CSOSA's new director is sworn in

On Monday, Nancy M. Ware was sworn in as the new director of Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA) for the next six years.  She will guide the agency's 800 federal employees who provide supervision for over 15,000 adults in the District of Columbia. 

The event was was M.C.ed by The Honorable Eric T. Washington, Chief Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.  Remarks were given by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes-Norton, D.C. Mayor Vince Gray, and Director of the Pretrial Services Agency Susan W. Shaffer.

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes-Norton spoke of Ware by saying, "Ware has over three decades of experience in melding together diverse groups."  She added that the agency Ware will head is essentially a crime prevention component of the District of Columbia.

Holmes-Norton also explained how the nomination process works.  "CSOSA is a federal agency with a local mission in the D.C. government, and it therefore requires a person with the highest character and background; and experience.  The president has found such a person as Nancy Ware.  President Obama grants my office the senatorial courtesy to recommend federal judges and other law enforcement professionals in positions that are directly linked to the District of Columbia; judges and positions like the swearing in that is to take place today," she said.  "I appointed a 17 person committee made up of the District's brightest and chaired by Pauline Schneider, past president of the DC Bar Association, to get together and make their recommendation and I then approve their decision and send that persons name on to the President and they're confirmed by a Senate vote."

Mayor Gray next spoke and commented on his long friendship with Ware and what she brings to CSOSA.

"I can't think of any person more qualified to do this job than Nancy Ware," the mayor said.  "and I think we are extremely well-served with Nancy Ware." 

He went on to say, "I can't think of anyone more qualified, more talented, more compassionate, and more committed to lead this agency than Nancy Ware."

Director Shaffer gave her remarks next, and said, "Nancy has spent her entire professional career trying to make the justice system more fair...she knows how to bring together federal and local levels of government together to achieve a common goal." 

The event was a proverbial who's who in the world of D.C. re-entry and supervision.  Charles Thornton, director of the Mayor's Office of Returning Citizens Affairs was also on hand.  CSOSA is the District's agency which oversees those individuals who either return from prison or have pleaded guilty in the D.C. courts.  If a person is on parole or probation in the District of Columbia, then they've gone through the CSOSA system.

Nancy M. Ware, Nominee for Director, Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia
Nancy M. Ware currently serves as a Management Analyst for the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia (CSOSA).  Prior to joining CSOSA, Ms. Ware served for eight years as the Executive Director for the District of Columbia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, where she developed the infrastructure to support law enforcement, juvenile justice, and other criminal justice branches.  Previously, Ms. Ware was the Director of Technical Assistance and Training for the Department of Justice Executive Office for Weed and Seed, and before this served as the Director of Program Development for the Bureau of Justice Assistance in the Office of Justice Programs.  Earlier in her career, Ms. Ware served as an Executive Director of the Rainbow Coalition; Executive Director of the Citizenship Education Fund; and Executive Director of the District of Columbia Mayor's Youth Initiatives Office.  She holds a B.A. and an M.Ed. from Howard University.

In the same release President Obama said that Ware (along with others who were mentioned in the release) "...bring a wealth of experience and talent to their new roles and I am proud to have them serve in this Administration..."

Ware will further CSOSA's mission is to increase public safety, prevent crime, reduce recidivism, and support the fair administration of justice in close collaboration with the community. It's a tall order but the committee that selected her, Congresswoman Holmes-Norton, and President Barack Obama believes she is the best person for the task at hand. 

CSOSA has two primary goals:  Public Safety and Fair Administration of Justice. 

In November, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm her.