SOCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL READAPTATION PROGRAMS IN THE WORLD AS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF PRACTICES IN THE FIELD OF POST-PENITENTIARY AID IN POLAND

Abstract

The issue of social and professional readaptation of convicts is the subject of research and discussion in the field of social and legal sciences and practice around the world. In Poland, the system of assisting prisoners includes not only the Prison Service and probation officers, but also the Public Employment Services, social welfare institutions, and non-governmental organizations. Helping former convicts and returning them to the paths of social functioning brings benefits that go beyond the individual dimension and pays off not only in the local space, but also in the long term – affecting subsequent generations and shaping their resources and patterns of functioning. The article draws attention to the essence of social and professional reintegration and re-adaptation of people leaving prisons, taking into account the basic goal of institutional and social interactions, which is change. At the same time, it emphasizes the importance of the functioning of institutions and non-profit organizations in the world that implement various programs of social and professional reintegration and re-adaptation of people at risk of social exclusion due to their criminal past. The good practices presented in the article may be an inspiration for planning and implementing programs on the basis of Polish post-penitentiary aid.