1. Jonas W. Patrick, MPA
Peers Invite Training Coordinator to National Program
By Guadalupe Silva
El Paso’s West Texas Community Supervision and Cor-
rections Department made it into the national scene when
Jonas W. Patrick, the Training Center’s Coordinator of Train-
ing and Education, was invited recently to help deliver a live
satellite/Internet training program for training directors all
over the country. The two programs are titled, “Training De-
sign and Development” and “Training for Training Direc-
tors”.
Jonas was invited by the U.S. Department of Justice’s
National Institute of Corrections (NIC) in Denver, Colorado
to participate in developing the tools needed by training di-
rectors in the corrections field to improve their performance.
He was selected by the institute’s director after watching one
of his presentations at the state level. The 8-hour DVD learn-
ing seminar was broadcast live nationwide via satellite and
the Internet in early November from Spokane, Wash.
A graduate of Coronado High School and the U.S. Air
Force Security Police Academy, Jonas also has a B.B.S. in
Criminal Justice/Political Science from Hardin-Simmons
University and a Masters in Public Administration from
UTEP. He has provided training to management, probation
officers and other support staff in adult probation for 8 years.
He currently serves as Chairman of the Resource Training
Officers of Texas and is on the Texas Probation Academy
Advisory Council. Jonas has participated in trainings around
the state, often developing his own training curriculum and
sharing it with other similar state agencies.
“The sharing of knowledge that goes with such training is
particularly critical when dealing with supervision and cor-
rections,” said Jonas. “In community corrections, we must
continually sharpen our edge to maintain our professional-
ism.”
As coordinator of the Training and Learning Centers,
Jonas has been responsible not only for the training of man-
agement and staff but also for the provision of GED courses
and English as a Second Language classes and more for pro-
bationers at the Learning Center. Just recently more than 60
probationers received their GED certificates, with some of
them participating in their graduation ceremony at the Center.
At the Training Center, Jonas provides trainings in eve-
rything from Using Progressive Sanctions and Incentives and
Making Safer Field Contacts to Sexual Harass-
ment Prevention and Preventing Workplace Vio-
lence. To provide some of that training, he
brings in some of the best professionals in the
field in the state and in the country.
One example of Jonas’ focus on safety and
security training for WTCSCD staff and manage-
ment is the upcoming three-day seminar offered
by the State’s Office of Risk Management sched-
uled for late January at the Training Center. The
courses in the seminar are geared to make each
field office and probation-related building as safe
for its personnel as possible.
It is because of people like Jonas and all the
other managers and staff that the WTCSCD
(Adult Probation) has developed its reputation as
one of the best and most progressive in the na-
tion.
“Not only is the Department’s management
team supportive and forward thinking, but the
staff at the Training Center and Learning Center
are excellent examples of a team focused on suc-
cesses of each other and the mission we have to
complete.”
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