PHOENIX, AZ - Arizona Department of Corrections Director Dora Schriro has received the Award for Distinguished Service to State Government from the National Governors Association for implementing programs to reduce recidivism by giving inmates the skills they need to stay out of prison.

In the less than three years since she took over as director, Ms. Schriro has implemented what she calls, “Parallel Universe,” a program that prepares inmates for reentry by creating an environment inside the prison system that resembles the outside society. The program focuses on providing literacy, sobriety and employability skills to reduce the three “R's” – relapse, revocation and recidivism.

Part of Director Schriro's success is measured by the number of inmates who now earn their high school diplomas. The year she became director of the Corrections Department, only 791 inmates had obtained their General Educational Development degrees. The following year, that number increased to 1,439 and 3,125 GEDs were awarded in 2005... Read more.

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