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Bernard Warner has returned to the Washington State Department of Corrections as director of prisons after leading historic reforms as Chief Deputy Secretary for the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). In his new role, he is responsible for the operations of the state’s 14 adult correctional facilities that houses over 16,000 offenders.“Bernie has successfully led large, complex divisions across the country and in Washington,” Secretary Eldon Vail said. “He will build on our tradition of operating safe, humane and progressive prisons.”During the 1990s, Warner played a key role in the prison expansion in Washington. He also advised the Governor’s Office on issues related to criminal justice and substance abuse. Since 2000, he has held high-ranking positions at state corrections agencies in Arizona, Florida, and California. Over the last five years, he has led the DJJ through implementation of six remedial plans agreed to in a settlement of the Farrell litigation which has improved every aspect of the Division’s operations, including health care, safety and security, accommodations for youth with disabilities and educational achievement. In addition, improvements have been implemented to ensure rehabilitative programming for all youth, including mental health and sex behavior treatment.Warner, who has worked in both juvenile and adult corrections for 30 years, was recently honored as “Administrator of the Year” by the nation-wide Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators, which he serves as Past-President. He is widely respected for his leadership in implementing system changes that emphasize assessment and interventions based on evidence-based practices.“It was absolutely critical for us to find someone like Bernie who is experienced in leading large agencies through adversity,” Vail says.This presentation is a part of a year-long speaker series sponsored by the Department of Social Welfare, GANGS: Strategies to Break the Cycle of Violence, and is generously sponsored by the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation.