http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09356/1022675-454.stm
With over 55,000 inmates in the PA state prison! It is high time emphasis be given to rehabilitation; one key element of rehabilitation is the strengthening of ties between family and inmate.
Over ninety percent of those incarcerated are going to return to society and unless we make serious inroads and work with those incarcerated, they are more than likely going to end up back in prison. The current national rate of recidivism is 79%!
Separating these men and women from their family is only going to worsen the minimum support network that they have. Their families for the most part don’t have the resources or are not healthy enough to travel long distances.