DATA DERIVE FROM QUESTIONNAIRES ADMINISTERED TO TWO SAMPLES OF 34 AND 88 ORGANIZATIONS. SINCE THE LATE 19TH CENTURY THE CHARACTER OF PRISONER ASSISTANCE HAS BECOME MORE PROFESSIONAL. THE MAJORITY OF THE VOLUNTEERS ARE OFFICIALS OR STUDENTS BETWEEN 26- AND 50-YEARS-OLD AND THE PREDOMINANT FORM OF ORGANIZATION IS THE FORMAL ASSOCIATION. PRIVATE ASSISTANCE IS GUARANTEED TO PRISONERS BY LAW, AND THE LEGAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE ASSISTANT AND THE INSTITUTION, THE ASSISTANT AND THE PRISONER, AND THE INSTITUTION AND THE PRISONER ARE DEFINED IN VARIOUS LEGAL CODES. THE AIM OF SUCH ASSISTANCE IS SOCIAL REINTEGRATION OF PRISONERS AND PREVENTION OF RECIDIVISM BY PROVIDING OUTSIDE SOCIAL CONTACTS DESPITE SOME DANGER TO SECURITY. SPECIAL POSTRELEASE SERVICES MAY TAKE THE FORM OF ASSISTANCE IN FINDING HOUSING OR EMPLOYMENT, TEMPORARY LOANS, COUNSELING, OR PERSONAL CONTACTS. IN PRACTICE, IN-PRISON AND POSTRELEASE ASSISTANCE ARE USUALLY COMBINED. SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT AND ASSERTIVENESS TRAINING MAY BEGIN DURING IMPRISONMENT. CONFLICTS ARISE WHEN INSTITUTIONS AND ASSISTANTS FAIL TO MAKE THEIR POSITIONS CLEAR TO EACH OTHER AND TO TAKE ORGANIZATIONAL STEPS TO RESOLVE DISAGREEMENTS. VOLUNTEERS ARE MOST FREQUENTLY INVOLVED IN PRISONER ASSISTANCE THROUGH ACQUAINTANCES; THE MOST COMMON MOTIVES OF VOLUNTEERS FOR PARTICIPATION ARE CURIOSITY, ISOLATION, AND DESIRE FOR CONTACTS, AS WELL AS FRUSTRATION, COMPENSATION, AND THE HOPE OF GIVING MEANING TO THEIR LIVES THROUGH SOCIAL ACTIVITY OR OF PUTTING POLITICAL VIEWS INTO PRACTICE. MORAL IMPROVEMENT OF PRISONERS IS TO BE ACHIEVED THROUGH CLIENT-THERAPIST RELATIONSHIPS CHARACTERIZED BY BALANCE OF EMOTIONAL INVOLVEMENT AND DISTANCE, BY CONTINUITY AND DEPENDABILITY, AND BY TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION. SPECIAL TRAINING IN DISCUSSION TECHNIQUES AND PSYCHOLOGY ARE NEEDED BY MANY VOLUNTEERS. CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS ARE ENCOURAGED TO ACCEPT MORE ASSISTANCE FROM THE COMMUNITY AND TO DEVISE A PLAN FOR MATCHING PRISONERS WITH SUITABLE VOLUNTEERS. A BIBLIOGRAHY, NOTES, TABLES, AND AN APPENDIX CONTAINING A SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE ARE FURNISHED. --IN GERMAN. (KMD)