Chapter 14
Institutional
Programs
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
Institutional Programs
 Managing
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Constraints of Security
The Principle of Least Eligibility
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The Classification Process
Objective Classification Systems
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Psychological Programs
Behavior Therapy
Social Therapy
Educational and Vocational Programs
Substance Abuse Programs
Religious Programs
The Rediscovery of Correctional Rehabilitation
 Classification
 Rehabilitative
Programs
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
Institutional Programs Cont.
 Prison
 Prison
Medical Services
Industry
The Contract labor, Piece Price, and Lease
Systems
 The Public Account System
 The State-Use System
 The Public Works and Ways System
 Prison Industry Today

 Prison
 Prison
 Prison
Maintenance Programs
Recreational Programs
Programming Reconsidered
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“Prison program”
 any
formal, structured activity
that takes prisoners out of
their cells and sets them to
instrumental tasks
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“Principle of least eligibility”
the
doctrine that prisoners
ought to receive no goods or
services in excess of those
available to people who have
lived within the law
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
Benefits of institutional programs
 help manage time
 improve inmates’ lives
 improve likelihood of parole
 reduce inmate boredom, tension, hostility
 maintain safety and security of prison
 produce goods & services
 keep prison functional and operating
 offer incentives for good inmate behavior
 keep prison time from becoming ‘dead time’
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
5 types of prison programs
rehabilitative programs
increase likelihood inmates
will lead a crime-free life
upon release
medical programs
provide medical
services to inmates
maintenance programs
recreational programs
provide organized social,
physical, & intellectual
leisure activities
industrial programs
production of sellable
goods & services outside
prison, in “free” market
provide services essential to
upkeep & operation of
prison
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
Factors limiting potential prison
programs
 security
need to minimize ability of inmates to obtain
weapons or contraband
 also limits potential effectiveness of some
programs (e.g., group therapy) which require
meaningful inmate interaction

 principle
of least eligibility


prisoners can’t have it ‘better’ than citizens
e.g., elimination of inmate Pell grants (college)

risk of escape, violence, future criminality
 classification
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“classification”
a
process by which prisoners are assigned
to types of custody (i.e., specific prisons,
as well as the level of supervision within a
prison), and treatment programs
 classification determines:
 which prison inmate is sent to
 housing assignment
 work assignment
 availability of treatment programs
 amount of good time available (e.g.,
Colorado)
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
conflicting concerns in
classification process
offender
RISK
factors:
testing &
diagnostics
to
determine
offender
NEEDS
1.) Age
2.) Offense severity
3.) Prior prison record
dangerousness
factors:
batteries of tests
psychiatric eval’s
counseling
= Management tool
to ‘group’ inmates
appropriately
= Diagnostic tool to
identify inmate
treatment needs
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
new “objective”
classification systems
predictive
models
use statistical
techniques to
identify
classification
factors
alternative
systems
which seek to
remove
subjective
judgments by
classifier
•risk of escape
•risk of misconduct
•risk of future crime
1. each factor is assigned points.
2. total points defines security level
equitybased
models
use explicitly
defined legal
variables as
classification
factors
•offense
•various criminal
characteristics
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
rehabilitative programs
religious
psychological
behavioral
social
to reform
offender’s
behavior
substance
abuse
educational &
vocational
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“psychotherapy”

