Johnson receives December Blue Granite Recognition
Started innovative program to help offenders get education

DEC 17, 2003 -- David Johnson, a Probation and Parole Agent with the State Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services (DPPPS), has earned the Blue Granite Recognition from Sen. Phil Leventis for creating an innovative education program that officials say benefits offenders, crime victims, and taxpayers.

Johnson created a partnership between DPPPS and Greenville Technical College that provides qualified offenders with an opportunity to take courses preparing them for the General Equivalency Degree (GED) tests. For these offenders, Greenville Tech waived the tuition. The offenders are responsible for books and supplies, and must participate satisfactorily as a condition of their probation or parole supervision. Offenders are selected based on their performance under supervision and with the recommendation of the supervising probation and parole agent.

The initiative serves as the model for a statewide program.

"Dave Johnson initiated a program where probation folks can get a GED for free if they complete the course," Leventis said. "This is a new concept. You could get education assistance if you were in the slammer but not if you got probation.

"Johnson brought two agencies -- Greenville Tech and Probation, Pardon and Parole -- together to offer this option to people who really need it. Otherwise, these folks have to pay for the program -- and without the GED, there is a much greater likelihood we will have to pay for some public service -- read jail! -- for them."

DPPPS Chief of Staff Stephen G. Birnie added, "Dave has worked hard to provide educational opportunities for offenders that help support their return to the workforce and get their lives back on track." This is a prime example of what happens when a state employee blends commitment, creativity, and personal enterprise: You get a program that is a win-win for everybody."

Those winners include victims of crime and South Carolina taxpayers.

By providing qualified offenders with a chance to earn a GED, the program can potentially increase their annual income by more than 20 percent, Birnie explained. That means they will not only be paying taxes, but will also have additional money available that can be returned to their victims in the form of restitution.


OTHER WINNERS
"This is a program that turns them from tax burdens into taxpayers," he continued. "And since they're earning more, we can collect more and give it back to victims. So we're not just being tough on crime. We're being smart on crime, too."

Since being authorized by the General Assembly to collect and distribute restitution funds from offenders in 1999, DPPPS has repaid more than $22 million to crime victims statewide.

Johnson, who works in the DPPPS Greenville Office, will receive a 25-pound piece of South Carolina blue granite with the shape of the state cut into it. His name will also be inscribed, as will the words, "The Blue Granite Recognition for Extraordinary Service to South Carolina.

The Blue Granite Recognition is a monthly program to highlight excellence achieved by South Carolina state employees. The Recognition, sponsored by the S.C. State Credit Union, is online at: www.bluegraniterecognition.org. It is deemed a "recognition" because winners are not picked as a result of competitions. They are being recognized for the fine work they do as public employees.

Prior recipients include employees at SCETV, S.C. Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, S.C. Department of Transportation, the Governor's Ombudsman office, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the state Department of Health and Environmental Control.

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©2003, Blue Granite Recognition.