Issues Affecting Rehabilitation in American Prisons Name Institutional affiliation Issues Affecting Rehabilitation in American Prisons Introduction The Correction Departmentexecutes the sentences decided by the Court System, which serve to punish criminals, deter crimes of both. However, with over 2.3 million inmates in American prisons, policy makers are gradually shifting the emphasis from punishment to deterrence. Among the deterrence tools available to the correctional institutions is in-prison rehabilitation.The process involves a mixture of education and therapy to lower the recidivism rate. Effective rehabilitation programs are evidence based, cost effective and target the most vulnerable inmates. Although rehabilitation has proved successful to a great extent, correctional facilities face immense challenge in executing this key role, among them being human resource and policy issues. Success of rehabilitation programs In-prison treatment The United States has a high recidivism rate. The majority of inmates are repeat offenders, indicating that incarceration is not an effective approach to behavioral change among prisoners. According to Miceli (2009), the correctional institution has made rehabilitation a top priority (pg. 2). The author adds that, although most programs have faced challenges, some have reported a high level of success. Among the most successful programs include the academic education of offenders. Most