Background information is provided on the juvenile and adult justice systems and processes and correctional education and training opportunities for delinquents and criminal offenders. The handicapped offender population and its special needs are discussed, and legislation and litigation regarding the provision of special education in correctional settings are reviewed. Identification, representation, characteristics, assessment, and programming for handicapped offenders are considered with respect to the mentally retarded, the learning disabled, and the behaviorally disordered. Relationships between these handicaps and delinquency/criminality also are discussed. Functional evaluation in correctional settings is discussed, and specific assessments are outlined for program planning and implementation. Examples are provided for functional, prevocational, and social curricula in correctional special education. Issues related to the transition of young offenders from correctional facilities to the public schools are discussed, and a program to ease this transition is described. Finally, special education settings are characterized, the necessary professional skills and competencies of the special educator are delineated, and the nature of teaching in correctional settings is described. Vignettes provide case study information, personal perspectives, and program descriptions. Chapter figures and references and subject and name indexed. See NCJ 113064-113072.