1. Institutional Programs
Chapter 14
Institutional Programs

2. Institutional Programs
Managing
Constraints of Security
The Principle of Least Eligibility
Classification
The Classification Process
Objective Classification Systems
Rehabilitative Programs
Psychological Programs
Behavior Therapy
Social Therapy
Educational and Vocational Programs
Substance Abuse Programs
Religious Programs
The Rediscovery of Correctional Rehabilitation

3. Institutional Programs Cont.
Prison Medical Services
Prison Industry
The Contract labor, Piece Price, and Lease Systems
The Public Account System
The State-Use System
The Public Works and Ways System
Prison Industry Today
Prison Maintenance Programs
Prison Recreational Programs
Prison Programming Reconsidered

4. “Prison program”
any formal, structured activity that takes prisoners out of their cells and sets them to instrumental tasks

5. “Principle of least eligibility”
the doctrine that prisoners ought to receive no goods or services in excess of those available to people who have lived within the law

6. Benefits of institutional programs
help manage time
improve inmates’ lives
improve likelihood of parole
reduce inmate boredom, tension, hostility
maintain safety and security of prison
produce goods & services
keep prison functional and operating
offer incentives for good inmate behavior
keep prison time from becoming ‘dead time’

7. 5 types of prison programs
rehabilitative programs
increase likelihood inmates will lead a crime-free life upon release
recreational programs
provide organized social, physical, & intellectual leisure activities
medical programs
provide medical services to inmates
industrial programs
production of sellable goods & services outside prison, in “free” market
maintenance programs
provide services essential to upkeep & operation of prison

8. Factors limiting potential prison programs
security
need to minimize ability of inmates to obtain weapons or contraband
also limits potential effectiveness of some programs (e.g., group therapy) which require meaningful inmate interaction
principle of least eligibility
prisoners can’t have it ‘better’ than citizens
e.g., elimination of inmate Pell grants (college)
classification
risk of escape, violence, future criminality

9. “classification”
a process by which prisoners are assigned to types of custody (i.e., specific prisons, as well as the level of supervision within a prison), and treatment programs
classification determines:
which prison inmate is sent to
housing assignment
work assignment
availability of treatment programs
amount of good time available (e.g., Colorado)

10. conflicting concerns in classification process
offender RISK
offender NEEDS
testing & diagnostics to determine
factors:
1.) Age
2.) Offense severity
3.) Prior prison record
dangerousness
factors:
batteries of tests
psychiatric eval’s
counseling
= Management tool to ‘group’ inmates appropriately
= Diagnostic tool to identify inmate treatment needs

11. new “objective” classification systems
predictive models
use statistical techniques to identify classification factors
alternative systems which seek to remove subjective judgments by classifier
equity- based models
use explicitly defined legal variables as classification factors
risk of escape
risk of misconduct
risk of future crime
offense
various criminal characteristics
1. each factor is assigned points.
2. total points defines security level

12. rehabilitative programs
psychological
religious
to reform offender’s behavior
behavioral
substance abuse
social
educational &
vocational

13. “psychotherapy”
in general terms, all forms of “treatment of the mind,” i.e., in which therapy address the individual’s thoughts and emotions; in the prison setting, these therapies are coercive in nature.
most experts agree that mental abnormalities play an insignificant role in criminality of most offenders.

14. Myths in Corrections
The Myth: Judges should send people to prison to get rehabilitation programs.
The Reality: Rehabilitation programs offered in the community are twice as effective at reducing recidivism as those same programs offered in prison. (See Figure 14.1: Programs in Prison vs. the Community)

15. “coercive therapy”
treatment in which the therapist determines the need for (and the goals of) treatment processes, whether or not the client agrees

16. “group treatment”
therapy for which the setting is a group of individuals who are seen as having the same or similar problems or needs; designed to be highly interactive, often confrontational, as members of the group comprise essential elements of the therapy

17. types of group therapy used in prison
reality therapy
transactional analysis
therapies
focusing on thought processes
confrontational therapy
(a technique)
cognitive skill building

18. “reality therapy”
treatment emphasizing an offender’s personal responsibility for actions and the very real consequences of their actions - for themselves and others
aim: get individual to behave more responsibly

19. “confrontational therapy”
a treatment technique, usually used in a group, that vividly brings offender face to face with consequences of the crimes for victim & society
group members encouraged to confront each other’s rationalizations and manipulations
aim: get offenders to give up manipulative rationalizations and accept responsibility for harms they caused

20. “transactional analysis”
treatment focusing on how a person interacts with others, focusing on patterns that indicate personal problems
focus is on roles people play; 3 ego states
parent: judging and controlling
adult: mature, realistic, and ethical
child: playful, dependent, naughty
aim: help offenders realize their problems stem from approaching world as an angry parent or weak child, rather than as a responsible adult

21. “cognitive skill building”
a form of behavior therapy focusing on changing the thinking & reasoning patterns that accompany criminal behavior
also called “cognitive restructuring”
belief is that offenders develop antisocial patterns of reasoning that make them believe criminal behavior makes sense
aim: to teach offenders new ways to think about themselves and their actions

22. “behavior therapy”
treatment that induces new behaviors through reinforcements (rewards & punishments), role modeling, etc.
belief: crime is not so much a product of the makeup of the individual as it is his/her responses to problems in the environment
belief: behavior is learned
aim: change person’s behavior (not person’s mind or emotions) by manipulating payoffs
target of behavior change: not criminality, but problem behaviors surrounding criminal lifestyle--verbal manipulation, rationalization, anger control, frustration, deficient social skills

