I think it may be muted

it's muted again

Good morning! Welcome to the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women Public Meeting. There will be a Q&A at the end. Feel free to drop your questions in the chat.

Participants may want to change their view to Speaker from Gallery View in order to see the panel better. Thank you.

Thank you! Bonnie

Can you please pin the speakers? It will allow us to see them all-thank you

Who is speaking right now?

The feed glitched during her introduction

Dr. Darcella Sessomes

Dr Darcella Sessoms

Assistant Commissioner Dr. Darcella Sessomes

Thank you!

Division of Programs and Community Service

Are the bi-annual reports from Ms. Parnell to the court available to the public? Bonnie

For Q&A: what opportunities will there be for public oversight concerning the construction of the new facility? What forms of public approval are necessary in the site selection, design, and construction process?

Noted. Thank you for your questions.

Apologies, I joined a little late. Were plans for a new facility discussed at all?

Yes. The meeting is being recorded and will be shared on the NJDOC website. www.NJDOC.gov

The trauma informed programs is great to hear. Talk a little about the training for officers.

Where can we find information on the trauma-informed therapies available to the survivors? I am an attorney working with several formerly incarcerated women in the class action and they are all seeking resources for therapy

yes

Ms. Stem is the RIGHT Administrator for Edna Mahan right now. She has been doing an amazing job. Hands down the best Administrator in a LONG time.

Yes. The Monitor's Reports will be filed and publicly available. They can also be posted on the website for the USDOJ's Special Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division.

On what timeline will the incarcerated people at Edna Mahan be moved to a new facility? Have decarceration or reclassification to lower security facilities been considered in lieu of re-incarceration?

This is for commissioner AmunHow do you plan on combating the false and abuse of PREA complaints against staff members

in speaking on a "new facility" how will that change the culture that exists currently. buildings change nothing

Sry, commissioner Kuhn

For the superintendent: The DOJ report singled out significant cultural issues among staff and even management at Edna Mahan that believed reports of abuse were overblown. The report also noted reluctance by supervisors to review camera footage.

You mentioned a new Board of Trustees for Edna. What will be the responsibilities of that Board, what powers to make change will they have?

What’s been done to address those cultural issues among rank-and-file and supervisory staff?

Vision sessions:kwhite@voadv.org

How many women will be coming home and will not be moving to a new facility?

This question is for the monitor. Are former inmates who experienced sexual.assault and harassment before 2014 eligible to be apart of the settlement if they filed in a timely manner

and not just staff 'training' but what follow up on that training to see if it is being properly followed????

Why are trans inmates being restricted to North and South Halls and how is that not a PREA violation?

Thank you to Commissioner Kuhn and Assistant Commissioner Tome for the MOU with NJRC as to nurse navigator services in the community. Yesterday, Dr. Gloria Bachmann, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Kursi and I met with max and min security women. We have enrolled 200 pwesons thus far through medical intakje forms.

Who is the PREA Coordinator for Edna? When is the next PREA audit scheduled?

Will the current custody staff at EMCF be going to the new facility? If they are, when will staff be notified of where the location will be so they can properly plan for a longer commute or relocation if necessary

I can attest that many of the women have been involved in dialogue concerning all moves, programming and changes. AFSC is hearing from them frequently and positively. Not perfect, but the consultations are very appreciated. Bonnie

In regards to relocation please remember the transfer of inmates to NJSP 1EE unit in 2007. Some of those women are still at EMCF and are traumatized from that experience. They fear being locked down in a closed unit again.

What are you doing about STAFF encouraging cis inmates to file false PREA complaints against trans inmates?

Thank you

Much appreciation for this. Bonnie

Thank you everyone for joining and for your questions. If you have additional questions please refer to the QRS code on the meeting invite that can be found on our social media pages and NJDOC.gov. Be sure to include your email address.