When Anne Charles, project director for the Corrections Learning Network, began implementing her idea to bring quality educational resources to juveniles and adults within correctional facilities, people questioned her ability and her motives. 

"When I first started, people looked at me and said, ‘Sure you'll be able to do all this.' We had questions and got through some hurdles, but all of a sudden people could see we had their best interests at heart, that we didn't have our own private agenda,” she said.

Charles's program has just finished its sixth year and reaches numerous correction sites in almost every state in the country. The Correctional Education Association (CEA) has just recently named her the recipient of the 2005 Al Maresh Memorial Award. Recently, The Corrections Connection Network News had a chance to ask Charles some questions about her award-winning program.

Q: Your job encompasses many different fields, what is your background?

Charles: My background is in corrections, education, and distance learning. I gained field experience during college working in juvenile facilities. I have worked and am currently working with correctional facilities to develop college curriculum for school to work theme programs. Corrections seemed like the perfect place to use all my varied information. 

Q: What is the program's philosophy?

Charles: I never wanted this to be a huge for profit business. I work for a state agency where the big concern is in education and training for offenders and corrections staff. My philosophy as a director is that I wanted to listen to the sites regarding the programs they needed, whether its training or GED certifications. We didn't want to replace a facility's teachers or staff members. We always wanted to be a resource to the facility and its staff.

Q: Where did this program have its origins?
 
Charles: I started at Educational Service District 101 (ESD 101) delivering distance learning courses for kindergarten through grade 12. Educational Service Districts were established by the State of Washington to provide informational services to public school districts. In 1997, we received a grant from the United States Department of Education to fund an adult literacy program. In 1993, I started working with correctional facilities. It really all started with three facilities. First, a federal women's facility began participating in live discussions. Everyday, everyone would gather around a speakerphone. It spread to a men's correctional facility in Spokane, Wash., and then to a juvenile facility in Alaska. 

Q: How far has the program spread?

Charles: In 1997, we applied for funding for the corrections network, but the stipulation was that at the end of 5 years we would have to have at least 200 sites using our program. Well, at the end of our second year we had 238 sites. At the end of five years, we had over 700 sites. We just finished our sixth year and we currently have 800 sites in 49 states. Our sites are in every kind of facility from state to county to local facilities, both men and women. We work with the parole community, also.

Q: How did your program take off so quickly?

Charles: When we started out we spent grant money on equipment, programming, satellite time, and satellite dishes. We gave the equipment to the facilities that wanted it free of charge.

Q: What kind of services do you distribute?

Charles: We distribute educational video courses and programming via satellite that teaches juveniles and adults valuable skills and distributes information about a variety of topics pertinent to corrections, re-entry into society, and general education. We also provide live programming of important speeches and events that pertain to correctional facilities and organizations. We distribute programs on DVD for offender programs. Subscriber sites are now getting 1600 hours of broadcasting, 600 hours of staff development, and free DVDs. We provide administrative, security, educational, and medical programs for correctional staff. With all the services we distribute, the fee we charge works out to about 44 cents an hour.

Q: Is your program still free of charge?

Charles: It isn't because our funding was cut. When our funding was cut, we continued to provide free programming, but are asked that facilities purchase their own equipment. Our sites agreed to do that, but our funding was cut again, so I posed a question at last January's American Correctional Association's conference as to whether or not this was a service that people would pay for. In the end I asked the sites to pay a fee, but I didn't want that fee to be an exorbitant amount. So far 400 sites have agreed to pay $1000 for a site that we otherwise wouldn't be able to broadcast. We were able to keep going because the sites said yes to that fee.  We also work with sites to allow that fee to be manageable such as developing a payment plan.

Q: How many offenders are currently enrolled in your courses?

Charles: Over 119,700 offenders are enrolled in our courses. 

Q: What did you think when you found out you were nominated for the Al Maresh Memorial Award?

Charles: It was a huge honor to be nominated. I had no idea I was nominated until I was called and told that I received the award, which honors innovation in correctional education. It is an honor to my staff and I who work endlessly to be resources for the sites we work with. If a site needs something we get it to them. It's important to us to help them provide whatever they need.

Q: What is the best part of your job?

Charles: The best part is working with people in the field. It's the absolutely best part. I enjoy curriculum development and teaching as well. I love going out to film and sharing the good news in corrections. Too many times we read about issues, weaknesses, and problems. With the increase in sentencing and accountability, the correctional staff has a huge plateful of responsibilities. One of the best things is when we get to film in a correctional facility and we get to highlight the positive programming in that facility. CLN is a conduit from communication from one site to another. I love what I do, I have a great staff and a great production crew. I love working with our sites. Our sites are the heroes on the inside.

Q: What's coming up for you?

Charles: We just finished producing a parenting from the inside class and a positive behavioral support program. We have online college credit courses through Eastern Washington University. We're also working with the Arizona Supreme Court, the Arizona Detention Schools to produce a program called “Merging Two Worlds.”