NCJ Number
92487
Editor(s)
A R Harvey,
T L Carr
Date Published
1982
Length
209 pages
Annotation
Black scholars and practitioners from various disciplines (in keeping with a holistic perspective) consider alternative paradigms, solutions to problems, diagnosis, and habilitation of the black mentally retarded offender.
Abstract
Symposium workshops included such topics as melanin and its relationship to mental retardation, the justice and correctional systems' methods of treating the mentally retarded offender, labeling as a prerequisite for genocide, mental retardation versus learning disability (discrimination in I.Q. testing), dietary considerations in the habilitation process, environmental factors in prevention and habilitation, description and analysis of problems in existing programs, cultural factors in the counseling of black mentally retarded offenders' families, and program planning and implementation from an Afro-centric perspective. A major theme is the black child's disproportionate experience of the environmental factors believed to contribute to underdeveloped cognitive and social skills, which in turn makes black youth vulnerable to the prevalent criminogenic influences of the black environment. The disproportionate percentage of black mentally retarded offenders in corrections institutions is noted, along with the limited number of programs that target the needs of such offenders. The preventive and habilitative programs discusses are aimed at restructuring the group and individual environments of blacks so as to facilitate the development of the skills and knowledge required for normative living, which, according to a number of papers, should express Afro-centric cultural values. References accompany the presentations. For individual documents, see NCJ 92488-95.