All week long I’ve learned about “Collaborative Case Management” at a Holiday Inn Express—four days to be exact. It’s part of the MPRI program (Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative). The CCM approach is to get everyone on the same page: social workers, probation/parole agents, prison educators, custody staff, prisoners, and last but not least, supervisors of the Michigan Department of Corrections. The trainers did a fantastic job presenting the material. You could see how passionate they were about the program in their message of how the benefits of CCM far outweigh the negatives.
But I’m not so sure.
And it’s not their fault.
We were asked by the trainers whether we would be willing to wear purple jumpsuits if management made it a requirement—it’s one of the training modules. Most of us did not have a problem with being supplied uniforms. The trainers listed our pros and cons regarding this issue. From that discussion, Mark G., a parole agent with over thirty years of experience, shared a story about being dressed as Barney for a children’s benefit at the Macomb Mall. While doing the gig, he recognized a parolee, a habitual booster. He followed the parolee through the mall, and sure enough, caught the man stealing. Since this was a clear parole violation, and Mark G., aka Barney, aka parole agent, witnessed it, an arrest was made.
Some of us didn’t believe his story.
On the last day of training a special guest appeared—Barney! In the spirit of collaboration, he tried to engage us in the “I love you, you love me” song. We had our laughs. Some employees even took pictures of the purple dinosaur. Barney stayed for no more than five minutes, then left. When Mark G. appeared he seemed disappointed to have missed all the fun. You could see the sadness in his eyes.
After lunch, when everyone reported back to the Holiday Inn Express, it was evident that the two trainers were upset. Since I did not leave the Holiday Inn, I witnessed part of the interrogation.
Without the trainers’ prior knowledge, a trainee took a picture of them with Barney and sent it to another state employee. That state employee, who doesn’t care for Mark G., sent it to a superior in Lansing. The superior in Lansing sent it to a district manager. The district manager, along with another superior, drove from their offices thirty minutes away to the Holiday Inn Express to interrogate the trainers.
Hmmm… and I’m supposed to agree with a program that embraces collaboration? Where’s the love? I guess there isn’t any.As for Mark G., he called his union representative.
I wished him well. Not that he needs it. He’s run nine marathons, drinks Mountain Dew by the buckets full, and firmly believes that a criminal will quit their criminal life when they are tired. In his own words: “I’m here to tire them out.” As for his supervisor, give him hell, Mark!
13 comments:
The world is not only stranger than I imagined. It's stranger that I could have imagined.
LOl @ Charles.
Jr,
My step-father retired from the state Penn in Virginia. The horrors he would talk of. I think people are just not satisfied with who they are and so they try everything and in most cases, anything that will get them somewhere or something.
Maybe life is strange as Charles said, but imagine how boring it would be if the stories were all made up?
T
Men seek something to 'do' even if it is 'waiting for godot'...
Ah yes, from Barney to Beckett!
"Collaborative Case Management" doesn't work unless a rapport is built among all the team members. But I guess management doesn't count. Also, CCM leaves some gray areas in regards to the policies and procedures already in place. In order to use CCM, the supervisors have to have faith in what we're trying to accomplish. I'm not sure they'd back us up when things go wrong. We're on the front lines doing battle, while they're monitoring us from their cushy offices away from the prisoners.
Seems to me that the only collaborators left out of the MPRI discussion were the citizens.
Now if all of the parolee's were required to wear purple jump suits as a condition of their parole, I may find a way to get with the program.
How the hell is MDOC going to re-integrate these folks into this economy?
There must be an intellectual there among the dead and the dying cons.
SCENE: Looking up from his copy of Also Sprach Zarathustra, and a Vogue magazine spread out in front of him, Caspar Fopling might say, "Mauve jumpsuits. No fair!
...and I have to wear this orange Schmatah!
"You guys are always trying to outclass us!"
To bad we had to witness the shmuck...Now we are going to get a questionaire. MW
Ok, now that is weird. I like your use of the Don Knotts picture here. (Gotta love the dinosaur and pony show, eh?)
CCM-type arrangement is a popular theory in the field of special education too. It's hard to make any collaborative effort work with so many personalities (loose cannons, know-it-alls, shirkers, etc.) involved.
I think I saw this very thing on a recent re run of the Twilight Zone.
JR-It would take longer than 4 days to convince me of that idea. Keep us informed, will ya?
Barney, oh Barney. Weird, man. By the way, what makes it an Exxpress?
"Where’s the love? I guess there isn’t any." That abut sums up bureaucrazy.
SOOOO asinine!
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