Department of Correction Commissioner Donahue to depart

INDIANAPOLIS, IN -  Governor Mitch Daniels has accepted the resignation of Indiana Department of Correction Commissioner J. David Donahue, who plans to return to his home state of Kentucky later this summer.

“Dave’s decision to return to Kentucky is based on family considerations, and I accept and respect his choice. But I do so reluctantly, because I am convinced that Dave Donahue is the finest corrections commissioner in the country, and he’ll be impossible to replace,” said Daniels.

Donahue has transformed the department into a model agency focused on public safety and preparing offenders for successful reentry into their communities. Among his accomplishments since 2005 are:

·         Pressing for changes in state law that now require sex offenders to undergo treatment before they can take advantage of good time credit opportunities.

·         Instituting the Statewide Automated Victim Notification System (SAVIN).

·         Opening the first of its kind Plainfield Re-entry Education Facility to focus solely on preparing short-term offenders for re-entry into their communities.

·         Studying and measuring how Correction programs affect recidivism rates.

“When I accepted this assignment, the governor challenged me to ‘measure up and follow up’, because, as he says, ‘if you aren’t keeping score, you’re only practicing’. I think my most important impact on the department has been to instill that concept into our culture, and that has made the Indiana Department of Correction a finer institution,” said Donahue.

Donahue has accepted a position to join a reform effort of the Kentucky criminal justice system. He will be the warden of the Kentucky State Reformatory, the state’s largest, and serve as an adviser to the Kentucky Criminal Justice Council. He will leave his post here on August 1. The governor said he will immediately begin a search to find Donahue’s successor.

Source: Press Release

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