Woke Wisconsin Department of Corrections No Longer Calls Inmates Inmates
By Dan O'Donnell
August 19, 2020
Wisconsin Department of Corrections Secretary Kevin Carr said in a recent memo that DOC staffers should use "person first language" such as "clients" and "persons in our care" instead of "inmates."
"I use the term 'persons in our care' when I talk about adults in our custody, 'youth' for those within the Division of Juvenile Corrections and 'clients' for those under supervision," Carr explained. "I do this because I believe we have a moral obligation to humanize the persons we are working with. Human beings are fallible, and understanding and recognizing this will help the DOC’s efforts to set persons in our care on a better path."
Ever been surprised or wondered why we do not use words like “inmate” or “convict”, but choose terms like “client” and “persons in our care” instead? DOC Secretary Kevin Carr explains why.
Posted by Wisconsin Department of Corrections on Friday, August 14, 2020
While Carr stresses that the change in language is not mandatory,"it is my preference staff use person first language whenever possible."