How DMVA Supports Veterans in the DOC

In honor of Military Appreciation Month, our guest for this month’s episode is Jennifer Spitler, regional program outreach coordinator for the Pennsylvania Department of Military Affairs. Jennifer shares about the variety of ways DMVA supports veterans in the DOC—which is the largest employer of veterans in Pennsylvania—including participating in veterans expos at DOC facilities or simply visiting with employees to provide valuable resources. Jennifer also shares about helpful resources for Pennsylvania veterans, and she suggests a few ways non-veterans can thank or show support for veterans in their lives.

Later in the episode, Jennifer also discusses how DMVA supports incarcerated veterans and how they help prepare them for a successful reentry.

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Respecting Victims While Preparing for Reentry

While a major focus of the Department of Corrections is preparing incarcerated individuals for reentry, victims of crime can never be overlooked. Fortunately, the DOC has a strong relationship with the Office of Victim Advocate! In this episode, Commonwealth Victim Advocate Suzanne Estrella joins the podcast to discuss the many ways her office works within the DOC to support victims while helping inmates come to terms with their actions.

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Episode 15: Cost-Benefit Analysis of Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT)

In this episode, Dr. Bret Bucklen discusses a new report released by his team this month, which is a cost-benefit analysis of the use of Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT).  The study compares the benefit-to-cost ratio for four different types of MATs that are currently used by the PA Department of Corrections: Revia, Vivitrol, Suboxone, and Sublocade.  Revia (pill form) and Vivitrol (shot form) are referred to as “antagonist” MATs; Suboxone (pill form) and Sublocade (shot form) are referred to as “partial agonist” MATs.  How do the costs (including the potential cost of diversion in prison) and benefits (including recidivism reduction and overdose death reduction) stack up for these various forms of MAT?  This episode explains what MAT is, how it is used within the department, and the results from this new cost-benefit analysis study.

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How the DOC Connects Employers with Much-Needed Workers

As we prepare to celebrate Second Chance Month in April, the PA Prisons and Parole Podcast hosted DOC Workforce Development Specialist Dorenda Hamarlund to discuss her work in helping reentrants secure employment. Dorenda shared about barriers to employment for reentrants, how the DOC prepares inmates for employment upon release, and how second-chance hiring can benefit employers.

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Episode 14: The Recidivism & Desistance Initiative (RDI) (Dr. Lucas Malishchak)

This episode features a conversation between Dr. Bret Bucklen (Director of Planning, Research, and Statistics) and Dr. Lucas Malishchak (Deputy Secretary of Reentry) on the PA DOC’s brand-new Recidivism & Desistance Initiative (RDI). This initiative was introduced in January 2025 to provide quantifiable public safety goals for the agency and to measure progress towards those goals. It is a performance management system designed to incentivize each site in the department—including each State Correctional Institution, Parole District Office, and Community Corrections Center—to contribute towards recidivism reduction and desistance enhancement.

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