Hide Article Text (OCR)
Prison superintendent to speak on correction reform MondayBY THERESA CAMPBELLStaff ReporterDana Blank serves as the superintendent of the Indiana Women’s Prison, a maximum-security facility in downtown Indianapolis, and she strives to make a difference in the lives of more than 400 felons.The inmates respectfully call her ■‘Miss Blank.”The prison hold several special populations: Women who are juveniles sentenced as adults, women who are pregnant, and those with medical and or psychiatric conditions. Most of the women have a history of physical and other abuses, below-average education andlow self-esteem.Eighty-five percent are mothers.Yet Blank is committed to rehabilitating the female felons.“No one sits around here and watches television all day,” said the superintendent. She believes it’s important for the inmates to make the time they are serving, work totheir advantage.She’s also committed to the prison’s Family Preservation Center, where the mothers can spend time alone with their children in a large play area with toys and activities. It’s a chance for the moms to stay connected with their kids.“Children are the ‘other’ victims,” Blank said of the children of the female offenders. She believes it’s vita! to preserve the bond between the offenders and their families, and to provide the women with a variety of programs to help them become better parents, and gain other skills they will need once they are released.She also believes its important to44'44reach out to the children whose mothers are in prison.It’s the children of incarcerated women that are the most at-risk children. I really believe that if we are going to make any kind of difference, these are the children we need to impact,” she said.The superintendent also believes by reaching out to the youngsters it may prevent the cycle of abuse, crime, etc. from continuing.Blank will be in Anderson Monday night, sharing her views on orison reform and what works atler facility.Criminal Justice System: Punitive, Restorative or Rehabilitating?” will be the topic of the 7 p.m. program at St. Mary’s Church in Anderson. The public is invited toattend.Ron Cole, outreach minister at St. Mary’s, believes Blank’s program will be an informative look at prison life, and to examine what’s needed.“Our sense is that most people have no concept of what we’re talking about when we speak of prison reform. Most people think prisons are too easy. Most people think that the prisons need to be more punitive, they need to be tougher and they need to punish these people more,” said Cole. “But, what everybody forgets is that most of those people in prison are going to be released one day. So, if all you do is punish, punish, punish, punish, you’re creating extremely angry, bitter people who don’t know how to live in an environment andadjust.”Blank has seen many changes in her 32 years in the correctional field.“It’s extremely important for everyone to understand the changes that have come about over the last years with this type of a population,” she said of those housed at the Indianapolis maximum-security facility. “No longer are we just dealing with what traditionally is a ‘typical offender.’ Now, we are challenged with the issue of special populations.”The superintendent said she now has to deal with more psychiatric offenders, those with serious medical conditions, or enter the system pregnant, and juvenile offenders that have been sentenced as adults.“It’s no longer ‘one size fits all,’ “ she said. “As the state mental hospitals closed in Indiana, our population just soared. We’ve almost become the mental health facility for females in Indiana. The whole complexion has changed.”Blank said the Indiana Women’s Prison focuses on individual needs of the felons.The superintendent said she enjoys the ability to create new programs and the chance to be proactive in addressing challenges. She believes the programs the women’s prison offers is making a difference.“From where I sit, one of the things I have to judge is how the offenders deal on a daily basis in this environment, and how they take the responsibility to keep the environment safe,” she said. “Watching them become more responsible and taking advantage of the programs and seeing what they are accomplishing (is encouraging) when you’re in my arena.”Join Today 150th Anniversary
Newspaper Details
Anderson Herald Bulletin
Anderson, Indiana, US
Sun, Oct 14, 2001
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Monroe C.
IN, USA 17 Feb 2021
Other Publications Near Anderson, Indiana
Anderson Sunday Herald
Anderson Herald Bulletin Sunday
Anderson Democrat
Anderson Herald Bulletin
Anderson Daily Bulletin
