Whitespruce Provincial Training Centre

Brief Description

The Whitespruce Provincial Training Centre located in Yorkton, Saskatchewan is a reduced custody facility designed to facilitate offender labour market attachment. Offenders are given assistance transitioning to community sentences or release through added employment supports. Offenders are offered higher level vocational skills training to assist them in becoming more employable. Currently, programming is offered in the culinary arts and construction fields. Programming offered at the facility is from recognised post-secondary institutions and counts toward red seal certification. Offenders also participate in supported employment opportunities post training to develop soft skills, practice employment scenarios and build a reference base in order to increase their potential employability.

The program is centered on literacy enhancement, numeracy, and skill training

Goals

The main goals of the Whitespruce Provincial Training Centre are to:

• Increase offender employability by putting offenders through a supported employment experience;
• Help the client attain a higher vocational skillset in high demand areas of the Saskatchewan labour market; and
• Help clients increase their employability.

Clientele

All offenders in the province who have identified criminogenic risk in the area of education and employment are offered admittance into the program based on available resources to meet the demand.

Core Components

The program components of the Whitespruce Provincial Training Centre include the vocational training; supported employment experience; and transition to community.

The training programs include a 12-week Saskatchewan Polytechnic food services certificate program and a 12-week Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology Construction Worker Preparation Program. There is also a community work crew in which offenders will provide community service in Yorkton and the surrounding area; the work crew can alternatively link offenders to employment opportunities.

Implementation Information

Some of the critical elements for the implementation of this program or initiative include the following:

• Organizational requirements: Specialised Employment Coordinators trained for offender and vocational instructors.
• Partnerships: Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology, and Tourism Saskatchewan.
• Training and technical assistance: Limited information on this topic.
• Risk assessment tools: Saskatchewan Primary Risk Assessment/PRA.
• Materials & resources: Limited information on this topic.

International Endorsements

The most recognized classification systems of evidence-based crime prevention programs have classified this program or initiative as follows:

• Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development: Not applicable.
• Crime Solutions/OJJDP Model Program Guide: Not applicable.
• SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices: Not applicable.
• Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy: Not applicable.

Gathering Canadian Knowledge

Canadian Implementation Sites

The Whitespruce Provincial Training Centre is located in Yorkton, Saskatchewan.

Main Findings from Canadian Outcome Evaluation Studies

No information available.

Cost Information

No information available.

References

There is no Canadian reference available at this time.

For more information on this program, contact:

Ministry of Justice, Corrections and Policing
700-1874 Scarth Street
Regina, Saskatchewan, S4P 4B3
Telephone:  (306)787-5467
E-mail: Doris.Schnell@gov.sk.ca