Transition Skills

The skills described thus far are, to some degree, necessary for all young people to acquire. Youth who are incarcerated must add to this already impressive curriculum yet another skill. Incarcerated youth must devote time to obtaining transition skills that will enable them to successfully make the move to the outside world.

Educators may be surprised to find that, for some students, the first step in obtaining transition skills is to acknowledge release as something desirable. Correctional facilities may actually be a refuge that is safer than being out on the streets. In fact, it is not unheard of for inmates who have no place to go to commit a crime that will result in reincarceration during the winter months. All of the inmates’ needs are met, so incarceration is not considered a negative experience. Further, incarceration may not hold connotations of negativity for inmates who have experienced it before. The desirability of correctional facilities to inmates is clearly a problem that must be addressed. If inmates have no interest in leaving, they will not be motivated to pursue acquiring any transition skills.

Educators can help incarcerated youth hesitant to leave the correctional facility explore their feelings regarding the transition. What do they look forward to? What are they apprehensive about? Although they may not admit it, students might be harboring many fears:

Fear of freedom They may doubt their ability to function in an environment in which there are so many choices and decisions to make.
Fear of the unknown Incarcerated youth who anticipate returning to the same environments they were in prior to incarceration may fear that everything will have changed. They may ask themselves: “Will I recognize anything? What do I say to my friends and family? Will they treat me differently?”
Fear of repeating mistakes Repeat offenders in particular may believe that no matter how hard they try, they will inevitably make a mistake that will put them back in the correctional facility.

Addressing fear can be a topic of instruction. Students could write about their feelings in journals or form action plans to deal with fears. Educators should point out that being responsible for making many decisions is exciting as well as scary. Having more options simply means that more avenues are available to be explored. To help examine the choices available to them, as well as who they are and why they are in their current situation, students might choose to participate in Action for Personal Choice. This course features a four–step process of awareness, understanding, acceptance, and change. Whether they participate in this course or not, students must remember to tackle one decision at a time, at their own pace. The decision–making/problem–solving process remains the same for any situation: brainstorming options, weighing benefits and disadvantages, and picking the best solution.

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