The Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) operates the Appalachian Community Corrections Alternative Program (ACCAP). ACCAP is defined as an evidence-based alternative to prison for nonviolent offenders who have been convicted of a felony. ACCAP provides a structured, healing environment where participants can receive help designed to address criminal thinking, substance abuse disorders, educational and vocational needs. Participants in ACCAP are given the opportunity to

The number one goal for the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) is longterm public safety. As in any other prison system, the VADOC is always looking to enhance its safety and security procedures to fulfill this goal. Looking at the visitation policies and procedures statewide, it was found that the common theme was contraband breaching the secured perimeter. Concerns statewide rose when inmate overdoses increased, prison infractions for contraband grew and the concern

Even before 9/11, many Muslim activists and community leaders were involved in dialogue with other ethnic, race or faith-based groups. It stemmed from a desire to be understood as media and Hollywood continued their negative stereotyping of Islam while hiding the political underpinnings to those conflicts. I got involved with many such groups, as I loved the promise of dialogue for our new multicultural world, having grown up on four continents myself. I had been enchanted wi

In March 2020, the governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia declared a state of emergency due to the Covid-19 coronavirus. Newly implemented contact and social distancing restrictions caused the District 20 random drug screening program, known as Color Code, to be suspended. Drug screenings, which are a necessary and impactful tool used most frequently during the term of supervision, were being administered only when they were Court ordered or when there was a public safety i

n early 2021, after having dealt with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic for over 10 months, the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) finally began receiving vaccines. Up until the availability of the vaccines, VADOC had experienced the loss of over 50 inmates due to the virus. In addition, the Department lost one of its most prominent leaders of more than 40 years, Warden Earl Barksdale. As a priority group, Virginia’s inmates had access to the vaccine early. In Janu

Alexandria Probation and Parole consists of 15 employees: eight Probation Officers, two Senior Probation Officers, one Chief, one Deputy Chief and three administrative staff. Through community partnerships and collaborative relationships, the District strives to build a healing environment for probationers and parolees, their families, and for the community at large. This office is fortunate to have a large team of seasoned officers with very little turnover. By completing th

In 1984 a new kind of Dialogue was conceived by David and Saral Bohm, Don and Anna Factor and Peter and Jenny Garrett with 40 other participants gathered for a weekend in the English Cotswold Hills. Further private weekend Dialogues in Israel and Europe established why Dialogue is necessary and continued a deepening participatory enquiry into proprioceptive awareness. An adaption of the approach was later popularised by Peter Senge in his book The Fifth Discipline, and became

In April of 2020, a group of colleagues and I held a series of dialogues to try to make sense of the pandemic. As a result we set up a series of seven, 90-minute biweekly dialogues between April and July of 2020. Our intention was to make a genuine space for conversation—a dialogue that allowed people to uncover the meaning they were making of the situation, and to listen collectively for what was emerging in an unprecedented way. We did not seek to impose meaning on what we

The Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) is responsible for the care, security and well-being of over 30,000 inmates, 60,000 supervisees and 13,000 staff. Our mission is to help people do better. To accomplish this, each person within the VADOC is accountable to ensure that the organization works efficiently, effectively and continuously with minimal disruptions. Agency culture and environment are critical to achieving the agency’s mission. VADOC has adopted a Healing E

In 2018, the Chief of Housing and Program Managers (CHAPS) participated in a survey initiated by the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) to look at a number of challenges the managers were facing. The survey revealed that operational and housing unit issues, inmate classification, along with managing and tracking learning teams for all staff members at their assigned facilities, required a large majority of their time. The large amount of time required for operational

My opportunity to work with Dialogue began in the 1990s. The German Unification process was a real challenge, especially for citizens of the former German Democratic Republic, or East Germany (GDR). Various East-West projects were developed and implemented to support this process, including dialogic approaches in which I was able to participate. In more recent years I had many opportunities to work with dialogue in the European Union. These included projects helping new membe

The following is a work in progress, fostering Dialogue initiatives within a gated neighborhood slightly North of Buenos Aires, Argentina, where I live with my family. Ours is a 200-year-young country with a peaceful society, fragmented by the stillstrong cultures of its immigrant descendants. Today the strongest, most predominant presence is of Spanish and Italian descent, carrying the imprints of the Spanish cultural social hierarchy and the Italian bodyexpressive, outspoke

The Brunswick Community Corrections Alternative Program (CCAP) is a secure, residential facility that was created as an alternative sentencing option for the Circuit Courts in Virginia to utilize for adult males in need of an Intensive Substance Abuse Program. The facility opened in January of 2020. The program provides a sentencing option for judicial consideration in lieu of an individual serving an active term of incarceration in a local jail or state institution. The curr

The Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) has been on a pathway to reduce and eliminate the use of restrictive housing since 2016. Traditionally, as defined by the American Correctional Association (ACA), restrictive housing is a practice where inmates are separated from the general population for up to 22 hours per day and placed in a cell for the safe and secure operation of a facility1. The agency relied on the use of this practice for inmates that exhibited serious b

During the Covid-19 pandemic, organizations around the world have had to reassess their business processes; the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) is no exception. It has become expedient to check on staff to make sure they have resources and guidance needed to do their jobs. To this end, VADOC Operations adjusted Dialogue to elevate the voices of staff, supporting their well-being and meaningful work by focusing on front- and back-end steps outside of the sessions th