From Prison to Home: The Effect of Incarceration and Reentry on Children, Families, and Communities: The Skill Sets and Health Care Needs of Released Offenders

• NCJ Number: 207516
• Author(s): Gerald G. Gaes Ph.D.; Newton Kendig M.D.
• Date Published: January 2002
• Length: 33 pages
• Sale Source: US Dept of Health and Human Services
• Publication Format: Document (Online)
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Downloaded on November 4, 2004.

Annotation

This paper examines the needs of inmates and programs to address those needs in relation to skill and medical/mental health needs of released offenders, as well as barriers associated with achieving these needs upon release.

Abstract

The successful reintegration of offenders released from prison includes having the necessary skill sets and health care. Skill sets imply mastery and competence, emphasizing the interaction of training or teaching in conjunction with the individual’s proficiency and achievement or the role of the offender in their successful reintegration. This paper discusses both skill sets and medical/mental health needs of inmates released and the barriers encountered both within the criminal justice system and the community. This paper is divided into six primary sections. The first section reviews the literature on skill sets with the introduction of a classification of these skills. The classification provides a framework for understanding, assessing, and remediating skill deficiencies. The paper continues with a review of the literature on in-prison programs designed to address the identified deficiencies. Drawing on data from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, as well as a study completed by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, the third section outlines the health and mental health needs of inmates returning to the community. The fourth section discusses the barriers to addressing inmate skill deficiencies and medical needs from a criminal justice policy perspective, as well as from a community perspective. The fifth section examines the role of the inmate as a parent in the reintegration process. The final section of the paper discusses the “what works” model which focuses on interventions that address primarily the propensity to commit crime. Specifically, a self-help model of behavior or the strength-based reentry philosophy is discussed which emphasizes the individual as an asset to his/her community, as well as the control/service model where the inmate builds his/her skills under the direction and supervision of service provision agents while being monitored by control agents. References