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Long-Term Inmates: A Preliminary Look at Their Programming Needs and Adjustment Patterns

NCJ Number
133428
Journal
Federal Prisons Journal Volume: 2 Issue: 3 Dated: special issue (Summer 1991) Pages: 61-64
Author(s)
J G Gordon; S Wallace
Date Published
1991
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Federal Bureau of Prison researchers interviewed a random sample of 53 men and 8 women longtermers at the U.S. Penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania and the Federal Correctional Institution in Marianna, Florida to gather inmate views on programs and services available to them, adjustment and coping issues of concern to them, and what motivates them as well as to identify whether there is interest in a prison "career plan" for long-termers.
Abstract
Long-term prison inmates identify one of their most important concerns as the contact they maintain with family and friends, and many express an interest in more programs and activities. Another problem long-termers report is their desire to avoid a sense of isolation in prison, but simultaneously to stay out of trouble. Inmates value prison jobs and any program involvement that keeps them well-occupied. Programs inmates specify they want access to include more comprehensive prerelease training, programs for people with college degrees, various clubs, more counseling opportunities, more drug treatment programs, and more programs focusing on music and arts and crafts. 1 table