Not many up-and-coming seniors are thinking about an internship with the Department of Corrections, at least I certainly wasn’t. However, after my initial Kansas City Police Department internship fell through due to the FIFA World Cup, I was looking for anything that even slightly sparked my interest. As a criminal justice and psychology double major, I never excluded a DOC internship, but I always thought it meant I had to work at a prison. At this time, I didn’t have a car, a license or any way to get to a prison every day for work, but a bigger problem loomed: it was mid-April and I needed something.
Getting the internship
The way I obtained my internship was unconventional. Frantically searching for something, I decided to come back to the DOC option. After searching website after website, I realized that I could just mail the online application to any DOC location, which I discovered isn’t just prisons. I chose the Transition Center of Kansas City since it was close enough to my house. I quickly bought stamps and an envelope and sent off my application.
It took forever to hear back, and when I did, the woman on the phone told me they didn’t really do internships, but she would talk to her supervisor. I had other internships I was looking into, and I was getting increasingly disappointed with the responses, or lack thereof. At this point, it was almost the end of April, and any student who has looked for an internship knows that’s far later than you’d like to be without an internship for the summer.
Finally, I got an email from Gregory Winship, who was the justice program manager at the Center for Conflict Resolution. He told me that he could offer me an internship, and I could not have been happier or more relieved.
Transition center of kansas city’s Model
Although the Transition Center of Kansas City is an all-male DOC probation and parole facility, Winship’s organization runs the majority of it as a reentry center. When the residents come from prison, or even the streets, the Center for Conflict Resolution helps them get back on their feet. They live at the center and technically can’t leave without a pass. However, the center offers classes and projects that they have to complete in three different phases and you can level up once you finish the classes for that phase.
Once they complete the phases, they’re able to leave, right out into the community. However, the Center for Conflict Resolution is always there as support if they need resources in the future. It also offers mediation services and general support for the residents if there are disagreements or fights between residents during their time at the transition center.
The Center for Conflict Resolution also has one particular amazing ability that really stood out to me. It can gather with the individuals involved in a particular case, including those harmed, the court, and others, to have a mediation circle. During this, they can reach potential solutions that don’t involve imprisonment. If it works out, the court can even drop the charge from their record.
The Transition Center of Kansas City is built on a model of restorative justice which centers those harmed and those who have harmed, and aims to use accountability to restore the relationship. Furthermore, they heavily stress the pillars of dignity and that even though a crime has been committed, that doesn’t make a bad person because dignity can’t be lost.
Personal Impact
My time as an intern was nothing short of amazing. The residents are so open to talking about their experiences, lives and lessons they’ve learned. You end up seeing their true personalities because they’ve become so much more. They have kids, girlfriends, jobs, ideas and passions.
The foundation of restorative justice is one of the best models of rehabilitation that I’ve seen. It values the dignity of the individual who committed the crime, but holds space for all parties harmed and involved.
After three short months, I had to come back, of course, but I truly want to work there when I graduate. My goal is to be a probation officer and it would mean the world to me if I could work at the Transition Center of Kansas City, since they have probation officers that work directly in the facility. It’s not every day you can have such an amazing internship that genuinely makes you feel like you’d want to work there, so I’m honored to have had that.
I think anyone with a criminal justice major should certainly look into a DOC internship, especially at a facility like the Transition Center of Kansas City that is, in my opinion, at the forefront of a transformation in rehabilitation. You’re able to interact with many different individuals who have huge impacts in the criminal justice system, and I think that kind of experience is priceless.
Conclusion
This was my first internship, and I’m extremely grateful for it. I only wish it had been easier to find. The only other intern with me was from Kansas University (yeah, that was funny), and she mentioned that her advisor had directed her to the Transition Center of Kansas City. I think finding criminal justice internships for Mizzou students should be easier than literally mailing applications to DOC locations. Ultimately, I believe every criminal justice student should have this opportunity, especially Mizzou students, because the knowledge you take from it will last a lifetime.