NCJ Number
70450
Date Published
1977
Length
143 pages
Annotation
This study decribes a social adjustment program offered to a select group of 14 black inmates between the ages of 18 and 30 at the Wisconsin State Prison Farm.
Abstract
The program guides were the assumptions that the purpose of prison is to reform or rehabilitate--to motivate inmates to become socialized citizens; that social education would reorient the incarcerateds with socially acceptable attitudes and values of open society; and that the application of these attitudes and vales would be advantageous to the inmate within the prison environment. Program emphasis was placed on two major items: understanding of self and new information which was presented for cognitive and affective value. The 14 inmates, selected by prison officials and the program coordinator were black adult males residing in the minimum-security prison camp. They were scheduled for review by the parole board. The program's purpose was to provide learning opportunities that would assist the men to function more adequately within the prison. The program involved the group in administrative planning, needs assessment, format, formulation selection of resources and teaching sites, and involvement in program evaluation. Personal interviews, conferences, consultation, and questionnaires were used to gain information about the inmates' learning objectives, philosophies of life, and self-images. Prison personnel were also questioned on course content and its benefits, the overall needs of the program inmates, and specific recommendations for effecting adjustment inside and outside the institution. A program was constructed around this and included personal and interpersonal development, basic knowledge of social problems, social relations, and legal factors and life-planning activities. Group and personal counseling reinforced the course offerings. Evaluation of the program showed that inmates identified more with socially acceptable behavior patterns and attitudes after completing the program and that the program had a favorable effect on the participants. The study recommends that a social adjustment program be instituted as part of the total program for prisoner rehabilitation since such programs may well reduce the overall cost of crime and confinement. Seventy-five footnotes, over 50 references, and tables, figures, and appendixes containing program materials, are provided. (Author abstract modified)