Center Lites, condensed versions of our DRCs incorporated into field offices and offering similar treatment, are located in Bay Minette, Fort Payne, Guntersville, Opelika and Jasper.
From left: Tuscaloosa Day Reporting Center Administrator Curtis Crawley, DRC District Manager Stephanie Stewart, Deputy Director of Parole Rehabilitation Rebecca Bensema, Koppers Director of Global Inclusion and Diversity Lance I. Hyde, Koppers Vance Plant Manager Karl Born, District Manager Jeff Floyd and Officer-In-Charge Harvey Lipscomb
Koppers Director of Global Inclusion and Diversity Lance I. Hyde delivering a presentation about the company and what it offers for previously incarcerated individuals.
Koppers Vance Plant Manager Karl Born explaining how the plant operates day to day.
Koppers Vance Plant Manager giving a tour to Bureau employees.