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Managing the Elderly in Corrections

"The elderly offender is still treated as distinctly marginal and remains more or less peripheral to policy and advocacy within most correctional jurisdictions. Where innovative practices have emerged, it is typically because of the local efforts of determined correctional professionals, often in partnership with the voluntary sector. Despite their increasing numbers, elderly offenders have not yet attained visibility as a national or international policy issue in corrections" (p. 18-19). This document discusses issues impacting the managing of senior inmates and offers suggestions on how to meet those challenges. 

Sections address: 

  • the scope of the problem; 
  • what is causing this problem of the graying of the prisoner population; 
  • the aging prisoner population-significant consequences and possible responses; 
  • managing the health care needs of the elderly prisoner; 
  • coping and adaptation to prison life for the elderly; 
  • types of stressors for the elderly in corrections; 
  • supporting the terminally ill and dying elderly in prisons; 
  • duties regularly performed by inmate caregivers; 
  • reintegration of the elderly offender back to the community; 
  • and a framework for best practice programming for the elderly offender. 

Appendixes include: 

  • "'True Grit': Description of a Model Correctional Program for the Elderly Offender"; 
  • and "UNODC Recommendations: Handbook on Prisoners with Special Needs".