PRISONERS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS 1

Prisoners with Special Needs

Kimberly Washburn
CJA/234
September 27, 2012
Edward C. Ley
PRISONERS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS 2


Prisoners with Special Needs
In this paper will be discussed as to how do special needs, mentally ill, and substance-
abusing prisoners affect the jail and prison systems at state and federal levels? Also the topic of
what would happen if these prisoners were not cared for properly? A special offender population
will be chosen and it will be discussed as the program aimed to assist or care for that population.
What are the characteristics of this program will be covered. With how the program affected the
special offender population in that prison will also be covered?
The residential drug program that operates within the prison is the Federal Bureau of
Prisons drug abuse program it has separate units in numerous prisons that has staffing, structure,
length of treatments, and programs that are provided to deal with the addictions. All inmates
have to participant in the 500- hour program as well as reside in a treatment unit, which is
separate from the prison general inmate population. This program requires the offenders to
assume responsibility for their behavior and to make a conscious decision to avoid engaging in
drug taking or criminal behavior.
Evidence has proven that these types of programs are effective in both reducing drug use
and recidivism. It helps them acquire positive life skills and have a physical wellbeing, and build
family relationships. It is also supplemented by other programs that help complement it such as
education, work skills training, recreation, disease prevention, and health promotion instruction
(Seiter, 2011, p 285).
There was estimated in midyear of 2005, that there were 1,255,700 offenders in state and
federal prisons and local jails representing 56% of state prisoners, 45% of federal prisoners, and
64% of local jail offenders that had mental health problems (Seiter, 2011, p 287). Inmates are
screened for mental illness when they are sent to prison. Treatment for the mentally ill in the
prison will fall generally into one of three categories: First- screening the inmates at intake for
mental health conditions, Second therapy or counseling for the inmates, and Third-
psychotropic medications. In the prisons, the responsibility of assessing and the treating of the
mentally ill inmates falls on the correctional psychologists.
Mentally ill inmates are more common to have or display disciplinary problems while in
prison. The mentally ill offenders are not only a problem to manage while in prison or under
community supervision; they are also the most likely to recidivate than any other offenders. It is
a difficult challenge in managing the mentally ill offenders in both the community and in the
prison. Typical punishment does not deter the offenders like it does for the non-mentally ill
inmates. Though they may receive longer prison sentence for the crimes, they may not be able to
use the punishment as an incentive for them to discontinue their criminal activities.
Even thou they are supervised when in the community, their ability not to recidivate in
not a result of a simple decision not to, it is the results more so of their inability to manage
themselves. It is difficult for them to maintain the use of their psychotropic medication, or to deal
with the responsibility of the problems regarding housing, employment or relationships.
For the older inmates there are several issues the prisons have to deal with, such as more
expense for the increase for the health care needs. Because the elderly people require more
medical care, it costs three times more for those incarcerated. Most have illnesses and general
health problems that result from the aging process as well as their years of risky lifestyle choices,
such as the use of tobacco use, extensive drug, and alcohol use, and high risk sexual behavior
(Seiter, 2011, p 291). With the older inmates not able to be assigned to most work details that
they have difficulty getting around, though, the prison as well as the housing and bed
arrangements often cause problems. This all comes to the prison administrators need to protect
the older inmates from being victimized by younger and stronger predators, who find that older
inmates are easy victims from whom they can steal or extort money. Prison officials are
continuously challenged with finding solutions to these problems, which do not have any easy or
clear answers.
To help remedy some of these problems, most prisons make allowances in standard
policies for cell and bed assignment, or even for the inmate movement, by letting the older
inmates begin moving from one building to another before the younger inmates. There are
correctional agencies that even use entire prisons or housing units to house the older inmates and
create counseling programs and recreation that meets their needs. Prisons also try to identify the
specific jobs that can be done by the older inmates as well as have recreation departments create
leisure activities like stretching classes or game table tournaments also to occupy these inmates
and to meet their special needs.
Inmates that may have diseases such as HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB), or Hepatitis C,
the prison has serious problem with these issues. Because these cause problems as far as trying to
avoid other inmates from being infected as well as the staffs safety in not becoming infected.
When an inmate is found to have any of these diseases they have to be put in isolation in the
prison hospital or somewhere so that they do not infect others. Then there is the issue of them
being able to receive treatments.
If the prisons did not take care or provide for the special need inmates of all the above
mentioned, the prisons would be under violation of most state and federal guidelines that have
been set by the government for the prisoners civil rights. That is why it is such a major issue for
the prisons to make sure that they provide for those that have special needs, and that they stay in
compliance with the rules that govern the inmates civil rights.
Sex offenders present a difficult challenge for management in both the community and
institutional settings. Reason being is not all sex offenders share similar characteristics, and the
proven most effective management and treatment comes from creating a program that relates to
the individual characteristics of each of the offenders (Seiter, 2011, p 301). A National Institute
of Justice did a survey of state supervision of sex offenders in the community and could identify
a five part containment process that seeks to hold offenders accountable through the combined
use of both offenders internal controls and external control measures (Seiter, 2011, p 302) It is
called the containment model uses a triangle of supervision, treatment to teach the sex offenders
to develop internal control, over things such as their thoughts, surveillance to help control the
offenders external behaviors as well as help monitor conformance to, the treatment plans, and
the supervision conditions. The five components for the model are listed below:
1. The philosophy and goal of the community and victim safety.
2. To individualize case management systems of the sex offender that the specific
containment is tailored to the needs of the sex offender.
3. The multidisciplinary approaches of collaboration among the teams of law
enforcement, probation and parole, the treatment providers, and the prison
personnel to all manage the offender.
4. Consistent public policies that reflect the latest knowledge regarding the effective
management of the sex offenders.
5. A quality control component that can monitor whether the policies are being
implemented as they are intended and that they are producing the desired effect.


Reference
Seiter, R. (2011). Corrections: An Introduction (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson/Prentice Hall.