>> Read Past Articles

Over 450 Attend CAPA Conference in Sacramento printer-friendly

By Joseph Williams, Christian Association for Prison Aftercare

"America, We Have a Problem: Reentry Strategies for Successfully Guiding Men and Women Home," was the theme for CAPA’s seventh national prisoner reentry conference held in Sacramento, CA, October 16-19, 2008. Over 450 people attended this awesome, Holy Spirit filled event.

The purpose of the CAPA conference is to provide inspiration, instruction and opportunities for networking along with the identification of resources for those who serve men and women throughout their transition from prison to the community. This purpose is accomplished through general sessions at which time attendees were treated to inspirational keynote addresses, special music, testimonies and videos that featured successful reentry programs around the country. In addition, specialized workshops taught by committed and gifted reentry professionals are offered during the conference.

Prison Fellowship of California North/Nevada/Hawaii Area and Second Wind Ministry served as the local hosts for the 2008 conference. We are grateful to the Annie E. Casey Foundation for becoming our sponsor for the conference this year. Local conference hosts provided scholarships, local volunteers and other logistical assistance. They also helped to identify resource people such as keynote speakers, workshop leaders, musicians and those with inspiring testimonies. Second Wind and Prison Fellowship did an outstanding job in mobilizing a tremendous army of volunteers including a special team of prayer warriors that surrounded the conference with prayer from start to finish. I heard many comments from conference attendees that they felt inspired, encouraged and pampered.

Attendees had the opportunity to participate in four general sessions, featuring such speakers as Dr. Samuel Huddleston, Assistant Superintendent of the Northern California and Nevada District Assemblies of God and former felon, Linda Jackson, Coordinator of the Faith and Character Community Program for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Rev. Dr. Pablo R. Diaz, Vice President of Ministries for Guideposts Outreach Division, and Don Kirchner, speaker, author and former felon.

Nearly 40 workshops were offered at the conference led by the country's leading prisoner reentry professionals. Some of the workshops offered covered subjects such as fathering, relations between corrections and the faith community, impacting policy at the state and local levels, reaching youth, partnering with local churches, understanding female offenders and survival strategies for families, just to name a few.

This year’s conference featured, for the first time, a pre-conference session that was held Thursday evening. This special event, which targeted local churches, featured keynote speakers Michael Carrington, Assistant Secretary for Policy, Analysis and Planning at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Bishop Sherwood Carthen, Senior Pastor of Bayside of South Sacramento Church. The preconference event, which was attended by approximately 350 was designed to encourage local churches in becoming more active in ministry to prisoners and those in transition from prison.

Copyright © 2008 Christian Association for Prison Aftercare. All Rights Reserved.