For Catherine McVey, the 30-year journey from corrections officer to Deputy Secretary for Administration for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections has been one decorated by accomplishment and forward progress.  Over the course of her career she has served in various capacities for both the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Pennsylvania DOC.

During her time in Texas, she worked in various positions, advancing from a corrections officer to Director of Programs for Classification and Treatment to Assistant Director for TDCJ's Executive Division.

Then, in the late 90's, as Assistant Director of TDCJ's Programs and Services Division, McVey helped to create a Youthful Offender Program and a sex offender treatment program.  She also developed, implemented and oversaw the "Rehabilitation Tier" if Pre-Release Programs aimed at giving offenders the skills they need to succeed when they are released from incarceration back into the community.

In 1998, McVey became Director of the Pennsylvania DOC's Bureau of Health Care Services and she currently serves as the department's Deputy Secretary for Administration.

Recently, Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell nominated McVey to the state's Board of Probation and Parole, a position she will assume in the near future.  In her new endeavor, McVey hopes to strengthen the connection between the DOC and the Board of Probation and Parole.

Last week, The Corrections Connection Network News talked with McVey about some of the major accomplishments she has had throughout the course of her career in corrections.  McVey reflected on some of her achievements and offered some wisdom to people working in the corrections field.

Q: What have some of the challenges been of your current position?

McVey: The diversity of knowledge that I have had to acquire, [from] engineering issues recycling, garbage to budget issues to human resource issues, like complicated labor relations.  Pennsylvania is a highly unionized state.  The DOC works with a number of unions so that has been a challenge.

Q: What have some of your greatest accomplishments been?

McVey: I think probably in my whole career [my] first major accomplishment was in Texas with a number of other individuals being a part of the team and being a leader of the team to develop the "Rehabilitation Tier" of programs.

That was pre-release programs targeted specifically to the criminogenic needs of the offenders and ensuring that they receive the treatment, the education, the counseling so that they were equipped to return to the community and truly be ready to be integrated into the community.

A second major accomplishment was in Texas.  We had to totally redevelop and redesign an inmate classification system.  That was a multi-year task that I was engaged in with other key staff.  It was certainly not a single initiative.  That was a major accomplishment to redesign and automate a complete inmate classification [system].

More recently, in Pennsylvania, I think probably a major accomplishment in the Bureau of Healthcare Services as the Bureau Director was to work with the staff to assess where we are in our healthcare delivery system.  [We] identif[ied] priorities to refine that system and to be more scientific in our approach to analyzing the healthcare needs of our inmate population.  I developed with staff a comprehensive information gathering system so that we can analyze that and make decisions based more on [hard data].  [We] work very clearly with other agencies in Pennsylvania to enhance reentry for special needs inmates - inmates who have healthcare issues, mental health issues [and] special needs.  [We] work with the Department of Public Welfare, the Department of Health to ensure that we could connect them [to the services they need in the community - to promote] continuity of care.

Q: What keeps you going?

McVey: What keeps me going on the job - I say this with real candor - it's just fun.  It's a challenge to solve problems every day and to solve them at a conceptual level and to be able to envision programmatically [and] procedurally how to take a broad concept and proceduralize it into and actual plan of action.  It's like a chess game every day.  It's challenging.  It's intellectually stimulating and the people here in the DOC in Pennsylvania are consummate professionals.  There are many people here that are really determined to excel in working with the offenders.

On an emotional level, [it's] very fulfilling.  That's what keeps me going in terms of my work.

Q: What are your expectations for your new position working for the Board of Probation and Parole?

McVey: What's going to keep me going [in my new job is] to be able to work as a partner with the DOC.  I think I'll be a meaningful bridge between parole and the DOC.  I think working in partnership, we are going to be greater than either one of us working individually.  The sum is greater than the parts.

Q: What advice do you have for people working in the corrections field?

McVey: I guess I would offer kind of a list of do's and don't's. 

Top on the list is always be a student.  You never know everything and you should read, read, read.  I read articles, research journals [and] reports.  You have to always be a student because there's always more to learn. 

My secret rule for success would be work hard - always work hard day in and day out.  In working hard, be goal-oriented, look ahead, think about whether you are thinking about what you want to accomplish and have a vision for it.  What do I want something to become and how do I get there?  Always have a vision.

My third rule is be loyal for whomever you work.  Be non-political and work best to achieve the mission of your agency.  Be loyal to your boss.  It's always a team effort.  Give credit where credit is due.  You are always working with a team.

Another rule is never take yourself too seriously.  Never be too full of yourself.  Always be humble.

And the last rule for survival and for your personal development is always be committed to what is meaningful in your life.  [The people in my life] see [that] I am a wife and a mother and a daughter and a sister.  I work to fulfill those roles in a very serious way.  I take pleasure each and every day from my personal life.  You are living and you are working to be a whole person.  You are not whole person if your whole life is work.

You can always do more than you think you can do.  [When you think you] have reached [your] max, usually you can do it if you apply the rules and you put your mind to it and apply yourself, you usually can take that next step up.