NCJ Number
156859
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 57 Issue: 5 Dated: (August 1995) Pages: 90,92-93
Date Published
1995
Length
3 pages
Annotation
The development of corrections standards and accreditation evolved from principles adopted at the first national gathering of corrections workers in 1870.
Abstract
The document from the 1870 meeting was a philosophical concept paper expressing 37 principles. These compassionate concepts used elegant language but were too intangible to serve as definitions of measurable and specific conditions. Although they expressed ideals, they did not appear to have any impact on prisons. Their conversion to workable standards did not occur for 75 years. Prison riots, the willingness of courts to accept lawsuits against prisons, and a trend toward unification in the administration of State government agencies all contributed to the development of the standards. During the 1960's the idea of accreditation began to receive serious discussion. The executive secretary of the American Correctional Association obtained grants to fund a 2-year project, which proposed a design for the prospective Commission on Accreditation for Corrections. The 20 members of the first Commission were appointed in 1974. The new standards used specific and measurable terms. In 1978, the first accreditation awards went to four halfway houses. By 1995, more than 1,400 correctional programs and institutions were involved in accreditation. Photograph