On May 31, award winning musician Linda McRae and her poet husband, James Whitmire, conducted two Express Yourself Writing Workshops at Nebraska State Penitentiary (NSP). Linda is a platinum recording artist who plays guitar, banjo and accordion and was inducted to the 2016 British Columbia Entertainment Hall of Fame. Their workshops have been conducted from inside Folsom Prison to the Geneva Youth Rehabilitation Center. Participants in the workshops are given tools to unblock creativity, express their most innermost thoughts, improve their writing skills, as well as build self-esteem and self-confidence through their new-found...Read more

The Community Justice Center (CJC) completed its 85th Nebraska Correctional Center for Women – “Restorative Justice Victims Impact/Empathy/Life Skills Class May 23. Seventy five percent of class participants rated the class excellent and twenty five percent rated that class as good. Eighty percent of the those who participated showed some level of empathy and/or insight in the effects their actions on their victims/community. Of the class two participants said, “It will help me to understand how I have affected people and how I can make my life better for me future, and the other stated that it "Helped to identify my direct...Read more

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Reentry Specialist Anthony Britten leads a reentry orientation meeting at the Diagnostic and Evaluation Center (DEC). Britten has been with the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (NDCS) since 2009. His job duties include holding meetings with the population at various points of incarceration, helping formulate parole or discharge plans, speaking with community providers about available services and helping team members understand that reentry is everyone’s job. “One of the main reasons I work in reentry is because I know that most of the individuals in our care are going to be released someday,”...Read more