August 10, 2006

Governor Janet Napolitano announced August 5 that Arizona Department of Corrections Director Dora Schriro has received the Award for Distinguished Service to State Government from the National Governors Association (NGA).

Governor Napolitano, who was elected Chairwoman of NGA August 7, along with current NGA Chairman and Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, made the presentation at the 98th Annual Meeting of the organization in Charleston, South Carolina.

Director Schriro is the first Arizonan to receive the Award for Distinguished Service to State Government, which NGA established in 1976 and allows governors to bring national recognition to their states' most valuable civil servants and private citizens. 

In the less than three years since she took over as Director, Schriro has conducted an extensive review of the Department of Corrections. She also sought input from Corrections employees, the felon population and its advocates, the state legislature and, importantly, the victims of crime.  She has used that data to improve all aspects of the correctional system.

“Under the leadership of Director Schriro, there has been dramatic improvement in the Arizona prison system,” Governor Napolitano said. “The Director has shown her dedication to creating a secure workplace for Corrections Officers, while, at the same time, understanding that inmates – many of whom will complete their sentences and return to the workforce – can learn and develop skills necessary to find a job when they’re released.”

Because 96% of the Arizona inmate population will serve their time and will be released from prison back into the workforce, Schriro has implemented what she calls, “Parallel Universe,” a program that prepares inmates for reentry by creating an environment inside the prison system that resembles the outside society. The program focuses on providing literacy, sobriety and employability skills to reduce the three “R’s” – relapse, revocation and recidivism.

Part of Director Schriro’s success is measured by the number of inmates who now earn their high school diplomas.  Upon her arrival at ADC, only 791 inmates had obtained their General Educational Development degrees (GED) that year. The following year that number increased to 1,439 and in 2005 an astounding 3,125 GED’s were awarded.

This year, Schriro’s untiring efforts aimed at recruiting and retaining experienced staff led to the Arizona State Legislature’s approval of a badly needed $3,000 pay raise for Correctional Officers.

The awards program is administered by a selection committee comprised of three permanent representatives from the academic community, as well as designees chosen by the NGA chair and vice chair.  Each year NGA presents three awards for state officials, three for private citizens and two for distinguished service to the arts.

For more information, visit www.azcorrections.gov.

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