WITNESS
Jeffrey A. Beard, Ph.D., has served as Pennsylvania's Secretary of Corrections since 2001 and is responsible for the management and operations of the Corrections Department, which houses over 41,000 inmates, has 15,000 employees, and a $1.345 billion budget. A licensed psychologist, Dr. Beard has a broad background and over thirty years of experience in criminal justice and corrections.
Dr. Beard has been an acting superintendent at the State Correctional Institution (SCI) at Rockview, a superintendent at SCI-Cresson, and a superintendent at SCI-Camp Hill, where he had overseen reconstruction planning, improvements to the overall security of the facility, and management of 1,600 inmates after two major riots destroyed or seriously damaged much of the facility.
During his tenure as Secretary, Dr. Beard has instituted a mandatory re-entry program for boot camp inmates, started the Community Orientation and Reintegration program (COR) for all inmates, and increased the mandatory education level from fifth grade to the GED level. He has taken steps to improve the Department's image with the legislature, victims community, prison advocacy groups, the press, and other interested groups by promoting a culture that is timely and responsive to inquiries.
Dr. Beard is a member of the Pennsylvania Prison Wardens Association, American Correctional Association, North American Association of Wardens and Superintendents, Northeast Association of Correctional Administrators, and the Association of State Correctional Administrators.
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STATEMENT
It is important to remember that in order to be successful in providing a quality health care program that meets the community standard of care and maximizes the positive impact on the public's health, one must have a comprehensive program. It must include assessment, education, prevention, and treatment protocols, and it must focus on both staff and inmates. It must also be a dynamic program that is continually revised to keep pace with treatment advances and our growing knowledge of medical issues.
…As with other issues, there are a few jurisdictions that do a poor job just providing basic health care, let alone taking a more aggressive education and prevention approach. A lack of resources is frequently the culprit in these cases. Other jurisdictions may meet the judicially defined minimum standards for health care and believe that is sufficient, or may not believe that their resources permit a more aggressive approach. Irrespective of the reasons, we miss out on an opportunity to make major improvements within the public health system.… If we don't pay attention today, we will really pay tomorrow through substantially increased costs, medical complications, increased pain and suffering, and increased death.
In order for us to succeed in improving corrections health care, …we must overcome the legacy which we in corrections inherited as a result of the public's desire to get tough on crime, the further politicizing of that desire, and a failure to examine other courses of action. Because what goes on in our prisons is poorly understood by the public, it is easy to lay blame for the problems that do exist on the corrections system. By doing so, we ignore society's responsibility for that system.
Excerpted from a written statement submitted to the Commission
Download the complete written statement
Note: Some witnesses submitted documents in addition to the written statement they prepared for the hearing. In most cases, those documents are not available on the Commission's web site.
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