Prisoners with Special Needs

Prisoners with Special Needs

Whitney Cervantez

CJS 255

John Eckert

Prisoners with Special Needs

There are prisoners whom have special needs and I will go over how special needs, mentally ill, and substance-abusing prisoners affect the jail and prison systems at state and federal levels. Second I will use Tarrant County CSCD and elaborate on the variety of programs and services they provide to help rehabilitate offenders. Third I will use the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Agency Strategic Plan which summarizes their special offender population and research programs aimed to assist or care for that population going over the characteristics of the program. Concluding I will explain how these programs affected the special offender population in Texas prisons.

Special Needs and their Affects on Jail and Prison System Federally

Having mental illness or having a substance abuse problem can affect everyone including the inmate in prison. Plans can be put in place and an agenda may be lined up to sound perfect on paper; however in reality the success of that plan is going to take monitoring and the inmate is going to need to comply in order for progress to start. An inmate who may be suicidal but their plans are not taken serious and if does commit suicide is counter productive to the entire plan, staff, guards, inmates. Now there’s a dead inmate on someone’s watch who didn’t have the ability to stick to a plan. Pragmatics are important in the sense that the plan it self is just another blue print unless it’s realistically being played out by everyone who is assigned to participate. Accrding to Tims Union “Inmates with drug problems are sent to the unit based on jail staff recommendations or referrals from courts, he said. In the unit, they participate in group and individual programs, drug therapy and work to get stabilized. The goal, Wigger said, is for inmates to be able to function in society when they are released from jail.” (para 7) This is great example to back up what I was saying. The goal is for inmates to be able to function when released but before they are returned to society they have to show they are able ton function in jail and or prison. This can b difficult in the beginning for drug users especially if they are suffering from withdrawals. Their state of mind needs to be realigned so that they can be harmonious with people and themselves.

Tarrant County CSCD Variety of Programs and Services

Tarrant County CSCD offers various programs and services to help rehabilitate offenders. A few programs include high risk/ youthful offender program, mental health diversion program and felony alcohol intervention program. Youth are just people who are growing in their mental development and during the stages of growing up, learning, coming to age they are making decisions that are not always sound. The high risk youthful offender program is explained according to their site as “High-Risk caseloads help to divert street gang offenders from the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Tarrant County Jail. They also provide more structured supervision for high-risk youthful offenders (ages 17-25). This caseload permits the supervision officer to more closely supervise and address the individual needs and problems of identified high-risk street gang members, potential gang members and targeted youthful offenders.” (para 1) Youth need a very structured planned with a lot of supervision as the goal is to rehabilitate them before adult hood, so they can stay straight; as in justifiably and proven they are able to be free continue their lives whether they go off to college or just stay in the general workforce. Gang violence is difficult to leave, especially for youth since adults know it is often better in their eyes to recruit minors because they know the youth will not face charges as an adult would. They are toyed with and manipulated though, normally someone involved in the gang doesn’t just get out with a hand shake; they could be killed. However with programs, a solid plan, assistance from their probation officer they can regain confidence in people, believe in moving forward and see success happen before their very eyes.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Agency Strategic Plan

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Agency Strategic Plan summarizes their special offender population and research programs aimed to assist or care for that population. The characteristic of this plan are built upon their philosophy courage which is defined as not an emotion among others, but the foundation of which all other virtues and values rest. Perseverance they define as having the ability to exercise moral and physical strength to accomplish difficult tasks. Integrity which defined by their plan is doing what is morally upright and proper at all times. The final value of their philosophy is commitment defined as having the determination to exhibit loyalty in service above self. The action steps of the plan are to promulgate standards for Community Supervision and Corrections Departments (CSCDs), Utilize strategic planning to guide delivery of programs and services, Continue monitoring CSCDs utilization of the Texas Risk Assessment System (TRAS) and provide ongoing technical assistance, Continue to review the grant application and award process for Diversion Programs and Treatment Alternative to Incarceration Programs and revise in accordance with evidence-based practices and Maintain an evidence-based community supervision officer certification training that incorporates individual study, online training modules, and face-to-face experiential exercises to build the skill base of probation department officers and increase public safety. Further the goal of the action plan claims to support each statewide objectives such as accountable to tax and fee payers of Texas for example. There are seven action steps to achieve this goal the first being correction officers are to be recruited, retained and developed professionally with effective pre service, in service leadership and training. Of the seven the second one is about the offenders claiming to ensure offenders receive quality and cost effective medical and mental health care treatments.

Affective Special Offender Programs on the Population in Texas Prisons

According to the Texa Tribune “Twenty-five years ago, Texas lawmakers created a new state jail system designed to keep low-level drug offenders out of overcrowded prisons. Unlike in state prisons, inmates convicted of nonviolent drug offenses would spend less time in jail and more time getting rehabilitative services while on probation, a period of time where an offender is released from detention and is supervised to ensure good behavior.” The article goes on to say how that the system is essentially a complete failure. I live in San Antonio, TX and it is very common to hear that an inmate had escaped from jail on someone’s time and the officer was completely unaware, the population in the jails and prison are high. It is clear that there are more offenders than there are staff which is counter productive to any philosophy that is in place in hope of rehabilitating youth or adults. I don’t think hiring more staff will necessarily help stop the trend but it may lessen the amount of occurrences and how often they happen. However that being said it’s going to take more in depth training, requiring more than just having a GED to become even an entry officer with 6month ethics trainings and tests. Program effectiveness will need to be reevaluated in a more pragmatic sense. I do not think the utilitarianism approach is working. Morals are subjected and I may understand the virtue approach to keep everyone on a universal foundation of living but when the very people who lay out these philosophies do not adhere then that habit trickles down into local jurisdictions that is when society sees the issue and it effectiveness doesn’t happen because the plan was ruined from the inside.

References

Roman, D. (2011). When jail inmates have special needs. Retrieved from https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/When-jail-inmates-have-special-needs-1342590.php

HIGH-RISK YOUTHFUL OFFENDER PROGRAM(n.d). Retrieved from https://access.tarrantcounty.com/en/community-supervision-corrections/cscd-programs-and-services/high-risk-youthful-offender-program.html?linklocation=Programs%20and%20Services&linkname=High-Risk%20Youthful%20Offender%20Program

Texas Department Of Criminal Justice Agency Strategic Plan (2019-2023). Retrieved from https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/documents/bfd/Agency_Strategic_Plan_FY2019-2023.pdf

Marfin, C. (2019). The Texas Tribune. Retrieved from https://www.texastribune.org/2019/02/14/texas-legislature-eyes-state-jail-reform-2019/

Ill-Equipped U.S. Prisons and Offenders with Mental Illness(2013). Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/report/2003/10/21/ill-equipped/us-prisons-and-offenders-mental-illness