The Philadelphia Prison System (PPS) operates six major correctional facilities--the , the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, the Detention Center, the House of Correction, Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center and the Riverside Correctional Facility--on State Road in Northeast Philadelphia as well as several smaller satellite facilities in various locations of the City.
Facilities
Philadelphia's correctional facilities confine adults who have been committed by the courts and juveniles who have been remanded to the adult penal system through either direct file or certification. In addition, prisoners from other correctional jurisdictions are detained within the PPS while attending court proceedings in Philadelphia. As a county correctional system, the PPS houses inmates with sentences of two years or less. Some inmates with multiple consecutive sentences are incarcerated longer. About 60.5 percent of PPS inmates are awaiting trial, and the remaining 39.5 percent are convicted.
To the degree possible given their physical design, all PPS facilities operate on the concept of unit management, a prison management technique that reduces the need for inmate movement by delivering daily services, such as dining, medication, and sick call, on the housing unit, in an effort to promote safety, security, and inmate programming. The Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center, Alternative and Special Detention Central Unit, the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, and the Riverside Correctional Facility were all designed according to the unit management model.
Restorative and Transitional Services
Restorative and Transitional Services Division provides a variety of services to inmates, including counseling; job placement; addiction treatment; individual, family, and group therapy; sex offender services; and psychological services. Inmates have the opportunity to participate in a variety of religious programs conducted by the Chaplaincy Services Unit.
Inmates confined within the PPS have the opportunity to participate in adult basic education, GED/high-school diploma preparation, special education, conflict resolution, and art classes conducted by the School District of Philadelphia, along with general educational development classes taught in both English and Spanish. Inmates who do not respond well to traditional classroom education have the opportunity to participate in Program Logic Automated Teaching Operation (PLATO), a computer-based program, which provides adult basic education and GED preparation, as well as instruction in life and employability skills, health and sexually transmitted diseases, substance abuse, parenting skills, literacy, and English as a second language. Additional literacy instruction is available through the Hooked-on-Phonics program and through volunteer tutors. The Department of Public Health and a host of other organizations provide educational, health, and other services to the inmate population.
The PHILACOR Unit administers 12 industrial training programs. Inmates may gain work experience in various other trades by participating in work and vocational training programs within the PPS.
Jewish Employment and Vocational Service provide seven additional vocational training programs.
