ASSISTANCE IS NOT ONLY MATERIAL BUT ENTAILS COUNSELING, SOCIAL REINTEGRATION, AND AID IN FORMATION OF NEW SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS AND IN ACHIEVEMENT OF SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE. ASSISTANCE, ESPECIALLY MAINTENANCE OF SOCIAL AND FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS, SHOULD BEGIN AT THE POINT OF INCARCERATION, AS IMPRISONMENT TENDS TO CAUSE PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTURBANCES IN OFFENDERS AND TO DISRUPT FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS. SOCIAL WORKERS PROVIDE HELP IN KEEPING UP INMATES' OUTSIDE CONTACTS AND IN COUNSELING AND TREATING INMATES. ACCORDING TO THE THEORETICAL PRINCIPLES UNDER WHICH SOCIAL WORKERS OPERATE, INMATES ARE ISOLATED FROM THEIR SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT AND ARE UNABLE TO SOLVE PROBLEMS INVOLVING FAMILY OR FRIENDS, SO THAT ASSISTANCE WITH THESE OUTSIDE PROBLEMS HELPS INMATES, TOO. THE INMATES' FAMILIES MUST ALSO ADJUST TO A NEW SITUATION, INCLUDING MATERIAL DEPRIVATION AND THE DECISION ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT TO MAINTAIN THE RELATIONSHIP WITH INMATE FAMILY MEMBERS. SOCIAL WORKERS ALSO SEEK TO FIND TEMPORARY SOCIAL CONTACTS FOR ISOLATED PRISONERS SO THAT THE LATTER WILL NOT ENTER INTO HASTY, UNWISE RELATIONSHIPS UPON RELEASE. COUNSELING CAN BE FURNISHED TO EX-PRISONERS IN HALFWAY HOUSES AND LIVING GROUPS. VOLUNTEERS AND GROUPS FROM SOCIETY AT LARGE MUST BE INVOLVED IN THE READJUSTMENT PROCESS AND REDUCE PUBLIC REJECTION OF RELEASED INMATES BY HEIGHTENING PUBLIC AWARENESS OF CONVICTS' PROBLEMS. COOPERATION BETWEEN SOCIAL WORKERS AND CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS AS WELL AS CAREFUL PLANNING OF PRISON SOCIAL WORK ARE RECOMMENDED. --IN GERMAN. (KMD)