About Us


Welcome to the Middle Atlantic States Correctional Association's web site! MASCA is the leading regional interdisciplinary organization for professionals in the related fields of probation, parole, juvenile justice, and corrections.  We are your regional affiliate for both the American Correctional Association and the American Probation and Parole Association. Our membership includes professionals at the state, county, and federal levels, primarily in the seven member jurisdictions, but we welcome criminal justice professionals and students from anywhere in North America.  We are committed to providing the best training opportunities in our region and are continually looking for other ways to better serve our membership.

The Middle Atlantic States Correctional Association (MASCA) is dedicated to: 
  • Promoting the highest standards of excellence and professionalism in criminal and juvenile justice
  • Encouraging information-sharing in the related disciplines of probation, parole, juvenile justice, and corrections
  • Creating a support system for professionals at all levels in the correctional system
  • Providing an educational forum for networking, problem-solving, and leadership development across state boundaries
  • Promoting the public image of institutional and community corrections

The Middle Atlantic States Correctional Association (MASCA) was established in 1938 as the Middle Atlantic States Parole Conference (MASCA). It was originally formed by a small group of Parole Administrators who met in the office of the Commissioner of Institutions and Agencies in Trenton, New Jersey.   In those early days, fifteen to twenty officials from neighboring states met to discuss parole matters, especially those concerning the transfer of parolees from one state to another. The Interstate Compact had just been signed in 1937 and these administrators came together to plan how best to implement the provisions of the compact. The founding fathers of MASCA included St. Alban Kite and Albert Wagner of New Jersey, Harry C. Dupree of New York and Dr. G.I. Giardini from Pennsylvania, among others.

Eventually they agreed that it would be useful to have an Annual Conference so that parole administration supervisors and line officers would have a chance to meet one another, increase their knowledge of parole, and to discuss problems facing parole in those days. Holding an Annual Conference became an important function of MASCA. From the beginning they decided to hold their conferences in Atlantic City, N.J., and during this period, 1939-1952, every conference was held there.