NCJ Number
146530
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 55 Issue: 7 Dated: (December 1993) Pages: 100,102-104
Date Published
1993
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The Wisconsin Resource Center opened 10 years ago as one of the first correctional institutions with a primary mission of providing treatment programming for inmates with special needs, including mentally ill offenders, people with developmental disabilities, depressed or suicidal inmates, emotionally unstable inmates, and inmates approaching release but retained in maximum security because of adjustment problems.
Abstract
The staff have developed a comprehensive approach to treatment. Treatment focuses on four interrelated goals: active mental health intervention to stabilize mental functioning and conduct; behavior modification through participation in unit programs; internalization of social values through involvement in productive academic, recreational, work, and service activities; and the development of social skills through participation in multidisciplinary treatment programs. The center currently serves 165 male inmates in eight units: the security unit, the program transition unit, the psychiatric intervention unit, one basic skills and two social skills units, and the transfer and release units. Treatment focuses on anger control, self-reliance, daily living skills, job skills, consumer skills, family living skills, and alcohol and drug education. The inmates have long histories of failure in educational and treatment programs, but nearly 70 pecent complete this interdisciplinary program successfully. Photographs