CAEFS Board Meeting

Ontario Regional Advocacy Report

November 2012

Bryonie Baxter, Leanne Kilby, Terri Soukup

GrandValleyInstitution for Women

At the time this report is being written there are 180 women in GVI. GVI has the capacity to house 221 women. Five houses have 2 double bunked rooms, 12 women,12 houses 10 women,16 bed trailer, 3 Max pods 2 cells in each double bunked seven in each pod, 21 women, four cells in Seg.If all these beds are full they close one or both of the PFVs.

The Warden at GVI is still Nancy Kinsman and the Deputy Warden is Nicki Smith.

GVI continues to have a sugar ban.

GVI staffing

GVI no longer maintains statistics on gender staffing numbers

Access

We have access traveling into the houses for the first day of our visit. We report to MCCP as we leave each house.

We are escorted for a walk through of the secure unit pods and Segregation to view conditions of confinement and speak briefly to the women. We have this in writing. It is getting more difficult to schedule interview time in the secure unit.

Aboriginal Programming and Spirituality

GVI now has 4 P/T Elders. a Aboriginal Liaison Officer and a Aboriginal Program officer.

Programming

GVI is encouraging program ETAs and UTAs for women to attend in the community to meet their correctional plan before parole. This is a reaction to the growing numbers within the institution. However, getting a person to escort for the ETA continues to be a problem

GVI continues to focus on work releases for women. It is reported that staff continue to engage the community to develop more. Women are still identifying the report. paperwork is slow and seems to depend on who your casemanagement team is.

The institution just made a change in paperwork process. In the past the POs made final comments and locked the report. Now it is the CMs making the final comments and locking the report. This change has been in place for one month and we await to see its effect our concerns are that the CMs do not know the language to use to connect the report to the correctional plan which will affect approval.

Secure Unit

There are 13 women in max and 2 women in Segregation.

Overcrowding Measures

In the last 3 years GVI has had many physical changes.

-Psychologyhas been operating out of a trailer in the compound for 2 years

-Case management has been operating out of a trailer the compound for 12 months

-Five houses have 2 extra rooms in each unit for double bunking

-A 16 bed trailer was set up in the compound

-A mobile kitchen trailer has been installed within the fence lateral to front entrance ( capacity to feed 350 individuals)

-Women living in the 5 houses at are double bunked have no stove

and receive dinner from the mobile

-Presently outside the fence to the left of the main entrance a large building is being constructed for the new stores

-4 bedrooms have been added to the SLU (construction in progress)

-2 Seg cells have been added and MCCP is being enlarged (construction in progress)

-40 bed minimum building outside the fence, target date next year

The women received a memo this month to the houses asking for anyone who wishes a transfer to another institution to put in a request. The reason being stated was Regional capacity demands.

Committees and Groups

The Reintegration committee continues to meet monthly. One of the Advocates is on the committee. This committee is made up of representatives from the community, halfway house reps, CSC staff, chaplaincy, local agencies that are involved with FSW, community support worker, and 2 women from GVI. The terms of reference for this committee are to identify and address barriers for women regarding reintegration, and to network with those at the table. The committee members have worked on issues such as: housing forum, employment forum, delay in women’s paperwork etc.

Prisoner Committee meeting with the warden occurs once per month and has requested one of the advocates attend for support we attend.

House Reps

We continue to meet with the house reps on a monthly basis.

Their major concerns are:

- the behavior of staff during patrol

- the conflicting information given to women from POs vs PWs

- slow paperwork

- recrimination for complaints and grievances

Groups at GVI

Prisoner Committee

Black Women of Diversity

Asian Cultural Association

Native Sisterhood

Peer Support

Lifers Group