When Marcia Combine began as an inmate counselor for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, she had no background in criminal justice or corrections. She says it was pure happenstance that she was hired at the Sharon Community Corrections Center, a pre-release facility. Today, after 16 years in corrections, Combine has become a high-ranking administrator who says she loves the field and has no plans to leave.

Rising through the ranks quickly, Combine first served as a counselor at Sharon CCC in 1989, and, shortly thereafter, became a counselor at Pittsburgh CCC #3, a women's facility. By 1991, Combine had become a referral specialist for her entire region. While in that position, she developed the criteria by which inmates are admitted into pre-release facilities and her methods have since become the standard for admittance to every community corrections center in Pennsylvania's DOC. By 1993, Combine had returned to Sharon CCC, where she became director of the facility and successfully led the center to reaccredidation four times. Just two months ago, Combine was promoted to regional director for Community Corrections Region III in Pittsburgh. She was also elected president of the Pennsylvania Association of Probation, Parole, and Correction earlier this year.

The Corrections Connection had an opportunity to speak with Combine after the Pennsylvania DOC honored her with an award for outstanding performance.

Q: How did you begin your career in corrections?

Combine: I started in corrections in 1989 and my first position was as a counselor at Sharon Community Corrections Center. But after only a few days I was transferred to a women's center in Pittsburgh, where I had the chance to help residents develop themselves into more productive people.
 
Q: What first interested you in corrections?

Combine:  I was first interested in counseling people in general-I got my degree at Pennsylvania State University in Individual and Family Studies-but I became involved in corrections just by happenstance when I was hired at Sharon CCC. I had been a counselor other places and I had managed a family planning center. My interest [in corrections] developed over time and I ended up staying in corrections because I liked interacting with the people, helping them realize their potential and see the errors of their ways. My desire going into the field was to help others and I ended up using all of my counseling skills.

Q: How have your job responsibilities progressed over time?

Combine: Well, I began as a counselor and now I'm an administrator so [things have changed]. I began counseling inmates at our pre-release facilities [community corrections centers] and then, when I became referral specialist for the region, I screened inmates to come to community corrections and would make a decision in terms of if they were fit to receive that type of assistance and could be integrated into the facility. Now, as regional director, I oversee all our community facilities.

Q: What do you most enjoy about your work?

Combine: It is really nice to see people grow, to see them develop into more productive people, to help them develop stability in their lives. I'm also one of those people who likes to be busy every second of the day. I don't just like to watch the clock tick away and it's never a boring day in corrections.

Q: What do you find most challenging about your job?

Combine: The thing I found most challenging as a counselor was when I saw someone with potential who couldn't seem to see it [for themselves]. It is very frustrating for a counselor when people don't act on their own potential. As an administrator, it was very challenging to go through the accreditation process [for the facility] because it was something I hadn't really experienced. It was akin to taking a college exam when you don't know quite what the professor wants. But I had a great staff to help me through it. All these challenges are fun and interesting challenges and I really love what I do.

Q: Now that you are an administrator, do you miss counseling? 

Combine: Not just yet, but I expect I will. I'll still have some interaction with residents but it won't be the in-depth interaction I had before. 

Q: What does receiving an outstanding performance award mean to you?

Combine: It certainly was an honor and it was not expected at all. I really had no idea. It was odd to receive an honor for something you enjoy doing. 

Q: What are you goals as the new president of the Pennsylvania Association of Probation, Parole, and Correction?

Combine: Presidents normally set their own goals and mine are to expand membership, oversee our next conference, and activate membership in different areas. It has been a very broadening experience and has introduced me to people I wouldn't have met otherwise.  

Q: What do you see in your future?
Combine: I've only been here as regional director for two months, so I can't see too far beyond this right now, but I see myself giving 110 percent to the re-entry process. Re-entry is really at the forefront of corrections now. It saves individuals [inmates from returning to a life of crime] and it saves people from being victimized by their behavior. But for the future, I see myself in corrections.