HOULTON — On April 14, Willard Goodwin, a regional corrections administrator with the Maine Department of Corrections was the guest speaker at the Houlton Rotary Club. Willard provided an overview of MDOC’s mission, responsibilities and discussed new initiatives in the field of corrections.
Contributed photo/Michael Clark
ROTARY SPEAKER — Willard Goodwin, center, was the guest speaker at the Houlton Rotary Club April 14. Goodwin is the regional corrections administrator with the Maine Department of Corrections. He was the guest of Darrell Crandall, left, chief deputy of the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office. With the two is Lori Weston, president Houlton Rotary Club.
Of particular note is the opening this month of Maine’s first youthful offender program in Charleston. This program will accept inmates aged 18-25 who are sentenced to their first period of incarceration with MDOC. Programming will be tailored to that age group in an effort to address substance abuse, mental health and cognitive issues in an effort to reduce recidivism in that population.
Scientific studies show that the human brain is often not fully developed before the age of 25, so there is hope that this intensive programming may help reduce the number of young offenders who continue to enter the system. Willard said that at this time there are approximately 2,100 adult inmates in state facilities and over 6,000 adults on probation. This does not include those inmates housed in Maine’s fifteen county jails.
