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Defining Correctional Programs

NCJ Number
185805
Journal
Forum on Corrections Research Volume: 12 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2000 Pages: 5-9
Author(s)
James McGuire
Date Published
May 2000
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article examines what correctional staff and researchers mean when they talk about a program.
Abstract
In its first, strictest terms, a correctional program is a planned sequence of learning opportunities delivered to adjudicated offenders with the general objective of reducing their subsequent criminal recidivism. In corrections, the word program is also used in a second, broader, and more flexible sense that includes mentoring schemes for young offenders and therapeutic communities for substance-abusing offenders. A potential third definition of "program" is an intervention containing six separate but overlapping groups: incapacitation; deterrence; rehabilitation; community restraints; structure, discipline, and challenge; and combining rehabilitation and restraint. The article discusses varieties of offender programs, target population, safeguarding integrity, accreditation process, and program implementation and delivery. Dimensions of variation in programs include: theoretical model, treatment targets, dosage, criminal justice setting, sentencing context, specificity, and program portfolios. Notes