County Stand-out Inducted into OSU College of Social Work Hall of Fame

Franklin County Commissioner’s Justice Policy and Programs employee Dr. Patrice Palmer will be inducted into The Ohio State, College of Social Work Alumni Hall of Fame at a ceremony starting at 11:30 a.m. Friday at The Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Road, Columbus, OH 43210.
 
Dr. Palmer serves as a Reentry Support Specialist for Franklin County Office of Justice Policy and Programs.  Through her out-of-the-box thinking and personal experiences, she provides direct support social services to high risk, dual diagnosis women reentering the community from the county’s correctional center.  Dr. Palmer has been selected to receive this year’s Distinguished Recent Career recognition, awarded to just one alumnus per year who has graduated within the past decade from the College of Social Work and whose accomplishments exemplify outstanding professional achievements, initiatives, or leadership in one or more of the following areas: practice/clinical excellence, community development, advocacy, education, or administration.
 
 “Dr. Palmer is a community innovator,” said Michael Daniels, Director of Franklin County Justice Policy and Programs, “and well-deserving of her social work recognition for her impact in criminal justice and reentry.  We are proud of her dedication and commitment in helping to develop the Pathways Program, a transformational program that has proved to have a significant positive outcome on the recidivism rate for incarcerated women in Franklin County”. 
 
In a time where there is much attention given to results and data-driven criminal justice reform, Dr. Palmer has built an extensive career over the past 10 years educating herself in evidence-based policies and practices, which include the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics and values set forth by the social work community, and most recently leading a team of reentry and administrative professionals. 
 
Prior to working for Franklin County, Dr. Palmer worked at the Chillicothe Correctional Institute where she worked with male inmates who had a history of criminal behaviors and substance abuse.   She was the founding Program Director of the Therapeutic Community at Chillicothe Correctional Institute, overseeing a transitional program assisting individuals reentering society with housing and other supportive services.  She also served as the Operations Manager for Nothing Into Something Real Estate, Inc.
 
In addition to her work at Franklin County, Dr. Palmer volunteers her time with those affected by criminal justice involvement, abuse, addiction and trauma.  Not only does the College of Social Work recognize Dr. Palmer’s excellence in the criminal justice field, but so do many others; she is a national trainer for PeaceLove, a presenter at the National Prison Justice Summit, the 2019 Cincinnati State Technical and Community College Distinguished Alumni of the Year award recipient, and received the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016, as well as the Jerry Revish Restored Citizen of the Year award.  Dr. Palmer utilizes the high standards of social work as her guiding principles, stating, “If we can restore the value, dignity, and worth of a person we return a more productive citizen back to society.”