Berkshire County Sheriff's Office and House of Corrections earn Provisional CEBO certification

ATLANTA, August 19, 2014 --

The Evidence-Based Professionals Society and Joyfields Institute for Professional Development today jointly announced that the Berkshire County Sheriff's Office today has achieved the requirements for provisional certification as a Certified Evidence-Based Organization. To earn this distinction, Berkshire County Sheriff's Office underwent months of in-depth self-evaluation and implementation of evidence-based approaches to enhance how they serve clients and staff.

Certified Evidence-Based Organizations (CEBO) are recognized for abilities and accomplishments they demonstrate in the area of evidence-based policies, programs, and practices. The certification examines five areas at these organizations;

• Knowledge and use of evidence-based policies, programs, and practices
• Demonstrating of effective leadership
• Organizational culture and assessment
• Strategic planning, performance measurement, and program evaluation
• Building capacity and sustainability

Sobem Nwoko, President, Joyfields Institute and Founder of the EBP Society said, “... the Evidence-Based Professionals Society certification programs provide an outstanding opportunity for organizations and their staff to enhance their evidence-based approaches, culture and proficiencies. We look forward to continuing to support Berkshire County Sheriff's Office in its continuing effort to provide exceptional service for staff and clients in their care”.

In a statement Sheriff Thomas Bower said, "I would like to thank Joyfields Institute, especially President Sobem Nwoko and Dr. David Myers for their assistance in the process of becoming a certified evidenced based organization. Their knowledge and guidance, coupled with the hard work and dedication of the men and women of the Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office, have positioned us to be a leader in the field of corrections. I applaud everyone involved for the tremendous effort they put forth toward this endeavor, and I know the benefits to our staff and clients will be many."

Mr. Nwoko further stated, ‘... we congratulate The Berkshire County Sheriff's Office on this milestone. The organization is demonstrating to stakeholders and the community it serves of its commitment to providing the best-in-class services customers expect and should receive. Every person seeking services from any organization comes because they believe they will get expert help that is effective for their dilemma. And that is exactly what they should get - nothing less. The evidence tells us that Berkshire County Sheriff's Office is such an organization headed in that direction. It is challenging for anyone individual, let alone an organization this size to subject itself to scrutiny by external parties and also implement changes recommended. We applaud the team for this accomplishment.”

About Berkshire County Sheriff's Office

The primary mission of the Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office is “to protect the public from criminal offenders by operating a safe, secure and progressive correctional facility while committing to crime prevention awareness in the community." We accomplish our mission by:

• Maintaining a safe, secure direct supervision correctional facility while upholding all national standards, laws and judicial decisions.

• Exploring innovative and cost effective community correction alternatives to incarceration that ensures the efficiency of the Sheriff’s Office.

• Pursuing the fair and equitable treatment of inmates while respecting the rights and dignity of all persons (i.e. CORI, Victim/Witness Program).

• Creating a just and fair environment that encourages positive behavior from criminal offenders (i.e. Direct Supervision Management, Treatment Environment).

• Promoting education, treatment and social responsibility in an effort to successfully integrate criminal offenders to society (i.e. G.E.D. and ongoing Substance Abuse Programs).

• Developing public safety initiatives, volunteer and support programs for the prevention of criminal activity and providing the community with pertinent information (i.e. D.A.R.E., Drug and Alcohol Awareness Program, Triad, Public Information Initiatives.)

• Seeking the highest level of professionalism, through support, motivation and training for all employees with accountability to the public we serve.

About EBP Society
EBP Society is the Society for Evidence-based Organizations and Professionals. The society helps build capacity and enhance the careers of organizations and professionals in the human and social services fields by promoting adoption of evidence-based and strength-centered approaches everywhere, providing efficient access to evidence-based education and resources, and facilitating professional certification in Evidence-Based and Strength-Centered expertise.
Its membership are organizations and professionals dedicated to evidence-based and strength-centered practices, programs and policies. Learn more at www.ebpsociety.org

About Joyfields Institute for Professional Development
Joyfields Institute is the world's leading company for Evidence-based & Strength-centered programs and supports training, consulting and performance evaluation. The institute serves customers by providing training and subject matter expertise to help customers build capacity for applying evidence-based and strength-centered approaches. Since 2000 the organization
has proudly served over 1000 public and private agencies from all 50 US states and 15 countries. The company maintains a web site at www.joyfields.org.

CONTACT

Yvette Hughes
Email: [email protected]
Tel: (678) 720-2772