About Desert Waters Correctional Outreach

Desert Waters Correctional Outreach (DWCO) was founded as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2003 in Florence, Fremont County, Colorado, by a group of concerned citizens who sought to address the relentless challenges faced by correctional staff and their families. At the time, Fremont County was home to a staggering 12 prisons—four federal, eight state, and a county jail. The founders of DWCO became acutely aware of the difficult work environment in correctional facilities when Caterina Spinaris, PhD, a licensed professional counselor, moved to the area in 2000 and began offering counseling services to corrections staff and their families.

Dr. Spinaris quickly recognized the high level of stress faced by correctional employees in their daily work. Through her interactions with staff and their families, she observed the profound impact that the profession’s inherent stressors had on the health and wellbeing of those working in corrections. The nature of the job—exposure to violence, injury, and even death; mistrust and conflict between colleagues; a culture of “toughness” that discouraged emotional vulnerability and seeking help; long, unpredictable work hours; understaffing; and a public image that often painted correctional officers as less-than-heroic and honorable—took a serious toll on individuals working in the field, and by extension on their families.

Despite the heavy demands of their work, it became clear that many correctional staff members, along with their families, were not receiving adequate training or resources to manage the unique challenges they faced. There were few opportunities for preventative wellness education, coping skills development, or trauma-informed support, and few resources for those actually impacted. Staff often found themselves ill-equipped to handle the personal and professional repercussions of their high-stress environments.

Recognizing this critical gap, the Executive Board and staff of DWCO felt a strong sense of responsibility to take action. They developed a mission to provide specialized wellness programs tailored to the unique needs of correctional staff and their families. These programs focused on trauma-responsive care, mental health support, and the development of effective coping mechanisms for dealing with the stressful realities of corrections work. In addition to these training efforts, DWCO began conducting research on correctional wellness, contributing valuable insights to the field of corrections health.

Over the years, the efforts of DWCO have grown significantly. What began as a local response to the challenges faced by staff in Fremont County has now expanded nationally and internationally. DWCO continues to provide award-winning vital programming, resources, and support to correctional and other public safety staff, helping to improve their overall wellbeing, and ultimately the health and functioning of the correctional and other public safety workforce. It also provides wellness initiatives at the organizational level, guiding correctional agencies in the building of data-driven, comprehensive, and profession-specific wellness programs. DWCO’s commitment to offering wellness support and trauma-responsive resources remains central to its mission as it works toward a healthier and more sustainable future for correctional and other public safety professionals everywhere.

Our Executive Board

Bob Bowen

Chair

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Stephen B. Walker

Vice-Chair

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Karen Swanson

Treasurer

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Brian Koehn

Secretary

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Our Team

Caterina Spinaris, Ph.D., LPC

Founding Director

Caterina G. Spinaris, PhD, LPC, is DWCO’s founding director and a Licensed Professional Counselor in the State of Colorado. Her professional experience with correctional staff and their family members involves training thousands of staff across the United States; setting up and overseeing a 24/7 hotline for corrections staff and their families for eight years; offering professional counseling services to this population for 14 years; and conducting anonymous online surveys with correctional staff. Caterina writes curriculum that addresses correctional staff wellness issues, based on research conducted by Desert Waters and others, and also based on her clinical experience with this population. She originated the umbrella term Corrections Fatigue to describe the combined and interactive effects of correctional occupational stressors; developed the Corrections Fatigue Process Model, a data-driven theoretical model that aims to explains the cumulative impact of occupational stressors on correctional staff; and designed the Corrections Fatigue Assessment™. Caterina authored the course From Corrections Fatigue to Fulfillment™ (CF2F), and seven other correctional staff wellness courses, six of which are also offered as Instructor trainings with certification. In 2016, the CF2F course received the Commercial Product Award of Excellence by the International Association of Corrections Training Personnel. Caterina has authored and co-authored four books on correctional staff wellness issues, and numerous articles. Recently, Caterina has been involved in Desert Waters’ development of Safety Net Wholistic Correctional Staff Wellness Accreditation Program. Based on her observations, Caterina is convinced that there can be no true prison reform without staff wellness, and that there can be no staff wellness without prison reform. That is why she is an ardent believer in the importance of pursuing both with equal fervor and determination.