Case Study: Therapeutic Community
Dale Storti
English 12
On average, 70% of released prison inmates reenter the prison system after 5 years (Zhang et al., 2010). This relatively high statistics makes us ask the question, is the Department of Corrections really making any corrections? Therapeutic Communities, implemented in the prison setting, have provided an alternative to traditional convict treatment. They have shown mixed results of effectiveness, and are costly to the state and nation. Are they truly worth the money?
Providing help to the prison population is beneficial, no matter the cost. This applies unconditionally to prisoners not serving a life sentence. If a prisoner will be freed, what has his time in jail done for him other than served as punishment? It is called …show more content…
At the beginning of each member’s term in the program, a “life mentor” is assigned. This life mentor has also had a history with drugs and/or crime, and serves as a sense of empathy and guidance throughout the program. This close one-on-one relationship is what truly makes TC’s so unique (Program Profile: Therapeutic Community). Not to mention, inmates in the program are isolated from the rest of the prison in a separate block, completely dedicated to the residential community. In a video on one Alaskan prison TC, the superintendent of the program is asked “Why the hallway is decorated with such bright colors…. considering it is a prison.” To this he responds with two things. First, everyone in the unit is being released. Second, the prisoners have a choice. They must apply and be admitted into the program, quite a difficult process. Patients even confess that this is “the hardest thing they have ever done.” These statements come from prisoners who have endured the average prison wards, and consider the elementary school decorated building to house much more difficult of an experience. So, does this also serve as punishment for the inmates while rehabilitating? And the community does not end when the prisoners are released. Aftercare units are common, and studies show that aftercare dramatically increases the effectiveness of TC’s (Griffith, 355). The “self-help” motto of …show more content…
Results vary. Zhang et al. 2010 illustrates that from their sample, prisoners were just as likely to reenter prison after release as prisoners that did not undergo the treatment of a TC. However, Another paper by Sheldon Zhang discusses that violence in the prison was significantly reduced in a TC yard, saving the prison $236,000 (Zhang et al., 2009). Not to mention, funding increased in 1986 and made TC’s more common in prison (Wexler, 58). How can worth be balanced with
English 12
On average, 70% of released prison inmates reenter the prison system after 5 years (Zhang et al., 2010). This relatively high statistics makes us ask the question, is the Department of Corrections really making any corrections? Therapeutic Communities, implemented in the prison setting, have provided an alternative to traditional convict treatment. They have shown mixed results of effectiveness, and are costly to the state and nation. Are they truly worth the money?
Providing help to the prison population is beneficial, no matter the cost. This applies unconditionally to prisoners not serving a life sentence. If a prisoner will be freed, what has his time in jail done for him other than served as punishment? It is called …show more content…
At the beginning of each member’s term in the program, a “life mentor” is assigned. This life mentor has also had a history with drugs and/or crime, and serves as a sense of empathy and guidance throughout the program. This close one-on-one relationship is what truly makes TC’s so unique (Program Profile: Therapeutic Community). Not to mention, inmates in the program are isolated from the rest of the prison in a separate block, completely dedicated to the residential community. In a video on one Alaskan prison TC, the superintendent of the program is asked “Why the hallway is decorated with such bright colors…. considering it is a prison.” To this he responds with two things. First, everyone in the unit is being released. Second, the prisoners have a choice. They must apply and be admitted into the program, quite a difficult process. Patients even confess that this is “the hardest thing they have ever done.” These statements come from prisoners who have endured the average prison wards, and consider the elementary school decorated building to house much more difficult of an experience. So, does this also serve as punishment for the inmates while rehabilitating? And the community does not end when the prisoners are released. Aftercare units are common, and studies show that aftercare dramatically increases the effectiveness of TC’s (Griffith, 355). The “self-help” motto of …show more content…
Results vary. Zhang et al. 2010 illustrates that from their sample, prisoners were just as likely to reenter prison after release as prisoners that did not undergo the treatment of a TC. However, Another paper by Sheldon Zhang discusses that violence in the prison was significantly reduced in a TC yard, saving the prison $236,000 (Zhang et al., 2009). Not to mention, funding increased in 1986 and made TC’s more common in prison (Wexler, 58). How can worth be balanced with