UTAH CORRECTIONAL ASSOCIATION SCHOLARSHIP AND HISTORY
The Utah Correctional Association Scholarship was founded by the Utah Correctional Association
The Utah Correctional Association supports a minimum of one $1500 scholarship annually. The scholarship will be awarded to a student majoring in Criminology, in good standing with a minimum GPA of 3.0, who has stated the intent to work for a state, county, or local criminal/juvenile justice agency or provider of services to the agencies, after graduation, with preference given to those who already work in the aforementioned agencies.
HISTORY OF THE UTAH CORRECTIONAL ASSOCIATION
For 48 years, the Utah Correctional Association represented the pinnacle of professionalism in the field of juvenile and adult corrections.
The association Articles of Incorporation were first filed in January of 1970 and established a Board of Trustees representing leadership in Juvenile Court, Adult Corrections and Higher Education. The Purpose of the Association was: To advance and promote the general acceptance of correctional work as a professional endeavor and strengthen the professional status of corrections; to unite members of the Association in the acceptance of a standard of conduct and code of ethics; to help secure effective legislation and citizen support for the prevention, control, and treatment of crime and delinquency in the State of Utah, including adequate financial support for correctional programs; to collect, interpret, study and disseminate information to improve public understanding of the correctional field both adult and juvenile; and, to represent the interests of the members before various public and private organizations.
The first decade of the association emphasized efforts to expand correctional programming through aggressive pursuit and acquisition of federal grant opportunities. The six original Board of Trustees were personally involved in the acquisition of grant monies to build a solid foundation for the expansion of corrections resources in both the adult and juvenile areas in the state. Succeeding decades saw the association broaden the representation on the board of trustees to include guaranteed representation from Adult Probation/Parole Services, Juvenile Court, Prison, Adult Community Corrections Centers, Youth Corrections; pre-trial, jails, detention centers or law enforcement and public or private correctional treatment providers. Association membership was expanded and emphasis was placed on the goal:
“to advance and promote the general acceptance of correctional work as a professional endeavor and strengthen the professional status of corrections; and to unite members of the Association in the acceptance of a standard of conduct and code of ethics.”
To that end, the association concentrated on support of professional development in developing conferences and workshops providing “cutting edge” research and information to the membership and collaborating with regional and national organizations in that endeavor. In 1983 UCA partnered with the Western Correctional Association to provide the first regional conference of corrections professionals. The conference plenary session was opened by remarks by Governor Scott Matheson and several local and state officials were on the dais in support of the association’s efforts. Throughout the decades, UCA continued to co-sponsor several conferences in collaboration with the Western Correctional Association.
In 1987, the association took on its most challenging and rewarding endeavor by hosting the American Probation and Parole National Training Institute and the Western Correctional Association Regional Training Institute as a joint event with the 10th Annual UCA Conference. The UCA board and membership provided the leadership in planning for this event and the institute program, although national in scope, was coordinated by the local UCA members. The conference was a resounding success and paved the way for APPA to request partnership with UCA in two additional national training institutes in the 90’s.
Throughout the years, UCA has hosted the professional experts in criminal and juvenile justice such as Barry Krisberg, David Altschuler, Troy Armstrong, Gordon Bazemore, Denny Maloney, Shay Bilchik, Howard Snyder, Buddy Howell, Mark Carey and numerous others in the association’s efforts to provide cutting edge information and professional development opportunities for its members.
UCA has provided excellent opportunities for individual professional growth, leadership, networking and collaboration. Relationships built in the governance of the association have stood the test of time and enhanced collaborative efforts throughout the corrections systems.
In the last decade it has been harder to maintain the involvement of professional staff in the governance of the association. The reasons may be complex but without the volunteer efforts of these individuals representing the diverse agencies and organizations, the association cannot achieve the goals mandated in the Articles of Incorporation. The legacy of UCA as the preeminent professional corrections association in the state and leader in professional development opportunities will be well served with the institution of a criminal justice scholarship at the University of Utah.