Advancing Corrections Journal - Edition #12 - Innovation in Correctional Healthcare (ACJ12-A006)

Article 6: North Carolina's Therapeutic Diversion Units-Innovation in Correctional Behavioral Health (ACJ12-A006)

Abstract

In 2015, the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Division of Prisons began development of an initiative to improve the treatment and management of offenders with mental illness at risk of or in Restrictive Housing. The initiative involved the transformation of multiple Restrictive Housing units into Therapeutic Diversion Units, locations in which a structured, behavior-intervention treatment program would be provided to program participants. This article serves to highlight and discuss topics of establishment, development, evaluation, and growth of the Therapeutic Diversion Units in North Carolina Prisons.

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Authors

Charles Mautz

Innovation Institute Administrator, North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Prisons, United States

Charles Mautz is the Innovation Institute Administrator for the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Prisons. Charles was promoted to this position in 2020, after having spent approximately eight years working in the Behavioral Health section of North Carolina’s Prisons. He served as a Staff Psychologist and a Psychological Services Coordinator, both providing direct practice to offenders and managing treatment programming in prison units. He then served as the Clinical Programs Manager for Prisons, overseeing the administration of all specialized behavioral health treatment units in the state system. Charles has experience training staff and developing programs and protocols in North Carolina Prisons. He has served as a member of the Behavioral Health Documentation Committee and is a Master Trainer in both Electronic Health Record protocol and in Crisis Intervention Team Training for Prisons staff. Charles is a member of the American Correctional Association and has presented at multiple national conferences on the development and utility of treatment-based diversion programming for offenders with mental illness in Restrictive Housing. He has developed and reviewed Policy and Procedure for various behavioral health treatment programs, including for the aforementioned diversionary treatment, as well as for sexual offenders, those with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and those in residential treatment programming.

Dr. Gary Junker PhD

North Carolina Department of Public Safety, United States

Dr. Junker possesses 32 years of clinical and management experience in diverse correctional settings serving as coordinator of employee assistance programs; suicide prevention programs; internship training programs; chair of workplace violence panels; chair of institutional research review boards; chair of transgender treatment review committees; and as a member of governing bodies and medical executive committees. Dr. Junker has been a contributor to successful American Correctional Association and Joint Commission accreditation efforts in several correctional systems. He began his career in corrections at the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary in 1989 and served for 24 years as a clinician and administrator with the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Prior to current employment with NCDPS, Dr. Junker served as Regional Behavioral Health Director for the Tennessee Department of Correction. Dr. Junker holds a master’s degree in counseling psychology from the University of New Mexico where he trained as a research assistant to Dr. William R. Miller, creator of Motivational Interviewing. Dr. Junker received a doctoral degree in counseling psychology from Georgia State University and is a licensed psychologist and health service provider. Dr. Junker has authored or co-authored several peer reviewed articles and has presented on diverse topics related to correctional healthcare at conferences across the United States.

Terri Catlett

Director, Healthcare Administration, North Carolina Department of Public Safety, United States

Terri Catlett is the Director of Healthcare Administration, Health and Wellness Services, for the North Carolina Department of Public Safety (formerly North Carolina Department of Correction) since March 2011 where she provides administrative oversight of medical, dental, and mental healthcare for approximately 30,000 inmates in 55 facilities located across the state. She has been instrumental in the activation of Central Prison Healthcare Complex, a 336 bed inpatient facility with a full surgical and radiology suite that serves the state offender population, the activation of the Therapeutic Diversion Units and, most recently, the implementation of a system-wide telehealth program. Prior to joining the NC DOC, she worked over 20 years for the Federal Bureau of Prisons serving in various positions of increasing responsibility to include Physician Assistant, Health Services Administrator, Executive Assistant to the Warden, and Chief, Office of Quality Management, Health Services Division, Central Office, Washington, DC. She served as a Coalition Health Authority (CCHA) from 2013 through 2021 and was appointed as National Co-Chair in 2017 – 2019. In addition, she currently serves on the American Correctional Association Board of Governors. She received her B.S. degree from Hahnemann University, Physician Assistant Program, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Todd Ishee

Commissioner of Prisons, North Carolina Department of Public Safety, United States

Todd Ishee is the Commissioner of Prisons in the North Carolina Department of Public Safety. Todd was appointed to this position in 2019 after serving for more than 29 years in the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. He began his career as a Correctional Officer and was subsequently promoted through the prison ranks, later serving as a Warden of the Ohio State Penitentiary, Regional Director, and Deputy Director for the Ohio Office of Reentry and Enterprise Development. Todd is a member of the American Correctional Association with appointments to the Commission on Accreditation for Corrections, the Recruitment and Retention Committee, the International Corrections Committee, and the Resolutions and Policies Advisory Committee. He is a member also of the North Carolina Governor’s Crime Commission, the Correctional Leaders Association, and the International Corrections and Prisons Association.

Advancing Corrections Journal - Edition #12 - Innovation in Correctional Healthcare (ACJ12-A006)

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