Exchange of poems at the 2nd Annual San Quentin/Patten College poetry slam with the prisoners is reported to be an event, which was extraordinaire. It was an opportunity to understand the hidden popular culture.

This article presents some of the latest news about the United States Department of Education. Secretary Margaret Spellings assigned an expanded role for correctional education to The Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) effective October 1, 2006. The correctional education direct grant programs currently in the Department's Office of…

Psychopaths represent a significant management challenge in a prison population. A sample of ninety-five male inmates from three medium security prisons was tested using the Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV). Using traditional criteria, 22% of the inmates were classified as psychopaths. Scores on the two factor dimensions of…

The primary purpose of this research is to illuminate three critical components related to the success of jail diversion programs. First, prior to diversion there is the need to identify those offenders most open to therapeutic services. Second, for those offenders diverted, there must be a proper match between the offender and the mental health…

Our system fills every bed before it is built. Supply and demand have never had a better relationship. We need to refocus our public policy upon a correctional system that heals itself by helping those it serves to heal themselves through service to others even less fortunate. Let us term this new paradigm a "Correctional Cooperative," where…

An individual tells his story of how mental health problems got him to prison and how prison mental health services were difficult to obtain and inappropriate at times. He had to demand that he receive adequate treatment. Mike Weaver currently advocates for mental health services and treating people rather than extending their prison sentences.

Intervention at the intersection of the mental health and criminal justice systems has followed a small set of service models with limited success and a narrow impact on the quality of treatment available to people with mental illness who experience arrest, court processing, incarceration, and release. In reviewing research on police, court, and…

The escalating mentally ill population in prisons has created unique challenges for correctional systems, Colorado being no exception with 25% of its incarcerated population having mental health needs. This study examined correctional offenders with mental illness (OMIs) and found a growing number of OMIs in Colorado's prison system. Not only is…

This article is a sequel to previous "Journal of Correctional Education" articles providing teaching strategy suggestions for correctional educators. The self actualized correctional educator employs teaching strategies which do not rely on the correctional institution for implementation. Thus, he/she is freed from bureaucratic and custody issues,…

Objective: To explore the barriers to positive mental health in a group of young offenders. Design: A qualitative approach was used to provide insight into the ways in which mental health for young offenders is experienced and managed. Setting: A Young Offenders Institute (YOI) accommodating males aged between 18 and 21 years. Method: Participants…

A taxometric analysis of the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV; S. D. Hart, D. N. Cox, & R. D. Hare, 1995) was performed on a group of 2,250 male and female forensic/psychiatric patients and jail/prison inmates. The 4 PCL:SV facet scores (Interpersonal, Affective, Impulsive Lifestyle, Antisocial Behavior) served as indicators in…

This study is an examination of persistent offending and its implications for the understanding and investigation of desistance and career length. Persistence, especially as it is operationalized using official measures, is characterized as fundamentally a measure of resistance to formal social control: continued crime in the face of increasingly…

This study of recidivism among Washington supermax prisoners used a retrospective matched control design, matching supermax prisoners one-to-one with nonsupermax prisoners on mental illness status and up to eight recidivism predictors. Supermax prisoners committed new felonies at a higher rate than nonsupermax controls, but the difference was not…

There have been five major types of correctional education organizations over the centuries: Sabbath school, traditional or decentralized, bureau, correctional school district (CSD), and integral education. The middle three are modern organizational patterns that can be implemented throughout a system: Decentralized, bureau, and CSD. The…

In response to the current federal initiative to evaluate the impact of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Personnel Preparation program, the authors summarize prior efforts to evaluate the program and identify common themes and gaps in that work. Also, the authors pose issues and questions for those who seek to understand the impact…