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South Carolina Strives To Treat Elderly and Disabled Offenders

NCJ Number
132049
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 53 Issue: 5 Dated: (August 1991) Pages: 124,126,127
Author(s)
J C Anderson; R D McGehee
Date Published
1991
Length
3 pages
Annotation
The State Park Correctional Center in Columbia, S.C., is a minimum-security facility that has a 120-bed geriatric and handicapped unit for men and women tailored to their special needs and interests.
Abstract
The program is informal but structured. Residents are required to care for their rooms; attend meals, sick call, and activities; and to get out of bed and stay dressed throughout the day. Primary staff concerns are medical care, individualized programming, death and loss counseling, and transitional planning. Skilled nursing care in a nursing home is not provided in the facility. Individualized programming is central, because the population has diverse interests and abilities. Instead of traditional inmate vocational activities, the emphasis is on leisure activities that can later be translated into a cottage industry, part-time work, or a recreational outlet. Inmates perform gardening, woodworking, basketry, and other crafts. Death and loss experiences must be addressed daily, and aging and the resulting medical difficulties constantly remind inmates of life's frailty. Release planning is especially challenging, since many residents are unable to hold full-time jobs, often a stipulation of parole, and have no supportive family or place to live.