IDOC starts first ever staff wellness program for families of first responders in corrections

ILLINOIS (KBSI) – In Illinois a new program aimed at improving mental health and overall understanding is available to first responders working in corrections.

The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) is the first corrections facility in the nation to offer a wellness program to family members of frontline employees. 

Marking first time a state correctional agency in the United States extended a staff wellness course to family members of frontline employees.

The first wellness course was held on Friday March 22, 2024 for the families of Southern Illinois facilities which are Vienna, Menard, Robinson, Shawnee and Centralia correctional centers.

Although the first course was in Southern Illinois through The Staff Wellness Response Team the program will be offered all over the state.

IDOC Staff Wellness Administrator Jonathon Brown says he supports the program.

“We wanted to get the families involved more. For myself I’ve been with the department for 23 years and I’ve seen the toll that it takes on family members, so this was a great course to give the families an insight of what really goes on in corrections.” 

Brown says a job as a first responder can be mentally challenging, stressful, and brings anxiety. He says you often see support for firefighters and police officers but there’s nothing for corrections officers. 

“In corrections we are kind of leading the way in a lot of those areas where it’s kind of scary to get help we feel like were the tough guys kind of or we feel like we might lose our job if we get help so this is a great way to break that stigma.” 

These courses help families better understand the environment that corrections officers are in each day and know what to do if they bring emotions home from work and help family visualize, hear, and integrate into their understanding. 

“It doesn’t matter who you are, you do bring it home and families probably suffer the most on how to support us and what we need because in corrections we have a hard time in communicating what we go through every day,” says Brown.

As part of the correctional family wellness, a course is also given to employees to educate them on how to better open up and cope with their families. 

The goal is to host a course once a month for families.