NCJ Number
73721
Date Published
1980
Length
79 pages
Annotation
The nature and operation of British day centers and day training centers for offenders are discussed.
Abstract
There are a variety of day care centers oriented toward different offender needs. The day center spectrum extends from merely sheltering and supporting clients to inducing changed ways and attitudes through skills acquired and activities shared with others. The most refined types of day centers are rehabilitation programs that provide a regular scheme of craft and workshop training combined with projects of a community service nature. Day training centers provide the most intensive programs. They apply a battery of psychological, educational, and practical techniques to help persistent offenders to adapt to the work habit and to normal means of coping with life's challenges. What all of the day centers have in common are close supervision of clients to keep them from committing new offenses; the provision of group interaction and the opportunity for companionship; an interest in meeting the multiple needs of each offender; and the provision of a homelike atmosphere. Different philosophies and styles of operating the day centers are described, along with the experiences of some centers that applied the styles. The present availability of the centers is documented with information obtained from a survey questionnaire sent to all chief probation officers. Ways that different centers have coped with problems of funding, staffing, and management are discussed, and two key issues in the development of day centers are considered: the attitude and involvement of the probation service and the degree of connection with the courts. Finally, likely future directions for day centers and day training centers are projected. References are provided, and a list of day centers is appended.