A Letter From The Executive Director/CEO

Colleagues and friends,

Each year, as we approach the third week of July, I am reminded of the incredible dedication, compassion, and resilience demonstrated by community corrections professionals across the nation and beyond. PPPS Week is our time to pause, reflect, and honor the extraordinary individuals who carry out the vital work of pretrial, probation, and parole supervision. While APPA celebrates your commitment year-round, PPPS Week gives us a chance to shine an even brighter light on the impact you make on lives and communities every single day.

This year’s theme, Connected for Change: Building Bridges in Supervision, captures what makes this profession so transformative. Community corrections grows when relationships flourish — when officers, agencies, justice-impacted individuals, families, service providers, and communities work together toward the common goal of positive outcomes and increased success stories. Every connection built becomes a bridge: a bridge to accountability, to rehabilitation, to opportunity, and ultimately to safer, stronger communities.

Across the field, professionals are intentionally building these bridges. You are building trust with the individuals you supervise, coordinating with partners to expand access to treatment, services, and resources, and fostering collaboration that enables actual change. Your work shows us that supervision isn’t just about monitoring — it is about guiding, supporting, empowering, and connecting people to the tools they need to succeed.

This theme also reflects APPA’s ongoing dedication to advancing the field through education, advocacy, and public awareness. Two examples of this assurance are: (1) the Certified Community Supervision Professional Program (individual PO certification program), and (2) the APPA’s National Standards and its formalized training and implementation. Ultimately, the goal is to offer an accreditation program to ensure quality and drive continuous improvement, leading to greater efficiency, compliance, and public trust. As our profession becomes more visible, data-driven, and community-focused, we are noticing more stakeholders recognize what we have always known: meaningful change occurs when people feel supported, understood, and connected. You make that connection possible.

As we celebrate PPPS Week 2026, I encourage you both individually and collectively to reflect on the bridges we have built — and the many still to come. Let’s celebrate your victories, honor your sacrifice, and uplift the stories that remind us why this work is so vitally important. And let’s carry this momentum beyond July by continuing to advocate for the support, resources, and recognition that community corrections professionals deserve.

Thank you for your unwavering service, compassionate leadership, and steadfast belief in the power of change. You are the bridge-builders of justice — and because of you, lives are transformed, families are strengthened, and communities become safer every day.

My sincerest gratitude,

Veronica Cunningham, Executive Director, APPA