NCJ Number
199261
Journal
Offender Programs Report Volume: 5 Issue: 6 Dated: March/April 2002 Pages: 81-82,88,92
Date Published
March 2002
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article presents the substantive contents of papers presented at this conference and discusses future prospects for the "What Works" movement.
Abstract
The topic of this conference was "What Works: Offenders Reintegration and Reentry Into the Family." The six major presentations at the conference, all of which were commissioned by the International Community Corrections Association (ICCA), are summarized in this article. The complex relationship between Church and State is reviewed, as it relates to faith-based programming, and the presenters argue against a reductionist perspective on this type of correctional programming. Parenting programs for incarcerated mothers and fathers are presented as providing small but positive evidence for their effectiveness, with the potential for transformative effects on individual lives. Some of the content and strategies contained in these parenting programs are described. A critical perspective is provided concerning the children of prisoners, noting that outcome goals as identified by observing the children themselves must be determined before designing programs. Barriers to research, such as the traumatization that has been experienced by the children of prisoners, are discussed. The reintegration of the offender to the family was the subject of a presentation that included a review of several promising program models and approaches, including restorative justice and family support. Other topics presented were related to family violence, which included profiles of abusive men and treatment interventions; and mentoring programs for juvenile and adult offenders. In conclusion, the future of this movement is described as being dependent upon an energetic reevaluation of the extensive use of institutional and non-institutional corrections programs and their negative effects on the interventions devised by the "What Works" movement to reintegrate offenders into their community and family.