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Correctional Program Support Services

Perkins

Correctional Program Support Services

The modern democratic system has undergone tremendous changes in almost all spheres. At the core of the changes is a conscious attempt to ensure that the territorial jurisdiction is able to maintain law and order. The institutions within the different states have different policies that ensure the fundamental principles of governance are maintained and enforced. Depending on the seriousness and the liable penalties that accrue to the offenders, correctional facilities receive conducted persons on a regular basis.

The primary function of correctional services is to ensure that the offenders are evacuated from the public domain in order to reduce the possible harm they might cause to the public. In furtherance, the correctional facilities are tasked with the mandate of ensuring that the convicted are trained and couched. The training focuses on restoring the convicted to the initial position one was before breaching the law and, in cases where possible, to make the convict a better person.

In most cases, jail terms have caused loneliness and stress to the convicted for various reasons. Firstly, the individual feels ostracized from society, and in some cases, others perceive it as a result of hate and bad blood among the family members (Goldman,2020). Stress, on the other hand, can either be internal or external. Internal stress majorly affects those members of society who have children and have had to leave them, especially at a tender age. In most cases, the mothers form the larger part of those suffering from this type of stress. The external stress arises from the correctional environment itself. Until recently, the correctional facility has been discredited due to their friendly environments, providing a favorable environment for ensuring a stress-free framework, and offering happiness to the individual to speed up restoration and growth. In order to achieve happiness and reduce stress as much as possible, correctional facilities have instituted different policies to ensure their subsequent jurisdictions.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy

Cognitive behaviour therapy is a conscious framework that seeks to help convicted individuals in acquiring different perceptions and understandings of issues and situations surrounding them and subsequently develop and discern ways to deal with and react. In furtherance, the offender is challenged to develop new ideas and positive reactions to the situations that befall him or her. However, in most cases, the ability to implement CBT has proved to be an uphill task no matter how effective the model has turnout. One of the most evident programs under Cognitive Behavior Therapy is Thinking for a Change, usually depicted as TFAC or T4C in the criminal justice system.

The model comprises a group technique aimed at teaching the offender social skills, problem analysis and solving abilities, and cognitive paradigm shift. The offenders are taught how to ask questions in a proper manner, greet people with respect, and avoid physical confrontations as much as possible. In its entirety, CBT has been found to have a 25% reduction in recidivism among those individuals who participated in the program (Goldman,2020). An analysis of the application of CBT in probational centres revealed that the correctional line staff were more suited to apply the model instead of outsourcing the clinical staff. It is, however, important to note that CBT programs are cost-effective, and therefore, one should be able to ascertain the effectiveness of the outcomes. The staff tasked with the implementation of the CBT programs are mostly under different job titles and perform other duties in the correctional centre. Adding other tasks might plunge the individual into a crisis, foregoing some duties. In this regard, it is important to ensure those tasked with the implementation of CBT are privy to the objective of the CBT and reduce a mismatch of priority as much as possible.

Enhancing Intrinsic Motivation

The ability to identify the treatment needs of any offender is a crucial part of the healing of any individual. Once the treatment begins, it is recognized that the offenders are largely destitute and that complete rehabilitation requires motivation. One of the major tools under the EIM is the Motivational Interviewing (MI) model applied to incarcerated offenders. MI is a practice that incorporates focusing, evoking, planning, and engagement in order to reduce and increase the intrinsic ability of the offenders to commit and the ability to change themselves. The experts in this field enable the offenders to change by asking questions and recognizing when the offender is about to change. Those trained to offer the MI have the ability to differentiate between two clusters of offenders in a prison setting. The first category comprises those individuals concerned with serving their sentences and just going back to their previous lives with no intention of changing. The second cluster comprises those who have recognized their mistake and are moving towards change. In some instances, such individuals have become proponents of change and ambassadors of peace and good behaviour in the prison setting and promise to do so even when released.

