NCJ Number
134845
Journal
American Jails Volume: 5 Issue: 6 Dated: (January-February 1992) Pages: 36-38,40
Date Published
1992
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The PROGRAM for Female Offenders, Inc., initiated in the 1970's, was funded by the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration and was among the first direct service agencies to focus on the needs of female offenders.
Abstract
When the PROGRAM opened its storefront office in 1974, agency administrators quickly learned that personal counseling was as important as vocational counseling. Counselors became brokers for community resources to meet the needs of clients, and this led to the discovery that traditional training classes were not successfully providing women with the skills they needed for job placement. The result was a skills training center that catered to older students. Instruction was almost one-to-one, and each student advanced at her own speed. As the number of offenders began to grow, the training center grew from remedial math and English and clerical classes to include word processing and data entry. Counseling was expanded to provide case management. When the PROGRAM's direct service project was implemented in 1974, there were 12 women in the Allegheny County (Pennsylvania) Jail. In 1980, 70 women were in the jail, and PROGRAM staff were asked to help reduce overcrowding. A work release facility was subsequently built to which women are transferred from the jail by court order. The facility provides space and programming for 36 women and 4 to 6 preschool children. Over 300 women are served by the PROGRAM each year, and the work release facility has processed a total of 555 women. The PROGRAM has experienced a 3.5-percent recidivism rate in its community program and a 17-percent recidivism rate at the residential facility, but the jail overcrowding problem has not been solved. Numerous projects are being planned to impact jail overcrowding in the future that focus not only on female offenders, but also on male offenders and children.