John Doe, Case Study Example

As Mr. John Doe’s Department of Corrections advisor, I would suggest a number of great opportunities to help him readjust to the outside world after spending thirty years in prison. Mr. Doe’s situation is nothing out of the ordinary, due to the fact that he possesses no higher education, is financially broke, and has a terminally-ill mother who requires his immediate assistance.

First of all, as pointed out by R.B. Seiter, most inmates like Mr. Doe “face serious problems and there are not enough programs within prison to deal with them,” due in part to the number of inmates released from prison which places a tremendous burden upon available programs, such as work and prison industry programs and living in a halfway house (2010, p. 201). However, over the last several decades, “there has been considerable progress in the understanding of re-entry issues and the development of programs to improve successful re-entry” which helps to lower the recidivism rate (Seiter, 2010, p. 205).

As Mr. Doe’s correctional advisor, I would immediately help him to locate some kind of job program in which he could use his mechanical certificates that he earned while in prison. One item in his favor is that he had no disciplinary problems while in prison which bodes well for him in relation to being hired by a future employer. What I would strongly suggest to Mr. Doe is that he become a member of an adult rehabilitation program with a focus on re-training, such as that offered by the state of California via its excellent Corrections and Rehabilitation programs. For example, the best current program is known as California New Start which has demonstrated that a newly-released inmate like Mr. Doe who “finds and maintains a steady job is more likely to avoid subsequent offenses and to successfully complete his term on parole” (Adult Programs: Rehabilitation, 2010). I would also suggest to Mr. Doe that once he acquires steady employment that he place his ailing mother in a nursing home or hospice that participates in some type of prison-to-employment plan in order to help with expenses related to caring for his mother. Overall, since Mr. Doe is now fifty years of age, he needs much support and encouragement in order to find and maintain a steady job with an employer that advocates a “collaborative partnership within the community that provides a support system” for former inmates (Adult Programs: Rehabilitation, 2010).

References

Adult programs: Rehabilitation. (2010). California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Retrieved from http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Adult_Programs/index.html

Seiter, R.B. (2010). Corrections: An Introduction. 3rd ed. New York: Prentice-Hall.