NCJ Number
89482
Journal
Corrections Magazine Volume: 9 Issue: 3 Dated: (June 1983) Pages: 41-49
Date Published
1983
Length
9 pages
Annotation
The Alston Wilkes Society (AWS) is a private, nonprofit organization with chapters in cities throughout South Carolina which provide services to present and former inmates and their families.
Abstract
AWS, the largest statewide prisoner support organization in the United States, with a budget of $918,000 and a staff of 50, operates two halfway houses, runs a prison visitation program, arbitrates prisoner grievances, maintains a youth home, helps ex-inmates find work, and provides social services to inmates' families. With 6,000 dues-paying members throughout the State, AWS is also a potent lobbying force on correctional issues, although the provision of direct services to offenders and their families is AWS' primary mission. A majority of the members of the State corrections board are society members, and AWS employees who work with inmates have department identification badges granting them unrestricted access to institutions. While programs for current inmates and their families are generally run by volunteers recruited from churches, the society's paid staff focuses on community correctional services. The services provide support for ex-inmates, but a structure of responsibility is set for the ex-inmate so it is clear that he/she is expected to become self-reliant within a short time after leaving prison. AWS employees work at developing job opportunities for ex-inmates, but the clients are expected to obtain and retain their jobs through their skills and dependability.