Kathy Foreman, NEADS Director of Training, is a 2019 recipient of the Rhode Island Department of Corrections (RIDOC)’ Friend of the Department Award. The annual award recognizes individuals who have made a significant and valued contribution to the mission of the agency.
NEADS has partnered with the RI Department of Corrections since 2005, when, as part of our Prison PUP Program, we brought four dogs into the JJ Moran facility in Cranston. Through the years, the program has grown and now NEADS trains up to 12 dogs at any one time. NEADS has worked with approximately 115 inmate handlers and approximately 135 dogs have completed training.
According to the RIDOC, “the inmates who have participated in training the dogs in this program have described it as ‘life-changing,’ and their enthusiasm for the work they do with the dogs for the benefit of people with disabilities is contagious. It is always uplifting to see inmates learning valuable skills and how much they love to show off what they’ve taught the dogs. It’s even more heartening to know that the lives of those in need of Service Dogs will be changed for the better because of the work these inmates have done.”
“We value our partnership with the RI Department of Corrections, and I’m very pleased to accept this recognition on behalf of all of us at NEADS,” says Foreman. “By working together with the agency, our NEADS Trainer Becca Hill, and the inmate handlers, we are able to raise, train, and graduate World Class Service Dogs.”
