NCJ Number
174827
Date Published
1995
Length
27 pages
Annotation
The Education Department of the Dauphin County Prison in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, has developed an innovative life skills program referred to as LASER (Life, Attitude, Skills, Education, and Retraining) to increase male inmate awareness of positive choices outside incarceration and to reduce recidivism among program participants.
Abstract
The LASER program is designed to be easily implemented by other institutions. Curriculum guides have been developed that deal with stress and anger management, interpersonal and family relationships, drug and alcohol awareness, self-development, and vocational training. Each guide contains lesson plans that include materials and activities for both instructors and participants. Specific LASER program objectives are to teach offenders new ways of relating to self, family, and community; to introduce innovative programs that can be used by other institutions; to improve educational and vocational skills; to enhance offender self-esteem; to decrease recidivism among LASER graduates; and to make the community aware of the LASER program and ease the transition of LASER graduates into the community after release from the Dauphin County Prison. An evaluation indicates the LASER program has made significant strides toward meeting these objectives during 2 years of program operation. Problems encountered during the conduct of the program and planned improvements are noted.