A Working Prison | workingprisons

What is a real “working” prison system?

History

Back in 2016 a political candidate said, "I want prisons that work". He created a challenge to define what a "working prison" really was. Over the next few months, worldwide professionals, experts in the field of behavior, education and incarcerated themselves were interviewed in the search for best practices. Wardens from the Norwegian prison system were consulted, Dr. Brandon Matthews, Vera and the Reimagining Prisons project and many current and former correctional staff were interviewed. Washington DOC policy, practices and sentencing structure was reviewed and the model below was developed.

What needs to be done to make a prison not only a safe place to live but a place where rehabilitation/change occur.

Individuals are constantly engaged in treatment, planning, education or employment.
Active individuals have less time for continuing criminogenic thoughts and behaviors.
People should only be maintained in prison if they are a risk to themselves and the community.
Positive programing and achieving goals set in a facility plan will be met with a reduction of incarceration time up to 50%.
Any individual who is not willing to participate in this type of program can remain in restricted custody situation.
The average individual should be able to complete this type of program in a time frame of 5 to 10 years.
Because the individual is transitioned back into the community does not mean that the time of their sentence is eliminated.
The individual will remain under community custody until their sentence term has expired or they have requested a commutation from the Governor or Parole Board.
This type of program could lead to a decrease in prison population and a cost savings to the state. Individuals could be able to pay for their supervision if they are working. Those who are not working would be able to volunteer in the community or even in the prison environment mentoring others.
Because it costs close on $90,000 per incarcerated individual per year the cost savings would be substantial. Prison positions that are no longer necessary could be transitioned out to community corrections.

This is a simplified version of the process an incarcerated individual would participate in at the various stages of incarceration

Receiving

A dynamic Risk Assessment needs to be done

A comprehensive psychological test

Comprehensive chemical dependency testing

Based on the results of these testing a treatment plan needs to be created for the individual. The incarcerated individual needs to be a part of the process of creating the plan and can select programs that they will commit to.

Treatment Phase (18 months +)

Chemical Dependency

Provide a variety of chemical dependency treatment programs. One or two facilities should have a focus on treatment. There should be several different programs available (Therapeutic community, White Bisson, NA, AA) Individuals can select which program they would like to participate in and be required to do so daily.

Mental Health

Many individuals have high ACE (Adverse Childhood Experience) scores and suffer from toxic stress, trauma and PTSD symptoms. Programs that address these issues should be provided in conjunction with the Chemical Dependency programs. Programs like Anger Management, DBT, Non-Violent Communication, Bridges to Life are a few that can be provided through volunteer and community support groups. Appropriate counseling needs to be provided in a group or individual settings to make sure the trauma issues are addressed.

Cognitive Restructuring

The large majority of individuals entering prison have challenges with criminal mindset. The delivery of cognitive restructuring programs to assist with problem solving, conflict management, and prosocial values and attitudes should be delivered. Various modalities exist to address this need including Thinking for a Change and UCCI’s Cognitive Behavioral Interventions.

An individual will remain in the treatment phase for a minimum of 18 months or until the professional staff determine that the initial treatment phase is completed.

Future Planning Stage (24 months +)

Individuals will participate in a class where they can learn to evaluate the support that they have in the community and what the current educational/vocational skill level is. They will be able to work with a vocational counselor and establish their future goals for sustainable community living. Programs like STEPS from The Pacific Institute, Roots of Success, Toastmasters or other evidence based programs would be provided to help enhance self-esteem and develop plans. At this point family, support individuals and mentors should be included in the individuals planning and progress.

Chemical dependency and mental health treatment continue daily during this phase.

Education (24 months +)

Once an individual has determined a career for their future path the appropriate education will be provided. This can be done through a class provided in the institution as a vocational class, through a community college where the individual can work towards an AA degree or if they have not completed a GED that will be done. Educational programs can be provided through correspondence classes that the individual or their family will pay for.

Job Preparedness ( 12 to 24 months)

Depending on the program, the individual will be able to step down to lower levels of custody so that they can either continue to receive education or can search out work in the community. It would best serve the prison if the individuals can have jobs at the facility that would be as close as possible to their career path. For individuals who have chosen to start their own business connecting them to employment that matches their field could help them gain experience. This phase would be under community custody and the staff would also ensure that the participant is complying with CD programs or mental health programs as found necessary by their initial assessment.

Partial Confinement/Independent Living ( 36 months to end of term)

Once an individual has done 12 to 18 months in a halfway house/release facility they could move to an partial confinement/independent living location with family or a mentor. Their release plan would have to be followed and a percentage of their earnings would be paid to a victim compensation fund/supervision fund. Electronic monitoring, CD programming and testing as well as reporting to community corrections would be required for the remainder of their sentence term.