Dover, DE – The Delaware Department of Correction (DOC) announced today that Deputy Warden Christopher Kearney of Howard R. Young Correctional Institution has been appointed Deputy Warden of the DOC Special Operations Group, Deputy Warden Natasha Hollingsworth of James T. Vaughn Correctional Center has been appointed Deputy Warden at Howard R. Young Correctional Institution, and Correctional Captain Timothy Radcliffe of Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution has been promoted to Deputy Warden of Kent County Community Corrections.  All appointments became effective this week.

Incoming Deputy Warden of the Special Operations Group (SOG) Christopher Kearney completed his Academy training and joined the DOC as a Correctional Officer in 2005 and has served assignments in the Bureau of Prisons (Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution), Bureau of Community Corrections (Plummer Community Corrections Center), and the Special Operations Group.  He earned promotions through the ranks, achieving Correctional Corporal in 2012, Correctional Lieutenant in 2012, Correctional Captain in 2016, and Correctional Security Superintendent (Major) in 2017. In January 2022 he was promoted to Deputy Warden of Howard R. Young Correctional Institution.  Kearney has been a member of the DOC’s Correctional Emergency Response Team (CERT) since 2011, including as a full-time CERT member who deployed on-site during the 2017 inmate uprising at James T. Vaughn Correctional Center.  Kearney has taken on additional responsibilities, including assignments as Emergency Preparedness Director, the DOC’s Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) team which provides trauma-informed peer support to staff and their families after being impacted by a traumatic or critical incident, and the Staffing Analysis Team, and during the COVID pandemic he led DOC’s efforts to secure and administer supplies of Personal Protective Equipment.  Kearney has participated in numerous specialized trainings, including Hostage Negotiation, Conducting Prison Audits, and Staffing Analysis and Delaware State Police Interviewing and Interrogation.  He is a recipient of the prestigious FBI-LEEDA Trilogy Award for successfully completing its Supervisor Leadership Institute, Command Leadership Institute, and Executive Leadership Institute.  Kearney is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in History from Delaware State University.  Kearney fills the vacant Deputy Warden position previously held by SOG Warden Michael Merson.

The Special Operations Group within the Bureau of Prisons is a specialized unit that is responsible for DOC’s central intelligence operations, the Steven R. Floyd, Sr. Training Academy, Correctional Emergency Response Teams, Escapee Recovery Teams, K-9 Units, the Mobile Command Post and Court and Transportation Units.

Incoming Deputy Warden of Howard R. Young Correctional Institution (HRYCI) Natasha Hollingsworth completed her Academy training and joined the DOC as a Correctional Officer in 2000, subsequently earning promotions through the ranks to Correctional Corporal and Correctional Lieutenant.  In 2015 she was promoted to Correctional Captain and assigned to Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution (BWCI) where her facility-wide responsibilities included serving as a shift supervisor, managing the Field Training Officer program for new officers, performing investigations, and conducting disciplinary hearings for offenders.  In 2018 she was promoted to Major at BWCI and in this position she served as a member of the Warden’s senior leadership team and the facility’s Security Superintendent with day-to-day responsibility for maintaining safety and security for correctional officers, staff, and inmates.  During this time she also took on the responsibilities of Acting Deputy Warden at BWCI, with additional facility-wide supervisory responsibilities over uniformed and civilian correctional staff, oversight of contracted healthcare services, budget and administration, and facility management.  In 2019 Hollingsworth was Promoted to Deputy Warden and assigned to James T. Vaughn Correctional Center, the state’s largest correctional facility.  At JTVCC she has chaired the facility’s successful initiative to secure national accreditation, and her responsibilities have included engaging with internal and external stakeholders to implement, review and modify programs and services, reviewing and preparing budgets, providing oversight of contracted healthcare services, and providing direction and supervision of security operations and uniformed and civilian managers.  Hollingsworth has completed numerous specialized trainings, certifications and leadership development programs.  She holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and a master’s degree in Administration of Justice, both from Wilmington University.  Hollingsworth fills the vacant position previously held by Special Operations Group Deputy Warden Christopher Kearney.

The Howard R. Young Correctional Institution is a secure Level 5 prison facility located in Wilmington that is named for the facility’s first Warden when it opened in 1982.  The original facility was designed to hold 360 detainees who are awaiting trial or sentencing. In 1992 a new section opened adding 480 beds for sentenced offenders. Additional construction projects have further increased the capacity and average daily inmate population today exceeds 1,100.  HRYCI provides a variety of treatment and education programs, counseling, recreation, and religious services for pre-trial detainees and sentenced offenders.

“Deputy Warden Christopher Kearney and Deputy Warden Natasha Hollingsworth are very experienced leaders in the Bureau of Prisons who have demonstrated the ability to effectively manage people and programs at the highest level while keeping their focus on our broader mission to support public safety and offender rehabilitation.  I value their contributions to our important work and congratulate them on their newest leadership appointments,” said Bureau of Prisons Chief Shane Troxler.

Incoming Kent County Community Corrections (KCCC) Deputy Warden Timothy Radcliffe completed his Academy training and joined the DOC as a Correctional Officer in 2009. He was assigned to James T. Vaughn Correctional Center where he earned promotions to Corporal (2010), Sergeant (2012) and Lieutenant (2014).  In 2018 he was further promoted to Captain and assigned to Baylor Women’s Correctional institution where has supervised staff as a Shift Commander and maintained several facility-wide responsibilities including Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, Prison Rape Elimination Act Investigator, and Policy and Procedure Committee Chair in which he conducts reviews, solicits input, and develops and implements policies consistent with bureau guidelines and best practices.  Deputy Warden Radcliffe has completed multiple specialized trainings including Interpersonal Communication Skills, Motivational Interviewing, and Delaware Emergency Management Agency training.  He is a recipient of the prestigious FBI-LEEDA Trilogy Award for successfully completing its Supervisor Leadership Institute, Command Leadership Institute, and Executive Leadership Institute.  Radcliffe holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Wilmington University.  Radcliffe fills the vacant position previously held by KCCC Warden Kent Raymond.

Kent County Community Corrections, within the DOC’s Bureau of Community Corrections, operates the Community Corrections Treatment Center (CCTC), the statewide treatment facility for inmates sentenced to Level IV substance use disorder treatment, and all Kent County Level IV community work crews.  The CCTC, which opened in December 2020, administers DOC’s “Road 2 Recovery” Substance Use Disorder (SUD) treatment program, which was redesigned in 2020 and consolidated for Level IV male offenders statewide at one site to standardize program delivery, consolidate  treatment staff, and modernize outdated treatment practices. The CCTC reflects a residential treatment format that offers a mixture of programming and treatment space, staff work and meeting spaces in an open design that is conducive to DOC’s SUD cognitive community requirements. 

Bureau of Community Corrections Chief John Sebastian said, “Congratulations to Deputy Warden Timothy Radcliffe who has distinguished himself while serving in positions of increasing responsibility and has earned the respect of his peers and his chain of command.  He joins a Kent County Community Corrections leadership team that is committed to DOC’s dual mission of public safety and reentry with a focus on providing innovative high quality treatment and programming in a secure environment for offenders with substance use disorder.”

Photos of Deputy Warden Natasha Hollingsworth and Deputy Warden Christopher Kearney are attached.  A photo of Deputy Warden Timothy Radcliffe is not available.

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