By Matthew Estes, Communications Director
HUNTSVILLE – On Tuesday, July 12, I met the dedicated officers and support staff of the Huntsville Day Reporting Center. Located near downtown, adjacent to Brahan Springs Park at 2801 Westcorp Blvd Southwest, this DRC uniquely shares a space with the Bureau’s Huntsville Field Office in a combined building.
Employees have free-flowing access to both Bureau locations without so much as a wall separating the two. I was impressed by how employees from the field office and DRC were constantly interacting with each other by exchanging information and on-the-job experiences. This one-stop-shop strategy is effective since frequent crossover between supervision efforts from the field office and rehabilitation efforts of the DRC is common.
“I have found the support of the field operations district managers to be quite beneficial in getting eligible participants to the DRC Program so that these participants can take advantage of the available resources we have at the DRC locations,” said DRC District Manager Stephanie Stewart. “Huntsville’s District Manager Wendy Garth, as well as DMs Terry Cauthen, Jeremy Ledlow, Reginald Carter and Jeff Floyd (who all oversee operations at field offices located adjacent to or in proximity of DRC locations), have been supportive of the DRC program. Continuous support and effective communication from these DMs are necessary for the success of the agency and the participants who need rehabilitation.”
Day Reporting Center and field office employees both have a unified mission: improving public safety and reducing recidivism – clearly the Huntsville employees do both exceptionally. DRC Administrator Arthur Mauldin gave me a tour of the location, letting me meet officers Logan Dumond, Chayla Gildersleeve, Amanda Robinson and Jarrett White, along with therapist Tina James. This group is serious about their duties rehabilitating DRC participants, exemplified as I witnessed the professionalism of several employees working directly with clients.
“I enjoy the opportunity to make such a significant impact within the HDRC,” said Mauldin. “I think it provides a more undeviating straightforward setting for rehabilitation. In addition, we aim to successfully increase clients with being productive members within society.”
One feature of this DRC is the classroom located in the central part of the building. I listened to part of an ongoing classroom lecture by Lee Langston with the Alabama Non-Violent Offenders Organization on obtaining the motivation to change for the better. This topic seemed to resonate with attending participants.
Additionally, Criminal Justice Services Coordinator Carla Bugg and Outreach Specialist Nercrisha Wallace with program provider R.O.S.S. – a recovery support organization partnering with the Bureau – were in attendance to provide services to participants. The Huntsville DRC employees are often moving forward with community partnerships, seeking to continually increase the quality of services and quantity of individuals served. “We are always appreciative of our community partners,” Mauldin said. DRCs 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 Albertville, Bay Minette, Fort Payne, Opelika and Jasper.
