NCJ Number
96624
Date Published
1983
Length
96 pages
Annotation
This report provides an overview of Maryland's correctional populations, institutions, and rehabilitation programming and then recommends measures to facilitate the development and utilization of rehabilitation efforts.
Abstract
A survey of rehabilitation activities in Maryland and nationwide notes that rehabilitation continues to receive support as a correctional goal, although its success in changing behavior is not unequivocally substantiated. Maryland provides rehabilitation programs, but relatively few inmates are able to participate and little is known of the impact on recidivism. A description of inmate and probationer populations focuses on age, sex, race, type of offense, and sentence length. According to this discussion, Maryland's correctional population has risen considerably, and the State faces a serious overcrowding problem in its prisons. Brief descriptions of Maryland's correctional institutions highlight the inmate programs offered. A section on rehabilitation programming considers the following areas: sources of information; classification; education; medical, mental health, and substance abuse programs; inmate self-help groups and volunteer services; employment -- institutional work assignments, State use industries, State road crews, and work release; and mutual agreement programming, an alternative to regular parole. The Task Force concludes that rehabilitation is possible, is occurring, and can be improved without jeopardizing the public's safety. The report discusses programs for habitual offenders and presents recommendations regarding goals, policy, and the individual areas of rehabilitation programming studied. Tables are supplied.