Due to Lack of Funding, the Percentage of Inmates Participating in Education Programs Is Declining, while the Prison Population Continues to Surge Stretching across 1,700 acres in the middle of the desert near the California-Nevada border, the Ironwood State Prison may seem like a forbidding place, but for at least 10 percent of its 4,600 inmates,…

This study explores a group of inmates' perceptions of their correctional education and environment based on Fetterman's 1994 idea of empowerment evaluation. A group of 16 male inmates were randomly selected from GED and ABE courses in a high minimum correctional facility in Illinois. A self-administered questionnaire included 5 topics:…

Since 1990, the literature has shown that prisoners who attend educational programs while they are incarcerated are less likely to return to prison following their release. Studies in several states have indicated that recidivism rates have declined where inmates have received an appropriate education. Furthermore, the right kind of educational…

In this article, the author describes the San Francisco Sheriff's Department (SFSD) Life Skills for Prisoners Program. The program was designed to enhance and expand the Resolve to Stop the Violence Project, which had operated successfully for three years in the San Francisco County Jail as a restorative justice program. The mission of SFSD is to…

In this column, Linton discusses First Lady Laura Bush's remarks on the special issues faced by boys in contemporary America. Among other things, Linton talks about the Neglected and Delinquent Technical Assistance Center's Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports approach addressing behavioral issues that block school performance and…

This practice parameter presents recommendations for the mental health assessment and treatment of youths in juvenile detention and correctional facilities. Mental and substance-related disorders are significant public health problems affecting youths in juvenile justice settings. Sufficient time is necessary to conduct a comprehensive diagnostic…

This longitudinal study examines the effect of sons' incarceration on their mothers' psychological distress. Interviews were conducted over the life course with a community cohort of African American mothers who had children in first grade in 1966-1967 when the study began ("N"=615). Thirty years later, their sons had significant rates of…

Despite the dramatic increase in incarcerated mothers that has occurred in the past decades, there is a paucity of family research focusing on the children affected by maternal imprisonment. The present study investigated family environments and intellectual outcomes in 60 children between the ages of 2 and 7 years during their mothers'…

This study examined the psychosocial functioning of 100 adolescent females (ages 12-17) sentenced to secure care in a southeastern state and the impact of a gender-specific, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention on the psychosocial functioning of subjects who reported a history of sexual abuse. The Multidimensional Adolescent Assessment…

In this paper we offer an overview of reintegration policies in both Australia and New Zealand. We describe the rehabilitative practices of both countries, and their basis in the Risk-Needs-Responsivity model of offender rehabilitation, before outlining the recently developed Good Lives Model of offender rehabilitation. Our conclusion is that the…

Rehabilitative and reintegrative correctional philosophies see prison inmate college education as an effective approach to reduction of offender recidivism rate. The provision of prison-based college education Pell Grants by Congress were part and parcel of these correctional philosophies. This study critically and rigorously examines the history…

There has been little empirical research regarding the needs of family members of incarcerated male alcohol and drug offenders. This study surveyed the perceptions of eighty-five family members using FACES II, Quality of Life, and Quality of Counseling Services instruments. Statistically significant results yielded a relationship between…

Treatment avoidance or help-negation has been described in clinical and non-clinical samples, in response to real or imagined suicidal scenarios (Carlton & Deane, 2000; Rudd, Joiner & Rajab, 1995). The aims of the present study were to describe the process of seeking psychological help in prison based on inmate interviews and to assess the…

Reentry of formerly incarcerated individuals into society is an experience that must be negotiated not only by the former prisoner, but also by many other actors. Research has examined the pre-prison experiences, the incarceration experiences, and the post-release behavior of former prisoners, focusing on how such experiences affect the…

Sexually abusive behaviours are common in a forensic psychiatric population, both before admission and while hospitalized. A survey of our medium security facility found that 41% of patients had a history of sexually abusive behaviours, ranging from convictions for sexual assault through to current episodes of sexual harassment. Most forensic…