Docs Mission Statement

Department of Corrections - Health and Rehabilitation Services

According to Director Laura Brooks who heads up the Health and Rehabilitation Services for the Alaska Department of Corrections whose office is located at 550 West 7th Avenue, Suite 1800 in Anchorage, Alaska; the DOC is a state-run agency and has been around since statehood beginning January 3, 1959. In the beginning years the Department of Health and Social Services ran most of the services for inmates incarcerated in the jail or prison system for the DOC until the late 80’s early 90’s; when the DOC took over those services. Today the DOC with the Department of Health and Rehabilitation Service covers medical, mental health, substance abuse, sexual offender and domestic violence

They are committed to a culture of professionalism, quality and safety. Essential care means anything that is indispensable to prevent the progression of disease or the deterioration of health whether it is mental health, behavioral health, physical health, dental care or vision. This all falls under HARS which tries to make sure offenders do not get worse while incarcerated and hopefully they get better before being released.

Because this is a state-run agency the leadership of the agency falls under the Department of Corrections Commissioner Dean Williams who answers to Alaska State Governor Bill Walker. All other department heads within the DOC then falls under the commissioner.

The DOC’s HARS’s goals and objectives are to be committed to the wellbeing of those under the care of the Alaska DOC, to treat all people in a safe, respectful and compassionate manner, to make sure they leave there better then they came and to make sure all the staff go home safely at the end of the day.

The DOC was federally funded until the early 70’s when it became state funded. Even though the DOC-HARS is funded by the state, they do have a federal grant for one of their substance abuse programs and a couple of other small grants for some other specialty programs. Other than that, they are one hundred funded by

These three positions require a professional’s degree or at least a master’s degree and extensive criminal justice experience. Under the deputy commissioner position is the deputy director position, this is Director Laura Brooks position. For this position, the required degree is a doctoral degree or at least a master’s degree with extended experience. Under the deputy director are ten to eleven other departments with each position requiring anywhere from a doctoral to a bachelor’s degree. Each of these departments are divided up into twelve centers scattered throughout Alaska. Mental health and substance abuse programs at each facility, run by outside contracted agencies have positions for associate degree graduates requiring a CDC I – Chemical Dependency Counselor I certificate within the first year of employment and a CDC II certificate the following year in order to hold that position. (See attached organizational