Prison Reformation: A Five- Step Plan and Evidence of Community Support

The federal prison model is one that provides better service than state prisons for offenders both during and after their incarceration. I would like to lay out a plan for the New York State prison system that amplifies the federal prison system’s small scale ideas into ones that can reach thousands of offenders as well as prove, through a research study I, along with two colleagues Colleen Kelley and Adisa Alghali, conducted called “Effect of Information Regarding Mentally Ill Offenders on Community Perception of Sentencing,” that community support can be garnered for such a plan. This five-part plan includes the growth of the psychologist’s roll in the state prison systems, a creation of job skills programs during incarceration, a reformed education system, a shift in the allocation of funds from education to a budget for parole officers which will allow offenders to seek appropriate care, and a creation of a Employment Opportunity Community, to increase the opportunity offenders will have to find a job after release