MISSION Minnesota Association of County Probation Officers is dedicated to promoting quality correctional practices through professional growth, leadership, education, communication and support.
MACPOST Newsletter has been completed!
| Upcoming Events & Trainings
May 18 - 20, 2022 MACPO's Annual Spring Conference Madden's Resort To get a glimpse of our speakers, click on:
More information and open registration coming soon!
Thank you to all who submitted pictures for the 2021 Fall MACPOST Newsletter. Here are all of the pictures that were submitted.
Huge 'Thank You' to the vendors who were able to attend MACPO's Fall Conference! Click here for all MACPO Vendors
The winner of MACPO's Academic Scholarship is.... Ashley Jones
"My name is Ashley Jones and I live in New London, MN - Kandiyohi County. I am a non-traditional student attending school full-time at Ridgewater College (in Wilmar, MN) and am studying in the Law Enforcement/Peace Officer program. I am acting President in our school’s Criminal Justice Association and maintain a 4.0 GPA. Outside of school, I teach preschool part time while keeping busy with family life. We love to camp and do pretty much anything outdoors year-round. Upon graduation this summer, my intention is to apply to the MN State Patrol. Until then, my goal will be to work within a juvenile rehabilitation or probation setting here in Kandiyohi County. I am thankful for the ability to now be able to complete a degree in this field, and I look forward to the future. Thank you for contributing to my education and providing this scholarship, I truly appreciate it!" Congratulations Ashley on winning MACPO's $750 Academic Scholarship!
MACPO and American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) Partnership
The APPA Leadership Institute provides community corrections professionals with a fundamental understanding of leadership within the community corrections area. This course serves those from all different backgrounds and cultures. For more information on what this course has to offer, as well as other information about APPA please visit their website at
http://www.appa-net.org/eweb/DynamicPage.aspx?webcode=Leadership-Institutes&site=APPA-3
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MACPO President
Jason Anderson
Greetings from scenic Itasca County. As the days begin to shorten, back-to-school sales kick in, and autumn approaches, there are a lot of things to highlight across the MACPO landscape. Before I dig into any of the specifics, allow me to share my observations of having been on the MACPO Board for the past 13-ish months. Prior to becoming the President-Elect in July of 2020, I had never served in any capacity on the Board. That isn’t to say I wasn’t familiar with the organization, yet I had never had the opportunity to actually take a look under the hood and see how it operates. The world is led by those who show up and the professionals who are showing up to comprise the executive board, committee chairs and committee members are showing up with their A-game. We are in good care.
For those of you I’ve not yet met – I’m the Director of Itasca County Probation. I spent the first decade of my career as felony agent with the DOC (working in Chisago, then Kanabec, then Itasca Counties), followed by 5 or 6 years as their EBP Coordinator. I switched over to CPO-land in 2013 and have really enjoyed the flexibility and autonomy that we have in this delivery system. Outside of work I’m just a stereotypical northern Minnesota guy. I hunt, fish, trap and participate in community musical theater. I tend to use 100 words when 5 would do and my greatest strengths are my rugged good looks and my deep sense of humility.
So then. There have been a couple of interesting things going on lately. Have you heard anything about this COVID pandemic thing? It’s apparently a big deal. Big enough to not be relegated to just 2020. Like a cheesy movie sequel that nobody wants to watch, the delta variant is making every effort to drag us through the same story line we suffered through last year. Boo. Hang in there. This too shall pass. Safety first. (Insert any other predictable clichés here.)
Shifting topics – If you haven’t heard about it, there is a pretty significant project underway that intends to address how community supervision is funded across the 3 delivery systems. The Council of State Governments (CSG), a federal consulting agency that makes legislative and policy recommendations to states, has been brought in to take an objective look at the current state of affairs and subsequently make recommendations to the legislature. A workgroup comprised of multiple reps from each delivery system has been meeting since December. One of the key elements of the CSG’s work includes an assessment of how probation/parole is currently being delivered across the state. Essentially, they are taking a look to see the extent to which we are adhering to the principles of evidence-based practices. Do we use risk assessments? Are we spending time addressing things that actually impact recidivism (and not just monitoring conditions)? That sort of thing. Not surprisingly, the initial feedback from them has been very affirming. The final report with recommendations is due December 15th, so the clock is a-tickin’. Stay tuned on this as it has the potential to significantly impact how delivery systems are funded.
That’s the latest from my end. I look forward to seeing you all at the Spring/Fall Conference in a couple of weeks!
Sincerely,
Jason Anderson
MACPO President
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