In just a couple of weeks, the Fayette County jail’s new director will officially begin his responsibilities. It’s a return home for a man with more than three decades of experience in corrections.
Scott Colvin is returning to Lexington to head community corrections. He served as deputy director between 2013 and 2016. Colvin said there’s a major focus on re-entry to life outside jail. And while the prison environment may lend itself to longer-term life skills counseling, the veteran corrections officer said there’s a place for it at the county jail level. Colvin admitted it may be more spread out with repeat offenders.
“We might have to achieve programming in one or two or three bites instead of you’re serving a five-year sentence at La Grange and you get it all done at one time,” said Colvin.
Colvin understands staffing challenges persist. He said increasing visibility at community events can help raise interest and benefit recruiting. Colvin said he’s bringing with him Hector Joiner, who’s served as a U.S. penitentiary warden, to fill his former role.
“Bring our 60 years of experience and to take a look and almost immediately start impacting operations, things like policy and procedure, staff development, and take a good look at the leadership model there at the division,” said Colvin.
While the Fayette jail has seen recruitment and retention challenges, Colvin noted other states have experienced more dire circumstances. He added the national guard has been called in to help run jails in some places. Colvin takes over for Lisa Farmer who retired as community corrections director earlier this month.
Here's more of the interview with new Fayette County Director of Community Corrections Scott Colvin:
