This article presents discussions of the successes and encountered obstacles of one inmate functional literacy program for jail inmates operating in Jefferson County, Kentucky, in which the city of Louisville is located. Discussion focuses on identifying important structural, organizational, and personnel issues involved in planning, developing, and initiating such a program. Based on the author's experiences in both planning and evaluating the 1st year of operation of such a program in private local correctional facilities, suggestions and recommendations are offered to assist others in all early stages of such efforts.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Austin, A., & Irwin, J. (1990). Who goes to prison?San Francisco: National Council on Crime and Delinquency.
2.
Blumstein, A., Cohen, J., Roth, J., & Visher, C. (1986). Criminal careers and career criminals (vols. 1-2). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
3.
Brunner, M. S. (1993). Reduced recidivism and increased employment opportunity through research-based reading instruction. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
4.
Cantor, D., & Land, K. (1985). Unemployment and crime rates in the post-WWII U.S.: A theoretical and empirical analysis. American Sociological Review, 50, 317-332.
5.
Cookson, P., & Carman, P. (1987). Starting and building a community-based literacy program in prison: A casebook. University Park: Pennsylvania State University, Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy.
6.
Englehardt, N. (1939). Fundamental factors governing success of correctional education program: Correctional education today. American Prison Association.
7.
Fox, T. A. (1987, May). Teaching in prisons: Consideration of the concept of adult education. Paper presented at the Conference on Change: Implications for Adult Learning, Regina, Saskatchewan.
8.
Grande, C. G., & Oseroff, A. (1991). Special education planning in jails?Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 16(3/4), 103-111.
9.
Gurnack, A. M., & Werbie, D. L. (1985). Characteristics of youths arrested for drunk driving in two Wisconsin counties, 1981-1984. Psychological Reports, 57, 1271-1276.
10.
Herrick, E. (1991). Corrections Compendium, 16(12), 1, 5-9.
11.
Kentucky Educational Collaborative for State Agency Children. (1994). Standards for adult and juvenile correctional educational programs. Richmond, KY: Author.
12.
Loeffler, C. A., & Martin, T. C. (1982). The functional illiterate: Is correctional education doing its job?Huntsville, TX: Marloe Research.
13.
Nienstedt, B., Zatz, M., & Epperlein, T. (1988). Court processing and sentencing of drinking drivers: Using new methodologies. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 4(1), 39-59.
14.
Roberts, A. (1972). Sourcebook on prison education. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
15.
Ryan, T. (1990). Effects of literacy training on reintegration of offenders. Paper presented at Freedom to Read: An International Conference on Literacy in Corrections, Ottawa, Ontario.
16.
Stephan, J. (1992). Census of state and federal correctional facilities, 1990. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
17.
Sviridoff, M., & Thompson, J. W. (1983). Links between employment and crime: A qualitative study of Rikers Island releasees. Crime and Delinquency, 29(2), 195-212.
18.
Tewksbury, R., & Vito, G. (1994). Improving the educational skills of jail inmates: Preliminary program findings. Federal Probation, 58(2), 55-59.
19.
Thornberry, T. P., & Christenson, R. L. (1984). Unemployment and criminal involvement: An investigation of reciprocal causal structures. American Sociological Review, 49, 398-411.
