CEC Accepts Award for 2016 Innovations in Corrections at Winter ACA Conference

West Caldwell, NJ February 9 -

Community Education Centers (CEC) celebrated being the recipient of the Innovation in Corrections Award for 2016 at the awards ceremony during the Winter Conference of the American Correctional Association (ACA) this January in New Orleans. CEC was the single winner of the prestigious award given by the ACA, which is based on CEC’s programming at Hoffman Hall, one of its residential reentry facilities in Philadelphia. The award was given to CEC for its success in demonstrating recidivism reduction and the provision of its outstanding education programs that work in conjunction with the Reach College Program of Community College of Philadelphia.

“We are honored to have received this award from the American Correctional Association for Innovation in Corrections at Hoffman Hall,” said James E. Hyman, CEO. “We continually strive to support excellence in educational programming that can change lives and break the cycle of recidivism.”

Present to accept the award on behalf of CEC was Steve Tomlin, Senior Vice President of Reentry Operations.

"It's always an honor and a privilege to be honored by your peers for the good work performed on a daily basis by the Hoffman Hall staff," said Steve Tomlin. “We are very grateful to receive this award from the ACA and will continue to employ evidence-based practices in our reentry programming to continue to reduce recidivism.”

Hoffman Hall, a 400-bed public/private partnership with the Philadelphia Prison System (PPS) opened in 2008 to provide reentry treatment services for adult males referred from PPS. Utilizing the risk/need/responsivity model, individuals are engaged in cognitive behavioral treatment driven by the Eight Principles of Effective Correctional Intervention. In a joint quality assurance project by Drexel University and PPS, Hoffman Hall program completers were 24% less likely to be returned to custody than a comparative sample of PPS prisoners. These differences were statistically significant from each other indicating that Hoffman Hall treatment produced improved outcomes over serving time in a standard jail.

Hoffman Hall places a strong emphasis on education and maintains a successful GED graduation rate for its residents. Its partnership with the Reach College Program of Community College of Philadelphia’s (CCP) Reentry Support Project also makes Hoffman Hall unique for its educational focus. This program helps allow residents to pursue college credit before release, and helps overcome barriers to higher education and community reintegration.

CEC is a leading national provider of rehabilitative services for offenders in reentry and in-prison treatment facilities, as well as providing comprehensive management of county, state, and federal jail and detention facilities. The Company provides evidence-based programming for residential and non-residential clients and maintains a documented record of reducing recidivism. CEC services also include drug and alcohol testing by SECON, our comprehensive drug testing and screening company that provides services worldwide.