It is estimated that prison populations will increase by 6 percent year for the next 5 to 10 years; prison construction will cost the American taxpayer an estimated $70 billion over the next 30 years; the average cost of confining an inmate for 1 year in a State prison ranges between $15,000 and $20,000; and the annual cost to the American public of this incarceration is over $9.2 billion. Obstacles to new approaches to corrections are discussed, including lack of a voice of national significance calling attention to the criminogenic nature of prisons; instability in leadership caused by political appointments; simplistic correctional theories by scholars; correctional research that disregards human dynamics; and the huge size of correctional institutions, which makes surveillance difficult and allows predators to prey on weaker prisoners. Recommendations for changing the direction of corrections in the next few decades include halting construction of huge prison facilities which become 'schools for crime;' developing small, more open correctional facilities for nonviolent adult offenders; and reinstating major Federal anticrime funding to match State appropriations. 54 references.