NCJ Number
83260
Date Published
Unknown
Length
41 pages
Annotation
This manual presents guidelines for volunteer services in correctional facilities in New York State, delineates the State's correctional volunteer services program, and profiles both offenders and volunteers.
Abstract
Following a brief history of the involvement of volunteers in rehabilitative services and programs for criminal offenders, the manual discusses new directions in corrections in New York State, including temporary release, community-based treatment centers, college programs, the family reunion program, and prerelease centers. New York's Correctional Volunteer Services Program began in 1972 and has become an integral part of the correctional facilities' program services. Reasons why civic-minded citizens might wish to become part of the volunteer program are personal satisfaction, public safety, and economics. Volunteers should have personal maturity, be able to live with frustration, and be able to cope with life's problems with a realistic approach. The manual discusses ex-offenders as volunteers, women as volunteers, and specific roles which volunteers assume. Specific opportunities for volunteers may be found in the areas of education, cultural/therapeutic programs, and advocacy. Guidelines for staff, volunteers, and inmates are given. Photographs, a map, a glossary, and about 80 references are provided.