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Copied from Prison Reform

Rehabilitation, reform and correction

("Reform" here refers to reform of the individual, not the reform of the penal system.) The goal is to "repair" the deficiencies in the individual and return them as productive members of society. Education, work skills, deferred gratification, treating others with respect, and self-discipline are stressed. Younger criminals who have committed fewer and less severe crimes are most likely to be successfully reformed. Art therapy is also considered to be beneficial with challenging prison demographics. "Reform schools" and "boot camps" are set up according to this model. One criticism of this model is that criminals are rewarded with training and other items which would not have been available to them had they not committed a crime.

An evolving method of rehabilitation in many states across the United States, especially in California, has been the use of Art Therapy. Artistic expression within prisons and among incarcerated individuals is not recent. The presence of incarcerated artists first began being documented as early as 1840. Art rehabilitation since then has evolved to become less restricted, thus allowing prisoners to be more expressive and engage in more diverse workshops such as dance, theater, and music. California has implemented an Arts in Corrections program focused on providing incarcerated individuals across 35 adult facilities with the tools to express themselves visually, musically, and in writing. States like Colorado and Florida have provided similar resources to other facilities through adjacent initiatives like the FSU Art Therapy in Prisons Program. There have been significant associations made between rehabilitative programs and reduced recidivism rates, but some groups think it's important to emphasize right to participate in these art programs without the focus only being on reintegration to society.

Prior to its closing in late 1969, Eastern State Penitentiary, formally known as the State Correctional Institution, Philadelphia, had established a far reaching program of voluntary group therapy with the goal of having all inmates in the prison involved. From 1967 when the plan was initiated, the program appears to have been successful as many inmates did volunteer for group therapy. An interesting aspect was that the groups were to be led by two therapists, one from the psychology or social work department and a second from one of the officers among the prison guard staff.

San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, formally known as San Quentin State Prison, is the oldest prison in California. Although primarily known for death row, it has recently been reformed into a hub for many rehabilitation programs under Governor Gavin Newsom.