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Task Group on Social Occupational Therapy Utilization in Incarceration Facilities

Student’s Name

Institution Affiliation

Course Name and Number

Instructor’s Name

Date
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Social Issue

Social occupational therapy will be the focus of this task force. Social occupational

therapy is a unique field of occupational therapy that utilizes an array of methods and

activities to promote the rights and possibilities of individuals adversely affected by social

inequalities. The field focuses on issues, such as drug and substance abuse, homelessness,

immigration, poverty, and racial discrimination among others. Ethno-racial inequalities

account for variances in crime rates in different neighbourhoods in the United States.

Concentrations of disadvantage are particularly pronounced in non-White areas and make

such areas prone to criminal involvement. Essentially, the limited availability of legitimate

economic opportunities in non-white areas forces many people to resort to crime.

Consequently, racial and ethnic stratification has emerged in the United States whereby some

racial or ethnic groups are associated with certain types of crime (Krivo et al., 2021).

Similarly, Matsueda et al. (2005) assert that criminal traditions tend to sprout from areas with

accumulated disadvantages that make it difficult for residents to prosper through

conventional means. Such criminal traditions, or codes of violence, are used by residents to

maintain their dignity and improve their status in the society. The social disorganization in

the often neglected inner cities also strengthens the criminal traditions, which may spill over

to otherwise nonviolent regions. Thus, ocial inequalities have permeated the criminal justice

system with numbers of individuals disadvantaged by social conditions disproportionately

higher in incarceration facilities.

Social occupational therapy utilization in incarceration centers is significant as it

bridges the gap between inmates disadvantaged by social inequalities and those that are not.

Social occupational therapists can develop interventions that target specific challenges related

to particular social inequalities to support rehabilitation and reintegration of inmates. For

instance, inmates whose criminal activities were influenced by drug and substance abuse may
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benefit from interventions that address enablers of drug and substance abuse and addiction

treatments, thereby promoting meaningful change and overall wellbeing in the prison

environment. Social occupational therapy in incarceration centers may also involve training

inmates in a wide range of skills to boost their employabililty upon release from prison, so

that they are no longer disadvantaged by their social conditions of poverty. In summary,

social occupational therapy provides interventions to challenges created by social inequalities

so that individuals from diverse socio-demographic backgrounds can equally realize their

aspirations.

Goals & Objectives

This group will be established to conduct a survey on the use of social occupational

therapy in incarceration centers. The task force will convene to review and discuss the

findings of surveys conducted in twenty-one incarceration facilities on the degree to which

correctional officers utilize social occupational therapy to help inmates who are

disadvantaged by social conditions gain their social rights. The group will also explore the

extent to which social occupational therapy has helped inmates who are disadvantaged by

social inequalities to build their social recognition and expand their lives’ possibilities upon

release from incarceration. Thus, Dr. John Fischer will convene the group at Ferrum Collge,

and will seek to achieve these three key objectives:

1. To conduct a survey on the extent to which social occupational therapy is applied in

rehabilitation processes in incarceration centers.

2. To discuss the extent to which social occupational therapy has supported the

successful reintegration of inmates back to the community

3. To recommend the best way to utilize social occupational therapy in incarceration

centers to effectively achieve the broader rehabilitation and reintegration goals.

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Target Population

The task group’s efforts will benefit convicts from black neighborhoods. Black

neighbourhoods are associated with urban poverty, which stems from historical inequalities

and disadvantages, such as limited access to decent employment opportunities, racial

discrimination and lack of education. These disadvantages increase the likelihood of

committing crimes as a means to make ends meet. Many individuals from black

neighborhoods feel marginalized and perceive crime as a means of survival. Through social

occupational therapy, inmates from black neighborhoods could be trained in a range of skills

to increase their chances of getting decent employment once reintegrated in the community.

