Press Release  Healey-Driscoll Administration Announces Retirement of Massachusetts Department of Correction Commissioner Carol Mici

Milford — Today, the Healey-Driscoll Administration announced the retirement of Massachusetts Department of Correction (DOC) Commissioner Carol Mici, who will conclude more than 36 years of state service at the end of the month. After serving over three decades in various roles throughout the DOC and more than five years as Commissioner, Mici’s retirement takes effect March 29, 2024.

“Commissioner Mici has served Massachusetts for nearly 40 years, and I am deeply grateful for her significant contributions to criminal justice reform, operational enhancements, rehabilitation, and recidivism reduction,” said Governor Maura Healey. “Massachusetts has benefitted greatly from her steady leadership and many years of selfless service. I wish her the best in her well-earned retirement.”

“Commissioner Mici has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to public service and always met every challenge of her demanding career with integrity, perseverance, and compassion,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “Commissioner Mici has led a remarkable life of service and for that, Massachusetts owes her a debt of gratitude.”

“As a colleague and friend, I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to Commissioner Mici for her service and leadership. Her remarkable career has earned the respect of her colleagues and national recognition among her peers in the corrections field as an innovator and transformative leader,” said Public Safety and Security Secretary Terrence Reidy. “I also wish to thank her loved ones for the support and sacrifices required throughout her long and distinguished public service career. I wish Commissioner Mici the very best in her retirement.”

“I want to thank Governor Maura Healey, Lt. Governor Driscoll, the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, and the Baker-Polito Administration for placing their trust in me and providing the support and resources needed to promote public safety, advance rehabilitation, and ensure the health and well-being of those working and living in our facilities,” said Commissioner Mici. “I am immensely proud of our team’s accomplishments, humbled to have had the opportunity to serve as commissioner, and honored to have worked alongside countless dedicated public servants over the last 36 years.”

The Healey-Driscoll Administration is finalizing plans to establish a comprehensive search process to identify and review prospective candidates for the Department’s next commissioner.

Shawn Jenkins, the DOC’s Chief of Staff, will serve as Interim Commissioner as the search process continues. Jenkins was appointed Chief of Staff in 2022, serving as the agency’s second in-command and collaborating with command staff to ensure the advancement of agency goals.

During Commissioner Mici’s tenure, the DOC has created and implemented meaningful reforms in corrections policy, expanded the DOC’s rehabilitative mission, fulfilled a commitment to improve relations with policymakers, and advanced numerous major initiatives to enhance operational efficiency, including:

