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

The issue of social and professional readaptation of convicts is the subjectof research and discussion in the field of social and legal sciences andpractice around the world. In Poland, the system of assisting prisonersincludes not only the Prison Service and probation officers, but also thePublic Employment Services, social welfare institutions, and non-governmentalorganizations. Helping former convicts and returning them to thepaths of social functioning brings benefits that go beyond the individualdimension and pays off not only in the local space, but also in the longterm – affecting subsequent generations and shaping their resources andpatterns of functioning. The article draws attention to the essence of socialand 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 thefunctioning of institutions and non-profit organizations in the world thatimplement various programs of social and professional reintegration andre-adaptation of people at risk of social exclusion due to their criminal past. The good practices presented in the article may be an inspiration forplanning and implementing programs on the basis of Polish post-penitentiaryaid.