Strengthening Pro-Social Influences

The prison setting rarely offers pro-social influences due to the different forces at play behind the prison walls. The ability of the correctional facilities to incorporate visitation programs, correspondence, and other communication procedures is essential in ensuring that the inmates are able to keep their family ties. The major argument behind the visitation programs is based on the fact that inmates are human beings, too, who require normal interaction with their families just like any other person. In essence, being convicted of a crime and serving a jail term does not reduce the natural rights of the inmate. In recent times, there have been a number of task forces that are aimed at helping offenders transition back into society by positioning them in positive activities. The need for such task forces has risen from the fact that some gangs have deep-rooted standing, which might not be easy to run from once the offender is released from jail.

Prejudice

Prejudice has been termed as a general liking or dislike of a group of people or an individual without a good reason. In most cases, the dislike towards individuals who have served their term in jail and are being processed for release is usually a matter of concern. It is important on the part of the officials to show that they have absolute trust in the individual to be a better part of him or herself (American Psychology Association, 2020). In this regard, the offender is able to feel a part of the responsibility bestowed on him or her to be a better person in society and also help those who might be in dire need of help by becoming an agent of change.

Discrimination

Discrimination involves a conscious attempt to treat others differently based on either social, cultural, economic, or political affiliations. In a prison setting, the major discrimination that might be witnessed is based on skin colour (American Psychology Association, 2020). While preparing the offenders for release, it is important to treat all offenders equally and apply the law uniformly. In this sense, the black community in the United States, for instance, has suffered major setbacks in the application of the law, especially under the criminal justice system. If the offender feels left out in the change-driven mechanism due to their colour, he or she might actually decide within themselves to go and find solace in gang-related activities where they feel appreciated and loved.

Stereotyping

Social psychology defines stereotyping as a generalized assumption and belief about a specific category of persons. The belief might be centered on a group’s ability, appearance, and expectations, and in most instances, stereotypes are just vague assumptions with no foundational basis but can be true at times. Staff tasked with transitioning the offenders need to ensure that such perceptions do not blur their judgment while deciding on the most appropriate transition framework for the individuals. The staff needs to understand that each person has his or her own unique character, preferences, and attitudes toward issues, which are independent of other factors.

Stress management

Stress constitutes a normal part of life arising from our usual interactions (Smith,2020). However, it is important to be able to reduce the strain that comes with it and its effects thereafter. In this case, various measures to manage stress would be helpful in reducing recidivism.

Limiting unnecessary stress

One should ensure that any stress that can be ignored is indeed ignored. Such an example might be reducing interactions with those persons who bring stress, such as members of a gang who might lure one into breaking the law.

Changing the attitude

If one cannot alter the situation at hand, one can alter the attuite and expectations in order to deal with the current circumstance. In this regard, one can be able to minimize the frustration that comes along with different situations.

Accepting the things you cannot change

In life, one cannot change things, such as people’s attitudes and behaviours. The ability to accept can save one from going to the very extreme of using force on one another to get a particular outcome. By doing so, one might break the law and go back to prison.

References

Smith, M. W. (2020). Ways to Manage Stress. https://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/stress-management

Goldman. R. (2020). What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)? https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-cognitive-behavior-therapy-2795747

American Psychology Association. (2020). Discrimination: What it is, and how to cope. https://www.apa.org/topics/racism-bias-discrimination/types-stress

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Question 

Correctional Program Support Services

Assignment Content
When working with offenders through the process of reentry, it is important to utilize methods and interventions that have been shown to be effective and that help to reduce recidivism. Social psychology has many applications in the rehabilitation of offenders. This assignment asks you to combine these elements to determine how the principles of social psychology apply to evidence-based practices when working with this population of individuals.

Imagine you have been selected to write an article for a peer-reviewed journal on correctional program support services and recidivism.

Write a 1,400- to 1,750-word journal article on evidenced-based practices in offender rehabilitation that reduce recidivism. Include the following:

Format your journal article according to APA guidelines.

Submit your journal article.

Resources

Remember, your paper must include a Title Page, an introduction, and a conclusion. The introduction must provide a sufficient background on the topic and must preview the major points to be made in the paper. The conclusion must flow logically from the body of the paper and must review the major points made in the paper.

The paper must also include a Reference Page. References must follow the hanging indent rule.

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