|
 Committee Chairman David Hepler had CAPCIL
Director Alison Rumler-Gomez and Rod Boyd, who works in the Logan
County Sheriff’s Office, share details about a program they were
putting together.
Boyd said the Sheriff’s Office and CAPCIL were trying to start a
program for jailees at the Logan County Safety Complex. Some
individuals spend more than a year there while waiting on their
cases.
The program would offer life skills coaching that included parenting
classes. The intent was to provide those individuals with an
opportunity to improve their quality of life.
Because families are impacted when a family member is in jail,
family involvement is also incorporated. It is a holistic approach.
Boyd said the program provides an opportunity to show they are
trying to work with individuals in hopes they will become productive
citizens instead of going back to their past ways. The program
provides a chance to further educate individuals.
Rumler-Gomez said the program would be a hybrid of individual and
group training. They hoped to offer classes to groups of eight to 10
inmates once or twice a week. These classes would be supplemented by
one-on-one life coaching. Many want inmates to make a life change.
Rumler-Gomez said she believed that combination along with having
the time, the resources and the people who care enough to invest in
this type of program was a win-win.
When Logan County Sheriff Mark Landers first talked to Rumler-Gomez
and Boyd about the program, they figured the costs would be around
$5,000.
Both the Planning and Zoning Committee and then the full board had a
chance to hear about the program and ask questions about how it
would work.
At January’s voting meeting, the board voted to provide $2,500 from
the Community Support line item for the pilot program.
Hepler told Invenergy, a company working on developing a wind
project in the county, about the program. Invenergy expressed
interest in helping fund it and provided $2,500 in matching funds.
January 12, 2021-
CAPCIL and Sheriff's Office say jailees would benefit from life
skills program
A report in May sent to the board by CAPCIL showed eight detainees
were in progress with the program. Another had completed the program
and was in treatment. Three detainees had been released.
Additionally, some of their families had been connected with CAPCIL
resources. Some had been connected to substance abuse resources.
Some were learning more parenting skills and had improved
relationships with DCFS. A few were researching educational
opportunities available through the Department of Corrections and
considering pursuing Bachelor’s Degrees while incarcerated.
May 13, 2021-
CAPCIL/Sheriff’s Office launch new Life Skills program in Logan
County
In August, the board voted to allocate $5,000 to Life Skills Program
at the Logan County Safety Complex from the Economic Development
Fund.
[to top of second column] |
Reports show the program continues to be successful.
The $5,000 the board allocated will assist in keeping the program
going and make more training available.
August 20, 2021--Logan
County Board August briefs
Educational strategies during the pandemic showed mixed results.
As 2021 began, area schools offered both in-person and virtual
learning opportunities.
The pandemic also changed the face of college education. Some
colleges offered mostly online courses; others offered a hybrid
model combining face-to-face courses with online learning elements.
At Lincoln College, larger classes were split into two separate
groups to allow for social distancing in the classrooms. Groups met
on alternate days and often had online discussion activities to
supplement face to face meetings.
Amid the challenges were some positive aspects to the way the
pandemic affected education.
For example, at Lincoln Christian University, Vice President of
Student Development Jill Dicken said some positives she has seen are
“flexibility, creativity, and greater adaptation to technology.”
Former LC Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs Michelle
Baldwin, who recently transitioned back to teaching, feels the
college handled the shifts well. Baldwin observed, “In higher
education, we are so accustomed to strategic planning with best
practices in mind; however, our current situation left us planning
for a less than ideal situation filled with uncertainty and
unknowns. However, we were able to carry-on, doing our best to keep
the college’s students, faculty and staff safe while still serving
our mission.”
As the blog post “What Students and Colleges Faced During the
Pandemic” concluded, “Both students and colleges found ways to be
creative and resilient and even considered or engaged in practices
that could make the U.S. higher education more equitable.
February 24, 2021 -
Differences in college education during the pandemic
By fall 2021, area schools and colleges were able to return to more
of a pre-pandemic classroom setting though teachers and students
were still expected to wear masks in buildings and classroom spaces.
Schools also continued to utilize online resources to supplement
educational materials, which many students found helpful.
One thing the pandemic seems to have taught some is resiliency and
adaptability. These traits can be helpful in educational settings
long after the pandemic is over.
Though 2021 was an unusual year, schools in the county seem to have
adapted. Additionally, the county board helped support a pilot
program intended to produce positive life changes for inmates and
their families. There have been some positives amid all the
challenges.
[Angela Reiners] |
