ABSTRACT
Incarceration and the failures associated with the prison experience, particularly high rates of recidivism, are creating an underclass of men and a cycle of disrupted family relations that represent a worrisome community problem. Interventions in preventing ex-offenders from engaging in criminal activities remain difficult to evaluate, particularly those interventions that offer rehabilitative, community-based approaches outside of the mainstream incarceration approach. The developmental and enduring consequence of the immediate social situation upon human behavior is well established throughout the behavioral and social science literature. The concept of social support has great utility in terms of assessment and intervention for at-risk groups. The application of conceptual frameworks has had scant utilization within criminal justice. Less serious offenders are entering prison at a higher rate, while more serious offenders, already in prison, are leaving by the "back door" to "make room" for new inmates and ease prison overcrowding.
