Counseling Chapter 13 Homework Why Not Many Business Owners Feel

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CHAPTER 13

REENTRY INTO THE COMMUNITY

Learning Objectives

2. Explain the origins of parole and how it operates today.

4. Describe how ex-offenders are supervised in the community.

5. Identify the problems that parolees face during their reentry.

Lesson Plan

Correlated to PowerPoints

I. Prisoner reentry

Learning Objective 1

Described as a transient state between liberty and recommitment

Limited duration of supervision

A. Contemporary budget cuts and prisoner release

less tax revenue to fund needed programs, including corrections

continuing budget difficulties that lead to cuts in reentry programs

B. Institutional reentry preparation programs

Pew Center on the States report

Class Discussion/Activity

distrust of parole and conditional early release. Can this attitude be

changed? If so, how could attitudes change?

Media Tool

Review the National Reentry Resource Center website.

PPT 4,

PPT 8

PPT 9

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What If Scenario

What if you were a governor? Would seek to keep or abolish the parole board?

II. Release and supervision

Learning Objective 2: Explain the origins of parole and how it operates today.93% of all

prisoners will at some point be released to live in the community

77% of all prisoners will at some point be released on parole

A. Parole

Conditional release of an offender from incarceration but not from legal custody

Parole rests on three concepts:

B. The origins of parole

III. The development of parole in the United States

Learning Objective 2: Explain the origins of parole and how it operates today. In 1876 Elmira

Reformatory in New York began to experiment with the concept of parole

See Assignments 1, 4-

5

See Assignments 1, 3-

5

See Assignments 1, 3-

5

PPT 5

PPT 13

PPT 11-

PPT 4

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IV. Release mechanisms

Learning Objective 3: Name and define the mechanisms for the release of felons to the

community.

2. Mandatory release

4. Discretionary release

6. Impact of release mechanisms

Parole release mechanisms also affect sentencing, plea bargains and prison

populations

What If Scenario

What if you told to brief community leaders on the mechanisms by which prisoners

are released into their community? What would you include in your presentation?

What type of release do you think the leaders would be most sympathetic towards?

IV. Parole supervision in the community

Learning Objective 4: Describe how ex-offenders are supervised in the community.

Learning Objective 5: Identify the problems that parolees face during their reentry.

Parolees must abide by predetermined conditions of release

Most parolees are young makes with low skills and educational levels

A. Community programs following release

There are various programs designed to aid inmates in transitioning back into the

community:

1. Work and educational release

B. Parole officer: Cop or social worker?

1. Parole officer as a cop

2. Parole officer as social worker

Parole officers must help the parolee find a job and restore family ties

Parole officers often refer parolees to community social service resources

See Assignments 2, 4-

5

19

PPT 28

PPT 26-

27

PPT 23-

25

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C. The parole bureaucracy

Parole officers have smaller caseloads than probation officers but they have more

extensive interaction with parolees

D. Adjustment to life outside prison

Parolees have difficulties finding jobs and housing

Move from rigid and structured environment to one of freedom and responsibility

E. Revocation of parole

Morrissey v. Brewer (1972) sets the legal standard for parole revocations

If a parole officer alleges a technical violation a two-step revocation proceeding is

Class Discussion/Activity

Is one role more important than the other in supervising parolees on

conditional release? Ask students which role they see as the most vital.

Class Discussion/Activity

Divide the class into small groups. Have each group assume the role of a

Class Discussion/Activity

Divide students into small groups and have them create proposals that

could be used to ease the transition of a parolee from prison to society.

Media Tool

Video and report from CNN

Assignment: View video and explain why this program is so successful

for female reentry? Does it help or hinder the success rate by being a faith

Media Tool

–

PPT 29

PPT 30-

32

PPT 33

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What If Scenario

What if you on parole? Do you think it justified if people judged you?

V. The future of prisoner reentry

Learning Objective 5: Identify the problems that parolees face during their reentry.

More prisoners going in means more prisoners coming out

Class Discussion/Activity

Have the students debate whether ex-felons should be given the right to

vote.

What If Scenario

want to see done differently?

Lecture Notes

Parole has been a component of the American criminal justice system since the late

1800s. The concept of parole was tied to the strong support in the mid-1960s for rehabilitation

See Assignments 3-5

See Assignments 3

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5

PPT 34

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It is easy for students to become caught up in the get-tough attitudes. Students should

understand that transitional release has many positive attributes that provide a structured and

legally supervised period in which the parolee must abide by conditions of release. Parole

officers and parole boards have significant powers and control during the transitional period.

Parolees are released from prison on the condition that they do not violate the law and they live

Key Terms

conditions of release – Conduct restrictions that parolees must follow as a legally binding

requirement of being released. (p. 439)

discretionary release The release of an inmate from prison to conditional supervision at the

discretion of the parole board within the boundaries set by the sentence and the penal law. (p.

433)

halfway house – A correctional facility housing convicted felons who spend a portion of their

day at work in the community but reside in the halfway house during nonworking hours. (p. 441)

parole – The conditional release of an inmate from incarceration, under supervision, after part of

the prison sentence has been served. (p. 430)

Assignments

1. Research the current status of parole in the United States. How many states utilize parole?

2. Make a list of the various types of conditions that are currently used for inmates leaving

prison on condition release. Which conditions are the most widely and frequently used?

3. Research the topic of recidivism. What is the percentage nationwide of parolees that are

unsuccessful and return to prison? Attempt to locate similar percentages for parolees in

your state or local jurisdiction. How does your state compare to the national percentage?

4.

complete their sentence? Should they be able to vote, assume food stamp programs, etc? It is a

violation of their basic freedom? Once their sentence is served, can they continue to be

5. -offender helps build careers by giving felons wor

discuss the following questions. How difficult is it for an offender to obtain employment once they

have a felony conviction on their record? Most employers have a required response that inquires

about a criminal record. Should a previous offender check yes knowing it will prevent him from

gaining employment, or should he check no and take his chances of his employer finding out?