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Inmates with special needs

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Inmates with Special Needs
Sarah Berry
CJA/234
November 25, 2013
Richard Gilbert

Inmates with Special Needs Inmate with special needs, mental illnesses, substance-abuse issues, juvenile offenders, and older inmates are all considered special offenders upon entering the correctional facility and classification process. These inmates are classified as special offenders, which refers to inmates with behavioral issues that will need close supervision, specific treatment plans, and sometimes treatment outside the correctional facility (Seiter, 2011). The number one complaint filed by prisoners is inmate neglect and although many cases amount to nothing, a higher percentage of cases won are by those of special …show more content…

The Prison Reform Trust (PRT), a service that provides inmates a place to file complaints, reports that inmate neglect since 2010 has increased almost 5% every year (Allison, 2012). The criminal justice system and correctional system take responsibility for inmates upon sentencing and incarceration, so treatment for inmates with special needs must be taken seriously and treatment must be offered no matter the cost.
Substance-Abusing Inmates Inmates who suffer from substance abuse need just as much attention as inmates who suffer from a mental illness. There are different counseling and treatment options for inmates who are suffering from withdrawals and sobriety, but one organization is making a positive impact on prisoners during incarceration. The Residential Drug and Alcohol Program (RDAP) focuses on long-term inmates in federal prisons. RDAP provides services that typically cost $50,000 in society for free to inmates who are truly seeking to make a change while incarcerated (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2013). RDAP mission is to rehabilitate prisoners by having them interact as they would in society in hope that upon release the preparation and lifestyle will be familiar and not cause a relapse in an inmate’s sobriety (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2013). Prisoners who are selected for this program are screen for any violent tendency, and inmates who have completed the program once, and inmates who are in there for the wrong reason.

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