NCJ Number
90377
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 46 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1983) Pages: 3-10
Date Published
1983
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Regarding the effectiveness of rehabilitation or habilitation, two moderate camps of thought called the skeptical and the sanguine, have replaced the global optimism of the 1960's and the extreme pessimism of the middle and late 1970's.
Abstract
Within the skeptical camp, some persons believe that relatively few rehabilitation programs work while others argue that research findings are so unclear that it is impossible to say what specific approaches may have promise. The sanguine camp agrees that most programs have not been particularly effective thus far, certainly with their overall target groups. However, it believes that many programs and approaches have been shown, with reasonable scientific assurance, to work for specified portions of their target group. Despite these differences, both the skeptics and sanguines agree that to be effective with serious or multiple offenders, rehabilitation programs must be broader based and more intensive than in the past. Future programs should use multiple modality approaches, i.e., simultaneous or successive combinations of vocational training, individual counseling, and perhaps others. Moreover, a program's resources should be matched to the needs, interests, and limitations of the offender subgroups that are present: they should not be applied to the total offender group in an indiscriminate, across-the-board manner. Finally, rehabilitation need not be wedded to a medical model, linked to indeterminate sentencing, or demean its participants. Footnotes and 27 references are provided. (Author summary modified)