Prison programs for inmates were put in place in order to rehabilitate and present those who are incarcerated a good chance of successful reentry into society once they have been released. They give our prisoners the necessary education, training and skills that will help them to choose wisely once they leave their jail cells. There are several kinds of prison programs for inmates. Each program seeks to meet the inmates’ needs.

The main focus of these prison programs is to make sure inmates learn a variety of skills that are marketable and will help them get a permanent job once they are released from prison. Some of the packages include prison education classes that offer academic education for those who want to get their GEDs or go to pursue college or even postgraduate courses, vocational education where one can learn skills, such as carpentry, plumbing, computer programming and repair, painting et cetera.

There are also prison education programs for inmates who struggle with drug addiction. These programs give former felons a better understanding of the reason behind their substance abuse and the self-destructive behavior. They help inmates change their thought patterns by offering support groups, drug therapy and other treatment modalities that are suited to the individual’s needs. Additional programs that help deal with substance abuse even offer correspondence courses in the form of e-books available online.

Numerous studies have supported the finding that participation in various prison programs to reduce recidivism have significantly contributed to keeping these offenders from reentering the prison walls. Getting higher education while imprisoned, or learning marketable skills, will give the inmates more choices and a brighter outcome, once they rejoin society.

Rehabilitating our prisoners is definitely in society’s best interest, and must be taken seriously. The bottom line is that they are also human beings. By giving them the choices that are offered through the various prison rehabilitation programs, we are giving them a second shot to start over, and live better lives free of crime.