in general terms, all forms of
“treatment of the mind,” i.e., in which
therapy address the individual’s
thoughts and emotions; in the prison
setting, these therapies are coercive
in nature.
most
experts agree that mental
abnormalities play an insignificant role
in criminality of most offenders.
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
Myths in Corrections
 The
Myth: Judges should send people
to prison to get rehabilitation
programs.
 The
Reality: Rehabilitation programs
offered in the community are twice as
effective at reducing recidivism as
those same programs offered in
prison. (See Figure 14.1: Programs in
Prison vs. the Community)
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“coercive therapy”
 treatment
in which the therapist
determines the need for (and the
goals of) treatment processes,
whether or not the client agrees
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“group treatment”
 therapy
for which the setting is a
group of individuals who are seen
as having the same or similar
problems or needs; designed to
be highly interactive, often
confrontational, as members of
the group comprise essential
elements of the therapy
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
types of group therapy
used in prison
reality
therapy
transactional
analysis
therapies
focusing on
thought
processes
confrontational
therapy
(a technique)
cognitive skill
building
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“reality therapy”
 treatment
emphasizing an
offender’s personal responsibility
for actions and the very real
consequences of their actions for themselves and others
aim:
get individual to behave more
responsibly
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“confrontational
therapy”

a treatment technique, usually used in
a group, that vividly brings offender
face to face with consequences of the
crimes for victim & society
group
members encouraged to confront
each other’s rationalizations and
manipulations
aim: get offenders to give up
manipulative rationalizations and accept
responsibility for harms they caused
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“transactional
analysis”

treatment focusing on how a person
interacts with others, focusing on
patterns that indicate personal
problems
focus
is on roles people play; 3 ego states
 parent: judging and controlling
 adult: mature, realistic, and ethical
 child: playful, dependent, naughty
aim:
help offenders realize their problems
stem from approaching world as an angry
parent or weak child, rather than as a
responsible adult
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“cognitive skill
building”

a form of behavior therapy focusing on
changing the thinking & reasoning
patterns that accompany criminal
behavior
also called “cognitive restructuring”
belief is that offenders develop antisocial
patterns of reasoning that make them
believe criminal behavior makes sense
aim: to teach offenders new ways to
think about themselves and their actions
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“behavior
therapy”
 treatment
that induces new behaviors through
reinforcements (rewards & punishments), role
modeling, etc.
 belief:
crime is not so much a product of the
makeup of the individual as it is his/her responses
to problems in the environment
 belief: behavior is learned
 aim: change person’s behavior (not person’s mind
or emotions) by manipulating payoffs
 target of behavior change: not criminality, but
problem behaviors surrounding criminal lifestyle-verbal manipulation, rationalization, anger control,
frustration, deficient social skills
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“token economy”

a type of behavior therapy that uses
payments (such as tokens) to
reinforce desirable behaviors in an
institutional environment
certain
benefits (e.g., TV, privileges,
free time) must be “purchased” with
tokens
offender receives tokens as rewards for
appropriate behavior and task
completion
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“social therapy”
“milieu therapy” / “positive peer culture”
 treatment
that attempts to make the
institutional environment supportive of
prosocial attitudes & behaviors
beliefs:
 offenders learn lawbreaking values & behaviors in
social settings from peers to whom they attach
importance
 true change occurs when offenders take
responsibility for social climate in which they live
 aims:
 develop prosocial environment within prison to
help offender develop noncriminal ways of coping
 make prison operations more democratic
 develop inmate culture that promotes law-abiding
lifestyle


Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
social therapy (cont’d)
 requirements:
institutional practices = democratic, ≠
bureaucratic
 programs must focus on treatment, not
custody
 humanitarian concerns > institutional routines
 flexibility > rigidity

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“vocational
rehabilitation”
 prison
programming designed to teach
inmates cognitive & vocational skills to
help them find & keep employment on
release
 education
 >200,000 inmates participate
 ABE (Adult Basic Education)
 GED (General Equivalency Diploma)
 college: Pell grants no longer available to
prisoners
 vocational
training
 irrelevant skills; obsolete equipment
 inmates lack skills to get & keep job
punctuality, accountability, deference to supervisors,
cordiality to co-workers, how to find a job, do interview
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“civil disabilities”
 legal
restrictions that prevent released
felons from voting, holding elective office,
engaging in certain professions &
occupations, & associating with known
offenders
 6,000 occupations are licensed in  1 states
 barred occupations include (in some states):
 nurse, barber, beautician, real estate, chauffeur,
cashier, insurance salesman, stenographer,
worker where alcoholic beverages are sold
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
prison industry programs
contract labor
system
lease system
piece price
public
account
system
teach job
skills;
produce
goods &
services
public works
& ways
system
state use
system
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“contract labor”
system

