NCJ Number
88327
Date Published
1982
Length
14 pages
Annotation
South Carolina's Special Learning Unit for Developmentally Disabled Offenders provides a semisheltered environment and a comprehensive treatment program for severely developmentally disabled offenders.
Abstract
The goals of the Special Learning Unit (SLU) are to increase the personal, social, and cognitive skills which will enable developmentally disabled offenders to adapt to the prison environment and the community in a positive way. Referrals to the SLU are made by assessment staff at the two intake centers and by corrections institutional treatment, classification, or administrative personnel. To be eligible for participation in the SLU, an offender must have an I.Q. not greater than 70 or exhibit a severe inadequacy in personal and social adaptive skills. Since the program is limited to 25 clients, only those with the most severe disabilities are accepted. During the first few weeks in the program, the client's strengths and weaknesses are assessed. Evaluations determine current academic achievement, motivation to acquire new academic skills, and academic potential. Following the assessment, habilitation plans are developed and implemented sequentially from the most immediate, basic skills to the more complex skills of independent living. The program combines academic training, life skills training, vocational training, counseling, and recreation to enhance the clients' cognitive, social, and vocational skills. Vocational training is limited, since it only involves janitorial services, greenhouse work, and landscaping. Since the program is set in a medium/maximum security prison, the application of life skills to an environment approximating the community is limited. Six notes are listed.