CORRECTIONS

THE FIELDS OF SOCIAL WORK

Lallaine Joyce Fragata
 CORRECTIONS
 Define as “the administration of
penalty in such a way that the
offender is corrected, his current
behavior is kept within acceptable
limits at the same time his general
life adjustment is modified. Society
protects itself against continued
offending behavior by such a person
by imposing restrictions on him during
the period he is under supervised
status and/or employing rehabilitative
measures that will make it safe for
the community to return the offender
to a free status at the end of his
restricted status.
TWO AGENCIES OF CORRECTIONS
Probation Institution
- Is a “process of treatment, prescribed by the court for
persons convicted of offenses against the law, during
which the individual on probation lives in the
community and regulates his own life under conditions
imposed by the court (or other constituted authority)
and is subject to supervision by a probation officer.”
Parole Organization
- Is the release of a prisoner under supervision before the
expiration of his sentence, with the provision that he
might be returned to the correctional institution if he
violates the conditions of his parole.
The service of the correctional agency is viewed as
re-socialization, in the sense that it should provide to
the offender a personal community that will respond
to his needs as an individual. A community must re-
establish his social identity as a person of worth,
correct his distorted perspective on social relations,
teach him to satisfy his needs through acceptable
social functioning, and provide conditions that
support continued acceptable behavior.
“For his re-socialization process to be effective, the offender will have
to be provided a “
- Significant individual relationships that allow him to see
himself as a person of worth and help him learn to solve the
problems of daily life acceptably
- Membership in groups that offer genuine satisfaction through
legitimate experiences, teach him to use appropriate reference
groups for support in controlling behavior, and train him in the
social skills necessary to accomplish tasks in a complex society
- Access to the normal opportunity structures of the community,
such as employment, education, recreation, and religious
instruction
- Remedial services appropriate for dealing with his individual
problems in social functioning such as vocational training,
psychotherapeutic help, or medical rehabilitation and
- Correction of those conditions in his personal community that
reinforce his tendency to commit offenses.
 The national correctional institutions for convicted
adult offenders are the National Penitentiary in
Muntinlupa, the prison and penal farms in Davao,
Zamboanga, Palawan and Occidental Mindoro, the
regional prison in Leyte, and the Correctional
Institution for Women in Alabang. All of these are
administered by the Bureau of Prisons of the
Department of Justice.
BUREAU OF PRISONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
JUSTICE
 In February 28, 2002 the Bureau had only four
licensed social workers assigned to Muntinlupa ,
Palawan, Leyte and the CIW in Alabang . Most
provincial city and municipal jails do not have
social workers those that do are mostly in the Metro
Manila are.
TWO INSTITUTIONS IN THE COUNTRY

 One for boys (The Vicente Madrigal Rehabilitation

Center) and one for girls (Marilac Hills) which are
being administered by the Department of Social
Welfare and Development. Both institutions have
social workers on their staffs. The persons in charge
of these two institutions have almost been licensed
social workers, together with supervising social
workers and other members of the staff.
 Presidential Decree No.968 known as the Probation
Law of 1976 ( which allows first offenders who are
handed a jail sentence of not more than six years to
apply for probation) established the Probation
Administration which today has about 124 social
workers employed as Social Welfare Officers and
Probation Officers in fifteen regional offices and in
the Central Office in Quezon City.
 Republic Act 8369 – October 28, 1997 ( The Family
Courts Act) became a law, establishing a family
court in every province and city in the country,
giving it exclusive jurisdiction over child and family
cases, and making it a State policy ro provide a
system of adjudication for youthful offenders.
Furthermore, the law provides for the employment
of licensed social workers in these courts who will
provide counseling and other necessary social
services to children and their families.
“FUNCTIONS OF SOCIAL WORK IN RELATION TO JUVENILE
PROBATION WORK”
- Preparation of social case studies to facilitate legal
decision making
- Provision of counseling and other necessary services to
the youth and his family throughout the period that they
youth is on probation
- Referral and mobilization of community resources on
behalf of the youth and/or his family
- Coordinating with other groups/agencies which are
engaged in activites relating to or affecting probationers
and
- Preparing reports/recommendations on the probationers
which will be the basis for decision making by the courts.
 As our society becomes more complex, we can
assume that there will also be an increase in the
number of legal offenders whose rehabilitation or,
better still, whose re-socialization will be a
continuing challenge to our corrections system. The
challenge is there, too, for the social work
profession which is committed to helping people
who need assistance in realizing their potential to
live in harmony with the rest of the human
community.