For decades, most states have made a practice of giving citizens returning from prison or jail a small amount of money, called "gate money," to cover the cost of transportation and other immediate needs. Many legislatures have considered increasing the dollar amount of their cash assistance and offering this kind of support more widely.…

When aligned with career pathways and other education and training programs in the community, IET programs offered in prisons and jails enable participants to make significant progress toward their education and training goals that can be continued after release. This guide summarizes lessons learned from the IET in Corrections project and serves…

New York State has long been a leader in education, both higher education and general education in prison, dating back to the 1800s. Following reforms implemented during the administration of Governor Franklin Roosevelt, New York State was later recognized as having the best prison education system in the country (Gehring 1997). At the heyday of…

Too many young people cycle in and out of prison, jails, and detention centers and face probation and parole conditions that keep them locked out of opportunity. These interactions with the criminal justice system demand the need for both equitable practices and programs that support second chances and large-scale investments in decarceration.…

"Mental Health and Social Problems" is a textbook for social work students and practitioners. It explores the complicated relationship between mental conditions and societal issues as well as examining risk and protective factors for the prevalence, course, adaptation to and recovery from mental illness. The introductory chapter presents…

Six stages of moral development are outlined and the moral development of 16 ex-offenders living in a halfway house is examined. Usable Defining Issues Test profiles obtained from eight subjects suggest that discussion involving moral dilemmas is a fruitful area for counselors to explore with ex-offenders. (NRB)

Discusses various treatment methods for substance abuse counseling in community corrections that have survived tests of empirical scrutiny, clinical experience, and practical financial considerations. Methods are offered by community corrections professionals for developing a basic design for outpatient substance abuse treatment programs.…

Southside Virginia Community College (SVCC) operates the largest inmate education program in Virginia, offering associate degree programs and academic support at three correctional centers and plannning programs at two others. The program at Mecklenburg Correctional Center, which has the reputation for being one of the country's toughest prisons,…

This document begins by briefly outlining the problems of juveniles incarcerated in correctional institutions, including the problems of overcrowding and recidivism. It asserts that creative art therapy is designed to provide a therapeutic atmosphere for understanding and change and documents the use of creative art therapy techniques with…

This set of knowledge/skill maps are intended to assist individuals responsible for developing training courses for corrections officers. Maps are provided for the following task areas: booking, receiving, and releasing; escorting and transporting; recordkeeping and report writing; supervising noninmate movement and visitors; searching and…

The expertise of special educators can aid in providing justice for criminal defendants with mental retardation in such areas as identification of mental retardation, evaluations and habilitation concerning competence to stand trial or enter plea agreements, and provision of services to defendants in corrections programs. (Author/DB)

In May 2006, the National Poverty Center (NPC) at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan hosted a meeting--"Research on Prisoner Reentry: What Do We Know and What Do We Want to Know?"--to discuss the state of research on employment-focused prisoner reentry programs. This paper, written as background for…

This handbook and a companion video are intended for use by adult education programs interested in implementing a court referral program for adult education. It highlights the Preparation for Employment Program (PEP), a special project of the Shoals Area Tri-County Adult Education Program that requires offenders lacking minimal basic skills to…

Forty-three percent of troubled youths in residential programs received weekly visits from their case managers in the welfare department or juvenile court. Following a procedure of writing post-visit thank-you letters to case managers and their immediate supervisors, weekly visitations increased to 78 percent of the youths. (Author/JDD)