The task group’s efforts will also benefits inmates who are disadvantaged by drug and

substance abuse. Drug and substance abuse is a major enabler of crime. Individuals who

battle drug addictions are likelier to commit crimes to fund their addictions. Besides, their

compromised states of mind may also make such individuals to commit violent crimes

oblivious of their consequences. Without social occupational therapy in incaceration

facilities, such inmates may remain in a vicious cylce of crime even after being released from

prison. Social occupational therapy in prison centers could provide opportunities for drug and

substance rehabilitation for inmates to promote meaningful change once they are reintegrated

in the community. Additionally, the task group’s efforts will benefit prison inmates who are

disadvantaged by homelessness. Social occupational therapy approaches here may include

partnering with charitable organizations to provide decent shelter for inmates who were

homeless at the time of their apprehension. The provision of decent housing for the homeless

could reduce the chances of reoffending once released from prison. Alternatively, social

occupational therapy may involve providing opportunities for economic emancipation so that

the once homeless inmates are now able to afford decent housing. In brief, the task group’s

efforts will yield recommendations that will enable incarceration centers to bridge the gap
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created by social inequalities and their far reaching ramifications on the criminal justice

system.

Membership

Each of the twenty incarcerational facilities will nominate one representative to the

task force to ensure fairness in representation. The task force will comprise of members from

diverse professional backgrounds. Specifically, the group facilitator will select three prison

wardens, three psychiatrists, three counselors, three social workers, three correctional

officers, three ocupational therapists, and three legislators. The members will also be drawn

from neighborhoods with diverse socio-demographic backgrounds. Half of the

representatives will be male while the other half will be female. The group will also ensure

equal representation with respect to minority racial groups and dominant racial groups, high

and low socioeconomic status, and dominant versus minority religious group. People with

disabilities and those from the LGBTQ group will also be considered in the composition of

the group’s membership. The group facilitator will also ensure diversity and inclusion by

using inclusive language so as to maintain a culture of respect and belonging. The group

modalities will emphasize respect for cultural differences and create maximum opportunities

for people from different backgrounds to interact and connect. Also, the group facilitator will

allow remote and hybrid team members from the group to contribute their expertise from

their locations. All group members will be accorded equal time to volunteer their information

on the group’s objective.

The group facilitator will have a background in criminal justice with a bias in law. In

other words, the group facilitator will possess a post-graduate education qualification and

deeply familiar with interdisciplinary themes in criminal law, mental health, social

occupational therapy, intersectionality, criminal justice policies, and social work. The rich
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background will enable the group facilitator to effectively coordinate the multidisciplinary

team, dissect complex and commonplace themes on the topic, and resonate powerfully with

every professional. Additionally, the group facilitator will possess a high sense of self-

awareness and cultural competence in order to navigate different personalities and cultural

values in the task force. Besides, high self-awareness will enable the group facilitator to

manage various emotions and maintain a condusive environment for the task force to achieve

its mandate. Importantly, the group facilitator will possess effective communication skills

particularly active listening. This will enable them to encourage participation from everyone,

internalize their points and provide timely feedback.

The task force facilitator will also develop an ethical code to guide the group’s

activities and ensure it is adhered to. This will be anchored on values, such as accountability,

respect, adaptability, collaboration and initiative. Accountability will ensure that every group

member takes responsibility for their actions. Respect will ensure every member is held in

high regard and treated as worthy regardless of their backgrounds. Adaptability will require

participants to embrace change adjust to emerging conditions and guarantee the attainment of

the group’s objectives. Collaboration will set modalities for members to work together and

support each others’ activities in order to build synergy and attain high quality performance

outcomes. Lastly, initiative will empower every group member to be proactive and take

charge of tasks that will support the attainment of the group’s goal.

Activities

The group facilitator will conduct a 4-session group therapy to improve the group’s

functionality. The four sessions will include an intake session, beginning session, middle

session and terminating session. The intake session will be conducted during the group’s first

meeting where the facilitator will preside over introductions. Members will introduce
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themselves, provide information on their backgrounds, and share their group expectations.

