I established the Ohio Council on Victims' Justice, comprised of victims, survivors of crime, victims advocates and people who represent such organizations such as Parents of Murdered Children and Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. The council serves in an advisory capacity for the department. The part of community service that is not yet fully developed, and one that I believe is critical to a restorative philosophy, is developing the psychological aspect of community service. We are now developing curricula that will be offered parallel to offenders actually performing community service work. The DRC has a long history of involving the community in our operations.
Community participation serves many purposes.
Primarily, it demonstrates that a corrections agency is not a secret society. It also creates local and statewide support groups who can provide an additional voice to correctional stakeholders. Community groups and individuals act as volunteers with religious services programs and inmate organizations. Our most useful partnerships with community representatives come in the form of advisory groups. Each prison has a community advisory committee comprised of strategic community members.