New Kulani warden sets sights on re-opening

By TOM CALLIS and JOHN BURNETT

Tribune-Herald staff writers

Ruth Coller Forbes has been hired as the new warden for the Kulani Correctional Facility.

Forbes, who most recently worked as a corrections supervisor for Hawaii Community Correctional Center, took the new job effective Sunday, the state Department of Public Safety said. She will be responsible for overseeing the minimum-security prison and getting it ready for re-opening July 1.

“I’m excited for this opportunity, not only to grow in my career but to be a part of the re-opening of the Kulani Correctional Facility because I was around when it closed,” Forbes said Tuesday afternoon. “So, I do know the impact it had on the community and the staff and the inmates.”

Forbes is currently working out of an office at HCCC, but state Deputy Director for Corrections Max Otani said in a written statement that she “will be jumping right in to her role as warden.”

“The priority in the next six months, as we prepare for the official re-opening of Kulani, will be to hire all the staff, establish and test operational policies and procedures, and organize the purchase of equipment and supplies,” Otani said.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many applied for the warden position.

Kulani, which closed in 2009 due to budget cutbacks, will have 96 full-time staff positions, and will house about 200 low-risk inmates.

“Our focus primarily right now is getting the staff on board, and once we do that, we’ll have the staff necessary for the screening of the inmates that will be coming in,” Forbes said. “We’ll be hiring new staff as well as bringing back former Kulani employees. They were given the option to return to the facility in their previous positions. I’m not quite sure how many of them chose that option.”

The Hawaii Youth ChalleNGe Academy is currently using the facility and it will be relocated. Before it re-opens, the prison will also get new kitchen equipment and undergo minor repairs. Electrical upgrades are under way.

“There are challenges. We do have a timeline we have to meet,” Forbes said. “But I’m certain that all we have the employees in place, we’ll be ready to have the facility ready to open in July. … Of course, we’ll have some meetings where we’ll be looking at the infrastructure and see what needs to be done. But there were plans already in motion for that infrastructure, so it’s just a matter of getting ready for that deadline.”

DPS Director Ted Sakai said in a statement that Forbes has a “broad knowledge of corrections and management.”

“I am confident Kulani will benefit from her leadership and experience,” he said.

Forbes has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the College of St. Benedict in Minnesota and a master’s degree in criminal justice administration from Chaminade University.

She started working at DPS in 1995 as an adult corrections officer at the Women’s Community Correctional Center. From 1998-2000, she worked as a human services professional at Hawaii Intake Service Center. She worked at HCCC at the same position until January 2006 when she was promoted to corrections supervisor.

Forbes noted that she has been in the Hilo community since 1998 and believes the resurrection of the facility on the slopes of Mauna Loa about 20 miles southwest of Hilo will be both a social and economic boon locally.

“I think it will have a big impact on the community and not only the community at large but also for the inmates that will be returning home to the islands,” she said. “For them, it’s really important to be close to their families. And also, it has a big impact for hiring … as it provides employment opportunities for people in the community.

“Previously Kulani had some programs in the community doing community service projects. And we anticipate we might benefit the community in that way again.”

Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com and John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.