23. “token economy”
a type of behavior therapy that uses payments (such as tokens) to reinforce desirable behaviors in an institutional environment
certain benefits (e.g., TV, privileges, free time) must be “purchased” with tokens
offender receives tokens as rewards for appropriate behavior and task completion

24. “social therapy” “milieu therapy” / “positive peer culture”
treatment that attempts to make the institutional environment supportive of prosocial attitudes & behaviors
beliefs:
offenders learn lawbreaking values & behaviors in social settings from peers to whom they attach importance
true change occurs when offenders take responsibility for social climate in which they live
aims:
develop prosocial environment within prison to help offender develop noncriminal ways of coping
make prison operations more democratic
develop inmate culture that promotes law-abiding lifestyle 

25. social therapy (cont’d)
requirements:
institutional practices = democratic, ≠ bureaucratic
programs must focus on treatment, not custody
humanitarian concerns > institutional routines
flexibility > rigidity

26. “vocational rehabilitation”
prison programming designed to teach inmates cognitive & vocational skills to help them find & keep employment on release
education
>200,000 inmates participate
ABE (Adult Basic Education)
GED (General Equivalency Diploma)
college: Pell grants no longer available to prisoners
vocational training
irrelevant skills; obsolete equipment
inmates lack skills to get & keep job
punctuality, accountability, deference to supervisors, cordiality to co-workers, how to find a job, do interview

27. “civil disabilities”
legal restrictions that prevent released felons from voting, holding elective office, engaging in certain professions & occupations, & associating with known offenders
6,000 occupations are licensed in  1 states
barred occupations include (in some states):
nurse, barber, beautician, real estate, chauffeur, cashier, insurance salesman, stenographer, worker where alcoholic beverages are sold

28. prison industry programs
public works & ways system
contract labor system
teach job skills; produce goods & services
lease system
piece price
public account system
state use system

29. “contract labor” system
the type of system under which inmates’ labor was sold on a contractual basis to private employers, who provided the machinery and raw materials, with which inmates made salable products, either inside or outside of the institution, to be sold on the open market

30. “piece price system”
a contract labor system under which a contractor provided raw materials and agreed to purchase goods (made by prison inmates) at a pre-established price
tended to be extremely exploitative, as inmates often worked in sweatshops, returning to prison at night

31. “lease system”
another contract labor system which is a variation on the piece price system in which the contractor maintained the prisoners (often outside of the institution), providing them with food and clothing, in addition to providing the raw materials for the work performed.
inmates were often required to work 12 to 16 hours at a stretch.
In some southern states, prisoners were leased to agricultural producers to perform field labor.

32. leading causes of State prisoner deaths, 2001-04

33. “public account system”
a labor system under which a prison bought machinery and raw materials with which prison inmates manufactured a salable product
1909: Oklahoma led the way, in twine industry
Minnesota, Wisconsin followed
Okla. defrayed 2/3 cost of prison operations
corruption ended the practice

34. “state use system”
a labor system under which goods and services produced by prison labor inside the institution are purchased exclusively by state agencies and tax-supported institutions; such goods never enter the ‘free market’
currently, the most common form of prison industry
e.g., California

35. “public works & ways system”
a labor system under which prison inmates work on public construction and maintenance projects (e.g., filling potholes, building & repairing buildings & bridges, working in the community on various projects), for which the institution receives a fee

36. evolution of prison industry
private use of inmate labor vanishes:
exploitative
reminiscent of plantation slavery
labor movement: laws restrict sale of prison goods
1929: Hawes-Cooper Act
bans prison-made goods from interstate commerce
by 1940: all states ban imports of prison goods
WWII: FDR demands prison goods for war effort
Truman revokes FDR order
1973 report: few inmates have productive work - National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals 

37. prison industry (cont’d)
1979: support for prison labor returns
Congress lifts restrictions on sale of prison goods
Free Venture program (LEAA)- funds 7 states
develop industries with following requirements:
full work week for inmates
wages based on productivity
productivity standards from private sector
industry-not prison-staff to hire & fire inmates
self-sufficient or profitable operations
postrelease job placement mechanism
1994: 16 states in Free Venture program

38. substance abuse programs
crime-drug abuse link is strong!
50-80% arrestees test positive for drugs
50-75% of them need drug treatment
1993: 1.1 mill. offenders in drug/alcoh trtmt
treatment difficult; high “failure” rate
elements of successful treatment programs
occur in phases (residential phase = 6-12 mo.)
participants earn privileges in therapeutic setting
use multiple treatment modalities
residential staff & community officials closely coordinate plans for release
treatment continues after release (group therapy, drug testing)

39. ‘Prison Blues®’ sportswear: Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution
produced by inmates for the general public
inmates earn prevailing industry wage
Prison Blues® managed by Unigroup Corp.
85% of wage deducted for:
victim restitution
child support
incarceration costs
court costs
taxes
15% of wage available for:
canteen
voluntary family support
savings (available at release)
“MADE ON THE INSIDE
TO BE WORN ON THE OUTSIDE”
logo of Prison Blues®

40. Prison maintenance programs
fire dept.
clerical, records
electrical
mail
Maintain & operate prison
plumbing
janitorial
food service
laundry

41. prison recreation programs
sports
hobby shop
reform offender behavior
weight training
journalism
music
drama