Graduate of CMIT's NJLCA Class #2 Promotes

Sonoma County Sheriff Steve Freitas is pleased to announce the promotion of Randall Walker to the position of Assistant Sheriff, overseeing the Detention Division and all Detention related services. The Detention Division of the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office is comprised of over 300 employees including both sworn and civilian staff as well as community volunteers. Included in the Division are the Main Adult Detention Facility, North County Detention Facility, Inmate Programs, Electronic Monitoring Program, and Court Movement. The Assistant Sheriff duties have expanded due to the Public Safety Realignment Act which took effect on October 1, 2011. This has resulted in an increase in adult offenders serving their time locally, either supervised in the community or incarcerated in the Detention Facilities. Assistant Sheriff Walker will be a leader in assuring the increased jail population and offender needs are balanced with the Sheriff's Office mission to provide a safe community to the citizens of Sonoma County.

Assistant Sheriff Walker was born and raised in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania and served 9 years active duty in the United States Army prior to joining the Sheriff's Office in 1991. He has remained steadfast to continuing his education and has completed multiple courses in supervision, management, and leadership to include the National Jail Leadership Command Academy in Huntsville, Texas.  Read more...

TDCJ Employees Awarded CJ Scholarships

Debbie Erwin and Chris Cirrito began their careers in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice as correctional officers. Erwin has since advanced through the correctional officer ranks, while Cirrito has followed a different career path. With a scholarship from the College of Criminal Justice and the Correctional Management Institute of Texas, the two will pursue a Master’s degree at Sam Houston State University and take their careers to new heights.

CMIT Appoints New Project Leaders

The Correctional Management Institute of Texas recently appointed two project team leaders – one a longtime employee and the other a 30-year veteran of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Sharese Hurst, who has worked for CMIT since 2000, was promoted to Project Manager, overseeing all jail management programs. Jeffrey Marton, retired Director of Training for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, will be a project coordinator for programs in mid-level and senior corrections leadership.  Read more...

Promotion News in CMIT!

The Correctional Management Institute of Texas (CMIT) is pleased to announce the promotion of Sharese Hurst to Project Manager within the Institute. Sharese has been with CMIT since September 2000 and brings a wealth of experience and expertise to her new position. She has served the Institute in various capacities to include coordination of certification and continuing education trainings, providing secretariat services for professional associations, and planning and facilitating numerous professional development training programs and conferences. She also currently serves as Executive Director for the Texas Jail Association and editor of their quarterly publication, Key Issues.

Sharese obtained both her Bachelor of Business Administration (1993) and Master of Business Administration (1995) at Sam Houston State University.

Senior Level Corrections Leadership Development Program - March 25-30, 2012

The Correctional Management Institute of Texas is pleased to offer a week-long Senior Level Corrections Leadership Program for criminal justice professionals at the George J. Beto Criminal Justice Center in Huntsville, Texas. The purpose of the program is to equip selected participants with the necessary correctional knowledge from an academic research standpoint and with the necessary leadership skills from a practitioner perspective that are required for Senior Level Leaders. This training will target deputy directors within adult and juvenile community corrections, assistant wardens/wardens, assistant jail administrators/jail administrators, and assistant superintendents/superintendents within adult and juvenile institutions. The Institute is now accepting nominations for its program scheduled for March 25-30, 2012. This program is limited to 24-participants.


Agency Responsibility:

• Nominate a person who is in a Senior Level Leadership position or who has the potential to be promoted into a Senior Level Leadership position;
• Nomination must be signed by the Agency Executive Director;
• Nominees that are two years from retiring from the agency are not eligible;
• Consider diversity when making the nomination;
• Be prepared to allow the nominee to be in attendance from Sunday afternoon to noon on the following Friday; and,
• Provide transportation or reimburse the nominee for round trip mileage between duty site and Huntsville.

Participant Responsibility: 

• Arrive at the Criminal Justice Center in Huntsville on Sunday by 5:15 PM for the opening session;
• Actively participate in training activities the entire week;

Institute Responsibility:

• Consider a variety of diversity issues in selecting participants;
• Notify nominee of acceptance into the program;
• Provide 34 hours of relevant training in an atmosphere conducive to learning;
• Provide all training materials;
• Provide accommodations at the University Hotel;
• Provide meals for participants.

For questions, please contact Natalie Payne at (936) 294-1706 or email at npayne@shsu.edu

Motivational Interviewing Training Academy (MITA) Frequently Asked Questions

1. Q: Where is the training being held? A: All phases of the Motivational Interviewing Academy will be held in Huntsville at the Correctional Management Institute of Texas.

2. Q: What are the pre-requisites?A: There are no pre-requisites.

3. Q: Do the participants have to be Foundation Skills Trainers?A: No, completion of Foundation Skills for Trainers is not required.

4. Q: Do they also have to be certified CSO’s or can they be counselors?A: Agencies will make the decision regarding the applicant. There are no stipulations required from the Motivational Interviewing Training Academy (MITA).

5. Q: Does CMIT plan to limit attendance to one person per agency? A: Applications will be reviewed by the MITA Trainers and will graded on a Likert Scale. All applications will be considered, and depending upon the number submitted, there may be a need to make decisions based on regional representation. If we have multiple applicants from one agency and can only consider a limited number, we will communicate with the agency administrator to determine the most appropriate applicant, based on their desired objectives.

Motivational Interviewing Training Academy

A Collaborative Effort With CMIT
Delivered by Texas CJ MINT Members

The Correctional Management Institute of Texas in collaboration with MINT Trainer, Greg Sumpter (Tarrant County Juvenile Services), Susan Orendac (Harris County CSCD) and Mark Asteris (Jefferson County CSCD) is pleased to offer and host a three-phase Motivational Interviewing Training Academy.

The MI Trainer Development Academy is designed to develop MI proficiency in individuals leading to the capability to train others within their departments. No prior MI training or proficiency levels are required for applicants.

The program requires satisfactory completion of pre-requisite structured training phases, documented self-study, individual practice of skills and submission of Motivational Interviewing tapes for coding. The program culminates with the provision of tools and materials necessary for implementation within respective jurisdictions.

The three-phase program schedule as listed below is limited to 20-participants, ideally comprised of an equal number of juvenile and adult corrections practitioners who will move together from one phase to the next. The Academy has a fee of $395.00 for all three phases inclusively. Participants are responsible for their own travel, lodging, meals and incidentals.

MI Trainer Development Phase I-January 18, 2012-January 20, 2012 (Wednesday-Friday)

MI Trainer Development Phase II-April 25, 2012-April 26, 2012 (Wednesday-Thursday)

MI Trainer Development Phase III-August 27, 2012-August 29, 2012 (Monday-Wednesday)

Interested individuals can apply at http://www.cmitonline.org/ Deadline for applications is November 30, 2011.

For additional information or questions, please contact Susan Orendac at (713)-696-8758 or Susan.Orendac@csc.hctx.net