Redefining Disciplinary Segregation: Perceptions of Effective Programming Among Program Participants and Staff

Abstract

People who engage in violence during their incarceration create a number of challenges for those who live and work in our correctional facilities. In response, there is a growing focus on the use of short-term confinement in disciplinary segregation that includes therapeutic programming. The ability of these programs to affect future behavior, however, is mixed. To better understand why research is mixed, the current study incorporates the views and perspectives of staff and participants involved in rehabilitative efforts within a segregated housing setting. Structured interviews were carried out with 25 former program participants and 10 correctional staff who oversee the day-to-day management of a disciplinary segregation program in a U.S. prison that includes rehabilitative programming. Subject perspectives provide additional direction for the inclusion of programming in segregated housing and a note of caution for programs that are alternative in name but traditional in practice.