NCJ Number
80481
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 45 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1981) Pages: 49-56
Date Published
1981
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Efforts of various U.S. organizations -governmental, correctional, legal, and medical -- to create correctional standards are described, with particular attention to community corrections programs, inmate grievance procedures, and the international transfer of prisoners.
Abstract
Generally, correctional administrators view the standards and accreditation process as a constitutional humane approach to better correctional environments, as a means to expand services, and as a justification for increased financial expenditures. Due to the increased attention to community corrections, standards have focused on this area. The American Correctional Association (ACA) has developed standards for adult community residential facilities based on three principles: use of community facilities only insofar as the public interest and safety are protected, the use of these facilities to develop and enhance the resident's role as a productive member of the community, and the use of the facilities as cost-effective programs for the community. Standards for parole require that the involved parties as well as public have access to written rules and regulations of the parole board and that inmates being considered for parole be protected by due process rights. ACA standards for probation emphasize supervision of the offenders and provision of services in the community. A number of institutions, including the U.S. Congress, have developed standards for inmate grievance procedures, so that inmates may have a clearly specified and fair mechanism for seeking relief from perceived mistreatment. International prisoner exchange standards have been developed to provide a structure for the exchange of foreign nationals incarcerated in another country's prison, as well as those on probation and parole in another country. Thirteen references are listed.