Prison Rehabilitation Programs

The prison system realizes that an immense majority of inmates will be released; we need to prepare them for outside life. Without the efforts of educational programs, a prison can become a “revolving door, with inmates having nowhere to go but back” to the prison with no future (Young 1). A majority of the states offer a GED program, but North Carolina profits from a Community College system that offers classes in academics, auto mechanics, masonry, wiring, plumbing, and computer literacy. The Community Colleges offer two-year degree programs in many areas. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill offers business association classes to inmates over twenty-five years of age. Because of the excellent programs they have to offer, more than five thousand of about thirty thousand inmates are in the education program and these numbers continue to grow.

Although several educational programs are widely available, many inmates are unable to take advantage of them, do not complete them, or lack follow up in the form of ongoing support services once released from the correctional system. The following table displays this concern: Table 2. national and state data on inmate participation and completion . Approximate Numbers 1993-2007: Institution Type Total Number of Inmates System 165,000 167,717 Number of Inmates Enrolled in Education Programs 54,000 87,624 Rate of Attendance, At Completion of Course 50% 60% Rate of Completion

The article "The Impact of Career and Technical Education Programs on Adult Offenders: Learning Behind Bars" by Howard Gordon and Bracie Weldon (2003) studies of how prisoners receiving educations in prison reduces the recidivism rate. Gordon and Weldon studied the inmates who were participating in the educational programs at the Huttonsville Correctional Center in West Virginia and claimed that inmates who participated in the educational programs were less likely to recidivate once released back into the population as compared to inmates who did not participate in these programs (Gordon & Weldon, 2003). This study provides valuable information as to the effectiveness of educational programs in prison and how they affect prisoner's lives

Governor Wilma James’ state is facing severe budget cuts due to economic struggles and drops in tax revenues. The Department of Revenue had informed the governor that she must find ways to reduce the budget by $6 billion. There are several areas which the governor acknowledged as fixed and cannot be touched such as, health care and pension payments. Several proposals were brought to the governor’s attention and the one that stands out the most were the prison system. After conversing with the correctional commissioner, the governor decided to order an early release of inmates whose been charged with drug related crimes. Governor James believes that her action will reduce the state’s budget immensely; however, another problem that may transpire, is the rise of drug related criminal activities occurring all across the state. This essay will briefly highlight the contexts of prison labor and work release programs, and how it would be a better alternative as compared to the early releasing of felons incarcerated for drug related crimes.

The jail program I believe is most beneficial to an inmate is educational and training programs. Most jails and prison offer inmates the GED programs to help them further their education more. Most of the inmates that receive education program are most likely not to return back to prison and more likely to find a job as well. This program gives the inmates hope for a better life and future. The ones with no education will stay on the street and make their living.

Jail diversion is a mental health platform explicitly premeditated to isolate and divert individuals with mental health, substance abuse disorders or both from the criminal justice system into a need-specific treatment in the mental health system. Specifically, the program provides linkages to community-based treatment and support services to assist the individual in reducing deviant behavior. For this reason, the individuals avoid arrests and spend a lesser period in jail. The effectiveness of the diversion program relies on various activities that involve the identification of the target group and a proper integration of the victim into the program. While there are many different types of jail diversion programs the accessibility to jail diversion programs are limited, due to the strict qualification guidelines set. In addition, the availability of appropriate mental health professionals is paramount to the efficiency of the program. It is a common belief that linking mentally ill offenders to Community-Based Services decrease their chances of recidivism and contact with security officers (Sirotich, 2009).

Many programs have been initiated to help the problems of overcrowding and negligence. These include education, rehabilitation programs, work-release programs, and other preventative measures. Numerous education programs are offered to inmates. Some prisons even mandate the completion of a GED if the offender never finished high school. Many colleges in the prison’s community partner together with each other to enable higher learning as a possibility for offenders to obtain college credit. These services help inmates succeed in an inmate’s preparation to reintegrate into society with less chances of being arrested again. Offenders that are more prepared to leave prison are not as likely to commit a crime which improves the safety of the public and also saves money from taxpayers. (Office of Vocational Adult Education, 2009)

America sends more of its citizens to prison than any other country in the world. The United States, though only five percent of the world’s population, incarcerate 25 percent of the world’s prisoners. America is supposed to be the land of the free, not the land of the incarcerated. About 6,937,600 offenders were under the supervision of adult correctional systems at year end 2012. Around two-thirds of the prison population which is released annually (637,400) will recidivate within the first three years of release (Glaze, 2013). The prisoner re-entry programs that are currently in place are clearly ineffective and insufficient. A reallocation of the budget is the first step towards fixing our re-entry programs. Once the budget is under control, the government needs to have a complete overhaul of system. There are many prisoner re-entry programs that have shown promise which means there is already a blueprint to success available.

Everyone in the world is affected by criminal behavior in some way, shape, or form. Crime determines where we decide to reside, what school we opt to send our children to, and also when or where we go out. Over 600,000 prisoners return to the community each year. Fair amounts of offenders receive some sort of rehabilitation programming while they are incarcerated, albeit many return not able to reintegrate back into their surrounding communities. One way to establish successful offender re-integration is through successful reentry programs.

Most individuals in the Federal Prison system will come into it very depressed and wallow in their own self-misery which will leave a negative impact on their transitional process. However, there are those mindful individuals who choose to use the time they are incarcerated to positively improve their lives by staying active in the programs offered through the Bureau of Prisons. There are several options for those inmates who are interested in furthering their educational goals, as the prison system makes it mandatory for all inmates who do not have their high school diploma

Impact of Rehabilitation Programs and Incarceration for Juvenile Offenders Discussing the Importance of Rehabilitation Program

Lee Tergeson, actor from the television show OZ said, “I know what it is like to be ignored, and I think that is the big problem about the prison system: These people are being thrown away. There is no sense of rehabilitation. In some places, they are trying to do things. But, in most cases, it is a holding cell.” (Tergeson, 2002) He speaks the truth.

Society holds expectations for its citizens, and non-citizens at a very high level. They expect everyone to abide by the law, and give back to the community. In a perfect world all citizens and non-citizens would be good Samaritans, sadly it is far from that in today’s society. Many individuals are deviant and stray from society’s expectations of them. We know them as criminals. Indeed some of them may be hardened criminals, yet some of them commit petty crimes that are still a burden on society. Whether, their crime is petty or severe, society expects them to pay for their actions. Most criminals at one time or another will spend time in prison or jail.

never implemented as intended. Although the contours of the correctional system changed—the juvenile court, indeterminate sentencing, probation, parole, and discretion became integral features of this system—the resources and knowledge needed to provide effective treatment to offenders were in short supply. Cullen and Gendreau (2000).

Weisburd, David, Badi Hasisi, Efrat Shoham, Gali Aviv, and Noam Haviv. "Reinforcing the Impacts of Work Release on Prisoner Recidivism: The Importance of Integrative Interventions." Journal of Experimental Criminology 13.2 (2017): 241-264.