In 2020, as COVID-19 unleashed a world of change, Natalie OโDanielโs 20-year career in health care abruptly ended. Still reeling, she answered an ad for a parole/probation officer in the Kentucky Department of Corrections and was hired, which led to a weekend job at a maximum security prison.
It was at the state penitentiary in Eddyville, Kentucky, that OโDaniel found fulfillment in combining old skills in caretaking with new ones.
โI learned a lot. I worked in what they call โthe hole,โ (solitary confinement where they place) the incarcerated that have done something wrong or those on suicidal watch,โ she says.
Early in 2024, OโDaniel moved her career as a correctional officer to Branchville Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison in Perry County, Indiana.
She describes going through an academy for several weeks of classroom work, then weeks of on-the-job experience. Trainees learn how to properly manage an individual, as well as how to cuff, protect themselves, and properly conduct patdowns and shakedowns. A final exam follows.
โItโs eight weeks of training before you can go into a job,โ OโDaniel surmises.
Branchvilleโs population of about 1,500 incarcerated individuals is primarily males with typically 12 years or less on their sentences when they arrive. According to an Indiana Department of Correction spokesperson, the movement of the incarcerated population is set up like passing periods at a school. Most of the housing units at Branchville are dormitory-style housing units with bunk beds. Incarcerated individuals are allowed open movement in their housing unit to access their unitโs common areas at approved times.
OโDaniel, as part of a staff of about 250 employees, frequently makes rounds through her assigned unit to ensure safety and security.
The prison provides skills such as welding, sawmilling, and culinary arts, plus educational opportunities through a high school equivalency program and substance abuse programs to encourage success upon release.
โWe are trained to be empathetic, not sympathetic,โ OโDaniel says. โThe thing that surprises me most is that everyone is one choice away from prison.โ
