Entering jail is an assault on the senses. While volunteers and inmates might share visceral experiences of entering the institution, to enter "into" jail is not the same as being "in" jail. To be "in" is to be monitored--watched and listened to without exception or reprieve. To be in jail is to follow unwritten laws…

The Phoenix Players Theatre Group was founded by incarcerated theatre artists located in a maximum-security prison with the aim of creating a space where they can be witnessed in order to initiate a process of personal, cultural, and sociopolitical transformation. This article integrates research from trauma theory with theatre and social justice…

Despite the widespread popularity of mindfulness as a wellness intervention strategy across educational levels, its proponents are susceptible to countering the intended area of improvement. This article recounts the cumulative reflections of an educator and his attempts to implement mindfulness into high school classes at the Los Angeles County…

Since 1999, the Read to the Children (RTC) program has allowed offenders in Colorado's state prisons to send young family members a book accompanied by a recording of the offender reading it. RTC is a collaboration between the Colorado State Library and the Colorado Department of Corrections. In the past year, around 1,900 offenders and 3,200…

Two objectives structured the present study's interviews and observations undertaken in correctional facilities across eight prison administrations: to elucidate nonuniformed staff's perspectives on how well administrative approaches and modes of delivery for education and psychosocial programming reflect evidence-based practices and indicators of…

Recognizing the transformative potential of higher education for people involved in the justice system, the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) with an advisory council of experienced higher education in prison (HEP) practitioners, data experts, and dedicated advocates, with input from students who are incarcerated, developed guidance to…

In this chapter, an incarcerated student in Illinois discusses the issue of cheating/plagiarism in the prison context and weighs in on the value of vocational education compared to degree-granting academic programs in prison.

This chapter describes a specific initiative to offer a college program within the Oregon Department of Corrections, with a focus on the interpersonal and interinstitutional relationships needed to build such programs.

Introduction: Rehabilitation through formal education has been a long-term priority in the Norwegian criminal service. The rehabilitative effect of education is meant to result in employment and thereby ensure a successful return to society. Furthermore, education is considered as one of the most important ways to master life after ending…

This article summarizes the results and conclusions of a study conducted in 2017 in which Kristen Antoine-Morse examined the lived experiences of four men incarcerated at the Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola) near St. Francisville, Louisiana, (referred to in this article as LSP or Angola) and one returning citizen who was previously…

Objective: The current study aimed at examining the correlations between challenging behaviors, difficulties in functioning, and quality of life in institutionalized adults with intellectual disabilities. Methods: A sample of 53 people with intellectual disabilities and challenging behavior who reside d in a large institutional care facility was…

Going beyond the static, dangerous version of a single story about who an African child inmate is, is an ethical responsibility -- especially when we consider the structural and material forces that are tangled in this evil deed. Drawing on a sociological framing of self and Foucault's theory of ethics, we take a narrative inquiry stance to…

The processes of arrest, investigation, trial and imprisonment are often extremely difficult for individuals with autism spectrum disorders. In this study, nine offenders with autism spectrum disorders were interviewed about the circumstance surrounding the criminal acts, their views of the arrest, the police interrogation, the trial and the…

This study provides an initial classification of information on the social and geographic distribution of children's residential care institutions in Russia, and it characterizes the relationship between this information and the level of criminalization and victimization of minors. We provide data on the number of such residential care facilities…

Purpose: Responding to social work's grand challenge of smart decarceration, this study investigated whether Family Centered Treatment (FCT), a home-based service for juvenile court-involved youth, is more effective than group care (GC) in reducing recidivism. Outcomes are juvenile readjudication and commitment to placement, and adult conviction…