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EPISCOPAL SOCIAL SERVICES – NETWORK PROGRAM (NY)
Program Description In 1979, the New York State Department of Correctional Services created the Network Program, a therapeutic community for inmates. Available in 30 facilities across the state, it emphasized personal responsibility and community living. Although the Network Program was well received by prison administration and staff, it was discontinued in 1990 due to budget cuts. In 1999, Episcopal Social Services (ESS) received permission to reintroduce the Network Program in New York correctional facilities. ESS is a nonprofit, non-denominational social services agency begun by the Episcopal Mission Society. Patterned after the original program, the Network Program is currently operating in nine facilities, with individual Network cellblocks housing between 30 and 100 men and women who participate in daily group meetings. The Network Program also includes a post-release community component that was created by ESS in 1990 to serve parolees released from shock incarceration programs (a six-month boot camp program for offenders in need of substance abuse treatment). The community-based component provides services to work-release inmates from four facilities and to parolees by providing weekly group meetings at two sites in New York City . Ideally, individuals begin their involvement with ESS while in prison and then transition to the community component of the Network Program. The Network Program is built on the therapeutic community model of behavior modification, a group-method approach typically used in substance abuse treatment settings. Therapeutic communities focus on building self-esteem and a sense of community among the participants by examining issues of personal responsibility for past behaviors and how one can learn from the past to change future behavior. The ultimate goal of this type of treatment approach is to change participants' lifestyle and identity (in this case, move them away from a life of crime and substance abuse). The program is organized around a series of group meetings that take place in prison and then in the community upon release. These meetings, which occur on a daily basis in prison and weekly in the community, are the program's only organized group therapeutic activities. Participants primarily run the meetings in both settings with little interference from ESS or corrections staff. The basic Network session consists of three different meetings: the Community Meeting, the Four-Part Meeting, and the Clearing Meeting. The Community Meeting , which normally starts all Network functions, focuses on the individual's responsibility to self and as a member of a larger community. The process allows members to confront themselves and be confronted by others, in an environment of mutual concern and support. The Four-Part Meeting follows the Community Meeting. Here, smaller groups meet and talk in the four-part format. The first part focuses on self-affirmations. The second part is a time to share stress and concerns. In the third part, each member develops a plan of action for the near future. The fourth part is a period of silence for reflection. The Clearing Meeting finishes a regular session of Network. It provides each participant with time to air his or her feelings without interruption or comments from other members. Program Goals The in-prison component of the Network Program strives to help prisoners create a supportive community and, ultimately, to prepare them for release. The community-based component focuses on meeting participants' reentry needs so that they may successfully reintegrate back to their families and communities. Networking,
Partnering,and Collaboration Outcomes ESS commissioned the Vera Institute of Justice to conduct a process evaluation of the Network Program to help them better understand how the program has been implemented, how it may be improved, and to learn something about the types of offenders it attracts. Researchers found that successful implementation of the in-prison program was tied to three elements: (1) building relationships with counselors and officers to create a sense of shared mission and cooperation; (2) providing corrections staff with the appropriate tools to oversee the program; and (3) encouraging communication between corrections and ESS staff. Implementation of the community-based component was not influenced by these elements. Here, the program's focus on reentry and innovative approaches seems to be more influential in determining correctional staff's acceptance and use of the program. They also found that long-term violent offenders were more likely to participate in the in-prison program while the community component seemed more likely to attract minority drug offenders.
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