Correctional Leaders Association to Partner with Correctional News
By Kevin Kempf
The Correctional Leaders Association (CLA) has established a new partnership that will deliver Correctional News content directly to CLA members, while offering the publication an in-depth look at priorities, challenges and opportunities facing association members across the country. The partnership will also provide an information and a communication platform for CLA members and leaders to share their ideas and expertise on hot topics, emerging trends, best practices and industry insights.
CLA is excited to introduce the Correctional News audience to CLA members, who are the chief executive officers of adult corrections in the United States. CLA members oversee each state, all U.S. territories, and large county and city correctional systems such as Los Angeles County, New York City, Washington, D.C, and Philadelphia. The purpose of the organization is to promote the profession of corrections, support and train correctional leaders, and influence policy and practices that affect public safety. For these reasons and more, CLA is excited to partner with Correctional News to help share important news, updates and stories about the organization and the critical work our members are doing on the ground.
Top CLA Priorities for 2025 Leadership
CLA believes the most important thing we can do as an organization during challenging times is to insert proven leadership practices to retain and motivate staff. CLA recently partnered with the John Maxwell Leadership Company to complete the first of many leadership trainings. The focus on leadership has also led CLA to invest in our nation’s deputy directors, commissioners and secretaries. In addition to encouraging our members to bring their deputies to CLA conferences, we recently made the decision to hold two specific deputy director conferences each year.
Staffing Issues
CLA is also working on a comprehensive plan to address facility staffing concerns across the industry. Through a generous grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, we have partnered with Keystone Restituere Justice Center to assist our members with improving institutional culture that leads to improving working conditions for staff members and improved living conditions for incarcerated residents.
Contraband Cellphones and Drones
We remain committed to reducing and eliminating the use of contraband cellphones inside our secure facilities and to having state prisons added to the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FFA) list of restricted airspaces for drones, which drop contraband devices within facility’s secure perimeters. We continue to support proposed legislation that will allow state correctional facilities to utilize jamming technology as drone deterrents. During our recent “CLA on The Hill” our members educated lawmakers and FAA representatives about the public safety dangers posed by drones being flown over prisons.
Community Corrections
We are also excited to begin a partnership with the American Probation and Parole Association (APPA). As many know, sometimes “prisons” feels like an 800-pound gorilla in the room and receives the majority of attention. But, quite frankly, probation and parole have a significant impact on everything associated with a correctional system. The majority of CLA members oversee probation and/or parole in their systems. Because of this, we are beginning a new focus on probation and parole, starting with a conference in November 2025. We will offer training and resources in partnership with APPA experts.
Stay tuned to Correctional News for updates, resources, insights and opportunities from CLA throughout the year, including thought leadership articles from state corrections directors in each issue of Correctional News throughout 2025.
CLA Executive Director Kevin Kempf began his career in 1995 as a correctional officer at Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center in Idaho and later held positions including parole officer, investigator, section supervisor, district manager, warden, chief of prisons and deputy director. He was named department director in 2014 and has served as executive director of the CLA since 2016, prior to which he served chair of the Program and Training Committee and Treasurer of the Western States CLA.
This article was originally published in the November/December edition of Correctional News.