• Expanded staff leadership training, and health and wellness initiatives: DOC introduced Struggle Well, a series of initiatives designed to promote a culture that prioritizes health and well-being.
• Enhanced operational efficiency through strategic consolidation: Amid the state’s lowest prison population in 35 years, the DOC identified strategies to enhance operational efficiency and advance cost-saving solutions. This resulted in the conclusion of housing operations at MCI-Cedar Junction, the closure of minimum-security and pre-release units at the Massachusetts Correctional Institute in Shirley and South Middlesex Correctional Center, and plans to close MCI-Concord.
• Implemented Statewide Body Worn Camera Program: The DOC successfully completed the pilot program for the first-time use of Body Worn Cameras. The program has since expanded, and the current schedule anticipates all officers at every DOC facility will be outfitted with a BWC by July 2024.
• Eliminated Restrictive Housing: In June 2021, the Department announced the elimination of all forms of restrictive housing which was formerly a housing status for those who committed serious and significant violations of institutional rules and regulations severely (often violent offenses against those living and working in correctional facilities). Commissioner Mici transformed the use of specialty housing from one of discipline to individualized attention to behavioral change through program participation and treatment.  
• Renewed Approach for Civilly Committed Individuals: To enhance the level of care for civilly committed individuals under Section 35, DOC transitioned all operations in May 2020 from corrections personnel to contracted healthcare providers with specialized training in substance use disorders and other related medical expertise.
• Reduced Recidivism: The DOC’s collaborative and results-driven approach to education, in-demand job skills training, and transformative mentorships has reduced recidivism to a historic low. The percentage of individuals released from 2017 onward who reoffend has dropped by nearly 2.5% every year. In the cohort of 2019 releases, only 26.2% were reincarcerated after 3 years (down from 31.3% in the 2017 cohort).
• Expanded Educational Programming: DOC completed the distribution of education and program tablets to every incarcerated individual. Educators within the Department (e.g., School of Reentry) and from external institutions of higher education (e.g., MIT, Boston University, Boston College, Babson College, Tufts University, Emerson College, Massasoit Community College, and Mount Wachusett Community College) provide students with the opportunity to earn their HiSet, academic certificates, and Bachelor’s Degrees.
• Expanded In-Demand Job Skill Training: Vocational instructors equip students with skills in computer coding (i.e., the Last Mile), metal fabrication, printing operations, computer-aided design, optical, barbering, Culinary Arts, ServSafe, diesel mechanic, small engine repair and other employable skills.  
• Launched the Credible Messengers Program: This transformative mentoring initiative supports returning citizens and their families in navigating the transition back into the community.
• Created the BRAVE Unit: Recognizing the need to support emerging adults living under its care, the DOC created the Building Responsible Adults through Validation and Education (BRAVE) Unit at MCI-Concord. This program provides education and builds support for successful fatherhood. With a capacity of 45 emerging adults, the participants live in a community with 15 fathers whom DOC engages as mentors. Together, the emerging adults, most between 18 and 26 years old, complete programming focused on life skills, including parenting, in a dedicated space with a unit-specific common space and a visitation room for visiting children to play. With the planned closure of MCI-Concord, BRAVE Unit programming will transition to other DOC facilities.
• Enhanced the State ID Card Program: DOC partnered with the RMV to streamline the process for providing individuals with a government-issued photo identification card upon release from the DOC. The Massachusetts ID Card Program empowers returning citizens by removing barriers to critical reentry services following incarceration.
• Implemented No Cost Calls: In December 2023, the DOC implemented free phone calls for incarcerated individuals to ensure equitable access to sustained communication that helps to strengthen connections with loved ones and their support systems outside prison walls. In 2021, the Department also enabled video visits with family, friends, and attorneys.

About Commissioner Carol Mici

Carol Mici began her career as a Correction Program Officer in the Massachusetts Department of Correction (DOC) in 1987. She was promoted several times throughout her career, until her appointment to Acting Commissioner on December 6, 2018, and then confirmed by Governor Charlie Baker on January 22, 2019. The DOC operates fourteen (14) correctional facilities, employs over 4,200 staff, has an annual budget of $807 million, and an incarcerated census of approximately 6,000.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Westfield State University with a Major in Psychology/Minor, Criminal Justice and a Master’s in Public Administration from Suffolk University, Cum Laude.

She is a professional member of the American Correctional Association; International Corrections and Prison Association; and the Correctional Leaders Association and serves as the Northeast Regional Chair. Additionally, Ms. Mici is a graduate of the Executive Excellence Program with the National Institute of Corrections; a member of several committees and commissions both locally and nationally; has served on numerous expert panels, has been a member of several Task Force Committees and Governance Committees and works with several agencies and Sheriff’s Departments across the Commonwealth to promote the vision and mission of the DOC.

About Interim Commissioner Shawn Jenkins

Shawn Jenkins was appointed Chief of Staff for the Massachusetts Department of Correction in March 2022. As Chief of Staff, Jenkins serves as the agency’s second in-command, and has direct oversight of legislative and public affairs. He coordinates with Commissioner Mici to strengthen the Department’s vision and mission and collaborates with command staff to ensure the implementation of the Department’s annual goals.

Prior to joining the Department of Correction, he served as the Special Sheriff with the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office for approximately eight years. He also served as Special Sheriff with the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office for nearly four years. In both roles as Special Sheriff, he oversaw all aspects of facility operations including security, classification, personnel, legal and as primary point of contact for outside law enforcement agencies. Before joining the Sheriff’s Offices, Shawn worked in different roles within the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, including a five-year appointment to the Sex Offender Registry Board. 

He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government from Colby College in Waterville, Maine, a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice Administration from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and a Master’s Degree in Public Affairs from the University of Massachusetts at Boston.

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