This podcast blog will highlight news and information from and about the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.
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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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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While the PA DOC’s dog training programs are highly popular throughout the commonwealth, the DOC also features a separate dog program: the Bureau of Investigations and Intelligence K-9 Unit.
Capt. John Evans joins the podcast to discuss the vital work his unit performs in keeping contraband out of our facilities. He discusses the training the dogs receive, how their program works, and just how good these dogs are at their job.
Check out this Facebook post to see the dogs in their new vests: https://www.facebook.com/CorrectionsPA/posts/pfbid02PH35MWbbWwEP21cFmQ2u7DY7HWahm45DnTmgptgW8sfEeXmgaGhVfdLRTxVbLtHDl
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This episode is a conversation between Dr. Bret Bucklen and Jim Stover (JRI Coordinator for the PA Department of Corrections) on the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI). We discuss what exactly JRI is, and also the history and impact of JRI efforts in Pennsylvania.
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Our year-long trip around Pennsylvania comes to a close as we wrap up this series focusing on each of our prisons with a visit to SCI Houtzdale and SCI Huntingdon.
The episode begins with Huntingdon Supt. John Rivello discussing the oldest facility in Pennsylvania, including its many vocation opportunities and its relationship with the community as its literally in the heart of town. Later in the episode, Houtzdale Supt. David Close discusses his facility’s Veterans Service Unit, the commissary program, and what life is really like inside the walls for incarcerated individuals.
While this series comes to a close, there’s plenty more on the way from the PA Prisons and Parole Podcast, so stay tuned!
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