COUNTYWIDE : Corrections Chief Will Retire

W. (Bill) Forden, director of the county’s Corrections Services Agency, announced his retirement last week, saying he will step down March 28.

“It’s been challenging,” Forden said of his 17-year stint as head of the agency. Taking the director’s job was “one of the best decisions I ever made and the highlight of my career.”

Forden’s tenure was marked by dramatic growth in the agency, which has more than 300 employees. The agency runs the county’s juvenile institutions, and juvenile and adult probation programs, including one of the largest work-furlough programs in the state. Its investigators also prepare pre- sentencing reports for people convicted in the county’s courts.

Before coming to Ventura County, Forden worked for 16 years as a parole administrator for the state Department of Corrections in Los Angeles.

“As an agency, we have not been afraid to try new things,” Forden said. In the future, he said, lack of resources will present the biggest challenge.

Forden, 56, said he plans to do consulting work for the National Institute of Corrections as well as to work part time in real estate. “I am changing careers, not looking to sit in a rocking chair,” he said. “I’m looking forward to a little less structured life but not less activity.”