With the changing composition, sentence lengths, and size of the inmate population, it is reasonable to question whether inmates with longer sentences will continue to be seen as a stabilizing influence in the prison. There is a need for the development of "career planning" programs for long-term inmates whose programming needs and concerns may be quite different from those of inmates with shorter sentences. However, a major issue that will need to be resolved is the definition of a long-term inmate. A study is proposed where the impact on both "new law" and "old law" long-termers will be examined by institutional adjustment measures such as disciplinary actions, education program participation, medical services used, and psychological adjustment measures. 12 tables