NCJ Number
136198
Date Published
1991
Length
63 pages
Annotation
This report of the Maine Task Force on Female Offenders assesses the quality of services and programs for female inmates, parolees, and probationers and offers recommendations for improvement.
Abstract
Subcommittees of the Task Force assessed health services, policies and procedures, prerelease programs/community placement/educational programs, and security. The Task Force generally concluded that the Department of Corrections' policies, procedures, and practices are more responsive to the needs and the numbers of male offenders than to female offenders. Among corrections administrators there has been an attitude of benign neglect toward female offenders, aggravated by the perception that female offenders are more troublesome than male offenders. The Task Force found instances of unequal treatment of male and female offenders especially in the areas of recreation, medical services, housing, and program availability. The Task Force advocates a philosophy for the management of female offenders that acknowledges the inherent differences between males and female, that has no expectations that females will become like males, and that affirms the needs of females to have the same priority as those of males. The report offers specific recommendations to improve services and programs for female inmates at the Maine Youth Center and the Maine Correctional Center. Recommendations also cover the probation and parole conditions and services for females. 4 tables, 1 graph, and appended supplementary information