News Spotlight: Cultural Programming at DOC
April 19, 2023
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Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) has seen an increase in questions and concerns regarding cultural programming, specifically rumors stating that DOC will only allow cultural groups to meet once a year. This is false.
DOC has not restricted cultural groups to meeting once a year and has no plans to. In fact, with eased COVID protocols, cultural activities are permitted at all DOC facilities and approved peer led programming is permitted with approved sponsors at all facilities.
The only restrictions that exist are when volunteers are not available or staffing levels do not permit safe gathering and we are working hard to avoid these situations whenever possible.
The COVID pandemic did severely impact our volunteer program. Prior to the pandemic, we were honored to have about 7,000 statewide volunteers providing their invaluable time to these programs. Now, we have around 1,500 committed volunteers. While we are grateful for the volunteers we have, DOC needs more and is always actively recruiting and seeking new volunteers.
If you are interested in volunteering or learning more about our volunteer program, visit our volunteer webpage.