Offender Finance Receives 2007 Western Union Partnership Award

   
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Western Union's 2007 Partnership Award has been awarded to the Missouri Department of Corrections', Offender Finance Office.

Offender Finance Officer Rodney Kueffer accepted the award from Western Union Account Representative Dean Fees on behalf of the department during a ceremony in April.

"I accept this on behalf of the Department because truly it is the Department's initiative that drives us," Kueffer said. (continued)

"Missouri is the oldest Department of Corrections in the country that has been using our quick collect service for inmate commissary," said Fees. "You should be very proud of your efforts."

According to Kueffer, the award reinforces that the Department is always looking to provide extra service. It validates that what is being done actually works.

"At no cost to the state, Western Union developed this interface process to where all the money is wire transferred into our bank and the accounts are automatically updated nightly," Kueffer said. "We were the first correctional facility in the free world to offer this type of service. That industry was created, developed and perfected in Missouri. I'm real proud of that."

Presently, at least three-quarters of the states in the United States use some sort of electronic fund transfer for their offenders.

Missouri Department of Corrections Director Larry Crawford said, "Due to the budgeting process we go through and the uncertainty of funds, it is difficult for us to invest in technology. When we can partner with companies such as Western Union it makes us more productive. It allows us to reduce the work load on our employees and give better service; it's a win-win situation."

Per capita the Missouri Department of Corrections (MDOC) sends more wire transfers than any other state correctional facility in the United States. Through Western Union, MDOC does approximately 10,000 wire transfers per month. As a department, MDOC does 20,000 wire transfers per month.

"We make no money off Western Union. There's no kick-back from Western Union to us," Kueffer said. "The relationship between the customer and Western Union is between them."

According to Kueffer, a person sending money goes through very stringent Patriot Act checks to ensure all money transfer laws are enforced through Western Union. As Western Union reviews the Patriot Act list it also makes sure there is not a money laundering scheme going on. All of this is done at a very high level of security for transferring their money.

There are two ways to put funds on an offenders account. One is through the mail where a money order is purchased; the deposit ticket is filled out and mailed into the Department to be applied to the offenders account.

The second way is working with a vendor such as Western Union where there is a daily interface with them. Western Union then knows who MDOC is allowing to accept deposits. The sender puts down their money and for a small fee the transition is validated, sent to the Offender Finance Office, updated nightly and available to the offender the next day for use in the canteen.

A person can be anywhere in the United States and go to a Western Union and send money electronically to an offender's account within 24 hours.

The service offers several options: over the phone, at a store location, credit card, cash or money order.

"What they don't have to deal with is the two to three days it takes for it to be mailed to the Department of Corrections. Adding this service has allowed us to have adequate staff and technology to put the money on the account the same day and make it available the next day. The turn around time is a lot faster and more efficient," Kueffer said.

Thirteen years ago when Kueffer started in the Offender Finance Office, the standard response to a deposit took five to seven working days from the time the department received the money to the time it was applied to an offender's account.

Kueffer says this award means a lot.

"To me, it's acknowledgement of our vision, our customer service and our dedication to our constituents which is both our offenders and the people who send in the money for their loved ones that are incarcerated," Kueffer said. "They're trying to find the best product, the best values and the easiest way to interact with us. We've become a society of convenience."

It's very user friendly for the offenders.

"The amazing thing about it is that two-thirds of the 30,000 deposit items that we process a month is now being done through electronic fund transfer. The customer wants that type of convenience," Kueffer said. "Through shear volume, our prices have gone down to where they are really reasonable. It's $3.95 for a transfer now where it used to be $11.95. That difference comes through shear volume."

"This all goes back to what Governor Blunt has said. Finding ways to be a more efficient government and doing more with less but not sacrificing service," Kueffer said.

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