The beginning session will be conducted at the beginning of every meeting as scheduled on

the timetable. The group facilitator will invite participants to share their experiences and

review the progress made from the previous meetings. The middle session will be a

continuous process as members will learn and practice interpersonal skills as they interact

with their colleagues from diverse backgrounds. This will also entail discussing problems

encountered during the course of the task force, develop new ways of handling problems and

support one another in the group. Throught the life of the task force, the members will learn

to build rapport, understand one another’s personalities and perspectives, promote trust and

eliminate barriers to the group’s cohesion. The terminating session will come at the closure of

the task force where the group will review their milestones and determine whether the

objectives were attained.

The table below illustrates the planned activities to be conducted by the task force;

Activity Method of Implementation Timeline

Planning phase Face to face meetings to assign roles, formulate objectives, 1 week
draw the timetable
Surveys Physical visits to the 21 incarceration facilities 3 weeks
Data compilation Face to face meetings to conduct statistical analyses 3 days
and analysis
Discussion of Face to face meetings to synthesize and interpret survey 1 week
findings results
Conclusions and Face to face meetings to draw inferences, answer the 1 week
formulation of objectives
recommendations
Report writing Retreat to compile the report 1 week
Report presentation Presentation of the report to the Director of the Federal 1 day
Bureau of Prisons
Process evaluation Assessing the group’s processes, protocols and plans 1 day
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Outcome Assessing the immediate effects of social occupational 1 week

evaluation therapy utilization
Impact evaluation Assessing the long term impacts of social occupational After 12 months
therapy utilization

Resources Needed

The task force will require a wide range of resources to successfully attain its mandate. First,

the task group will need human resources which will comprise of the twenty-one

representatives from the incarceration facilities. The representatives will be drawn from

diverse backgrounds. The task force will also need financial resources. The group will be

funded by the Federal Bureau of Prisons in conjunction with partners, such as the Salvation

Army, Free World, Hope for Prisoners, and the National Reentry Network for Returning

Citizens. The funding will be in form of financial resources, venues for meetings, technical

resources, and digital equipment. The task force will also need transportation to the

incarceration facilities. The task group members will use their own private vehicles to visit

the incarceration facilities.

Evaluation Plan

The task group will use the following evaluation plan to gauge the success of its processes,

outcomes and impact;

Process evaluation:

Process evaluation examines whether the group is being run as intended and includes

adherence to the laid out plans, and objectives. The group facilitator will lead the members to

conduct process evaluation at the end of planned activity. The checklist for the process

evaluation will include strict adherence to the planned activities’ timelines, whether all the
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members participate in the group activities, and whether all the incarceration facilities are

visited, and whether all the objectives are addressed.

Outcome evaluation:

The group facilitator will also conduct outcome evaluation which measures the

immediate effect of a particular program on the target population. The task group will

evaluate the benefis of social occupational therapy on the inmates disadvantaged by their

social conditions. The task group will appraise the social occupational approaches pursued by

different incarceration facilities and their impact on helping former incarcerated persons

overcome their social disadvantages.

Impact evaluation:

Lastly, the task group will re-convene after a period of one year to conduct impact

evaluation. This will entail the assessment of the long-term impacts of social occupational

therapy. The task force will determine the extent to which its recommendations impacted

meaningful change.

References

Krivo, L. J., Lyons, C. J., & Velez, M. B. (2021). The U.S. Racial Structure and Ethno-Racial

Inequality in Urban Neighborhood Crime, 2010–2013. Sociology of Race and

Ethnicity, 7(3), 351-370.

Matsueda, R. L., Drakulich, K., & Kubrin, C. E. (2005). Chapter 18: Race and Neighborhood

Codes of Violence. In The Many Colors of Crime: Inequalities of Race, Ethnicity, and

Crime in America (pp. 335-357). New York University Press.