Department of Correctional Training: Grant for Executive Warden Curriculum Enhancement

The growth of the incarcerated population coupled with the retirement of baby boomers has dramatically increased the number of wardens required to operate our nation’s prisons, jails and community corrections facilities. It is the responsibility of the individuals in this position to manage facilities in a manner to ensure public safety, the safety of staff and inmates, and be good stewards with taxpayer dollars. Many are tasked leading workplaces with complex missions that include dealing with specialized populations, overcrowding, staff vacancies and external stakeholders just to name a few. Today’s wardens are the Chief Executive Officers of multi-million dollars enterprises that often misunderstood by the public.

The program curriculum for Executive Training for Newly Appointed Wardens was developed in 2001. With corrections being a dynamic business, the curriculum has kept pace and has received continuous improvement over the years. This 32 hour program is designed to enhance the skills of Wardens who have less than 2 years on the job. It specifically focuses on the leadership and administrative attributes necessary to successfully operate a correctional facility. Topics to be discussed include institutional culture, central office relationships, fiscal decision-making, human resource management, media relations, planning, technology issues, information management, new trends in corrections and self care management. The training also allows participants to network with other wardens from all over the country which is highly regarded by those who attend.

NIC welcomes applications that involve two or more entities; however, one eligible entity must be the applicant and the others must be proposed as sub recipients. The applicant must be the entity with primary responsibility for administering the funding and managing the entire program.

The growth of the incarcerated population coupled with the retirement of baby boomers has dramatically increased the number of wardens required to operate our nation’s prisons, jails and community corrections facilities. It is the responsibility of the individuals in this position to manage facilities in a manner to ensure public safety, the safety of staff and inmates, and be good stewards with taxpayer dollars. Many are tasked leading workplaces with complex missions that include dealing with specialized populations, overcrowding, staff vacancies and external stakeholders just to name a few. Today’s wardens are the Chief Executive Officers of multi-million dollars enterprises that often misunderstood by the public.

The program curriculum for Executive Training for Newly Appointed Wardens was developed in 2001. With corrections being a dynamic business, the curriculum has kept pace and has received continuous improvement over the years. This 32 hour program is designed to enhance the skills of Wardens who have less than 2 years on the job. It specifically focuses on the leadership and administrative attributes necessary to successfully operate a correctional facility. Topics to be discussed include institutional culture, central office relationships, fiscal decision-making, human resource management, media relations, planning, technology issues, information management, new trends in corrections and self care management. The training also allows participants to network with other wardens from all over the country which is highly regarded by those who attend.