the type of system under which
inmates’ labor was sold on a
contractual basis to private
employers, who provided the
machinery and raw materials, with
which inmates made salable
products, either inside or outside of
the institution, to be sold on the open
market
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“piece price system”

a contract labor system under which
a contractor provided raw materials
and agreed to purchase goods (made
by prison inmates) at a preestablished price
tended
to be extremely exploitative, as
inmates often worked in sweatshops,
returning to prison at night
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“lease system”
 another
contract labor system which is a
variation on the piece price system in
which the contractor maintained the
prisoners (often outside of the institution),
providing them with food and clothing, in
addition to providing the raw materials for
the work performed.
 inmates
were often required to work 12 to 16
hours at a stretch.
 In some southern states, prisoners were
leased to agricultural producers to perform
field labor.
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
leading causes of State prisoner
deaths, 2001-04
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“public account system”

a labor system under which a prison
bought machinery and raw materials
with which prison inmates
manufactured a salable product
1909:
Oklahoma led the way, in twine
industry
Minnesota, Wisconsin followed
Okla. defrayed 2/3 cost of prison
operations
corruption ended the practice
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“state use system”

a labor system under which goods
and services produced by prison
labor inside the institution are
purchased exclusively by state
agencies and tax-supported
institutions; such goods never enter
the ‘free market’
currently,
the most common form of
prison industry
e.g., California
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“public works & ways system”

a labor system under which prison
inmates work on public construction
and maintenance projects (e.g., filling
potholes, building & repairing
buildings & bridges, working in the
community on various projects), for
which the institution receives a fee
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
evolution of prison industry
 private


use of inmate labor vanishes: 1885-1940


exploitative
reminiscent of plantation slavery

1929: Hawes-Cooper Act



by 1940: all states ban imports of prison goods
WWII: FDR demands prison goods for war effort
Truman revokes FDR order
labor movement: laws restrict sale of prison goods
 bans prison-made goods from interstate commerce
1973 report: few inmates have productive work
- National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
prison industry (cont’d)
 1979:
support for prison labor returns
Congress lifts restrictions on sale of prison
goods
 Free Venture program (LEAA)- funds 7 states
develop industries with following requirements:
 full work week for inmates
 wages based on productivity
 productivity standards from private sector
 industry-not prison-staff to hire & fire
inmates
 self-sufficient or profitable operations
 postrelease job placement mechanism

 1994:
16 states in Free Venture program
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
substance abuse programs
 crime-drug


abuse link is strong!
50-80% arrestees test positive for drugs
50-75% of them need drug treatment
 1993: 1.1 mill. offenders in drug/alcoh trtmt
 treatment difficult; high “failure” rate
 elements of successful treatment programs
occur in phases (residential phase = 6-12 mo.)
participants earn privileges in therapeutic
setting
 use multiple treatment modalities
 residential staff & community officials closely
coordinate plans for release
 treatment continues after release (group
therapy, drug testing)


Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
‘Prison Blues®’ sportswear: Eastern
Oregon Correctional Institution



produced by inmates for the general public
inmates earn prevailing industry wage
Prison Blues® managed by Unigroup Corp.
85% of wage deducted for:
• victim restitution
• child support
• incarceration costs
• court costs
• taxes
15% of wage available for:
• canteen
• voluntary family support
• savings (available at release)
“MADE ON THE INSIDE
TO BE WORN ON THE OUTSIDE”
logo of Prison Blues® http://prisonblues.com
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
Prison maintenance programs
fire
dept.
electrical
clerical,
records
mail
Maintain
& operate
prison
plumbing
food
service
janitorial
laundry
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
prison recreation programs
hobby
shop
sports
weight
training
music
reform
offender
behavior
journalism
drama
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th