Margaret R. Kohut - When You Have to Go to Prison: A Complete Guide for You and Your Family

When You Have to Go to Prison

A Complete Guide for You and Your Family

By Margaret R. Kohut, MSW

Certified Criminal Justice Specialist

Certified Criminal Justice Addiction Specialist

Clinically Certified Forensic Counselor

Master Addiction Counselor

Certified Forensic Addiction Examiner

Clinically Certified Domestic Violence Counselor, Level 3

When You Have to Go to Prison: A Complete Guide for You and Your Family

Copyright 2010 by Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc.

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SAN Number: 268-1250

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be sent to Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc., 1405 SW 6th Ave., Ocala, Florida 34471.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Kohut, Margaret R.

When you have to go to prison : a complete guide for you and your family / by Margaret R. Kohut.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60138-385-3 (alk. paper)

ISBN-10: 1-60138-385-1 (alk. paper)

1. Prisoners--United States--Life skills guides. 2. Prisons--United States. 3. Imprisonment--United States. 4. Criminal justice, Administration of--United States. 5. Prisoners families--United States. I. Title.

HV9471.K64 2010

.60973--dc22

2009054425

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A few years back we lost our beloved pet dog Bear, who was not only our best and dearest friend but also the Vice President of Sunshine here at Atlantic Publishing. He did not receive a salary but worked tirelessly 24 hours a day to please his parents.

Bear was a rescue dog who turned around and showered myself, my wife, Sherri, his grandparents Jean, Bob, and Nancy, and every person and animal he met (well, maybe not rabbits) with friendship and love. He made a lot of people smile every day.

We wanted you to know a portion of the profits of this book will be donated in Bears memory to local animal shelters, parks, conservation organizations, and other individuals and nonprofit organizations in need of assistance.

Douglas and Sherri Brown

PS: We have since adopted two more rescue dogs: first Scout, and the following year, Ginger. They were both mixed golden retrievers who needed a home.

Want to help animals and the world? Here are a dozen easy suggestions you and your family can implement today:

• Adopt and rescue a pet from a local shelter.
• Support local and no-kill animal shelters.
• Plant a tree to honor someone you love.
• Be a developer put up some birdhouses.
• Buy live, potted Christmas trees and replant them.
• Make sure you spend time with your animals each day.
• Save natural resources by recycling and buying recycled products.
• Drink tap water, or filter your own water at home.
• Whenever possible, limit your use of or do not use pesticides.
• If you eat seafood, make sustainable choices.
• Support your local farmers market.
• Get outside. Visit a park, volunteer, walk your dog, or ride your bike.

Five years ago, Atlantic Publishing signed the Green Press Initiative. These guidelines promote environmentally friendly practices, such as using recycled stock and vegetable-based inks, avoiding waste, choosing energy-efficient resources, and promoting a no-pulping policy. We now use 100-percent recycled stock on all our books. The results: in one year, switching to post-consumer recycled stock saved 24 mature trees, 5,000 gallons of water, the equivalent of the total energy used for one home in a year, and the equivalent of the greenhouse gases from one car driven for a year.

Foreword

H indsight is 20/20. This statement is typically made after the act. The deed is done, youve been charged and sentenced, and now it is time to prepare yourself and your loved ones for the consequences thereafter. When You Have to go to Prison: A Complete Guide for You and Your Family will help steer you through a number of events that will take place while incarcerated. You will learn which pitfalls to avoid and which opportunities to engage in. As you enter prison life, it will give you time to reflect on all past decisions made and to analyze and redirect your lifes course. This book prepares you for the reality of prison, dispelling the myths or other noteworthy Hollywood urban legends.

Within Margaret Kohuts book, When You Have to go to Prison: A Complete Guide for You and Your Family , you will develop an understanding of the criminal justice system. Fortunately for you, this isnt a death sentence. You are in a state prison facility, and you have the opportunity to change law-breaking behavior and develop good characteristics and insight that will keep you out of future imprisonment. The key to surviving prison life is held within your attitude, adjusting to your environment and following the rules of the facility. This book warns you of the pitfalls to avoid, such as gang activity, sexual violence, contraband, drug trafficking, and jailhouse lawyers.

Adapting to prison life will be a challenge. Your freedom is revoked, except for what little liberty is given within the prison walls. Habits you have grown accustomed to will cease especially if they are seen as a security risk. You will be monitored 24 hours a day. Family visits will be limited, personal property is minimal, and privacy is relinquished. You will experience various levels of emotions, from fear to anger to restlessness. There are a cultural array of races, socioeconomic classes, and ethnic groups of individuals that will share in your personal space. This book will teach you how to manage your emotions while in a controlled setting; if not, you will soon learn there are great consequences including an extension of prison time. Closely follow the fictional life of Tom in this book; he depicts a realistic example of the situations you may encounter during your time in prison and how to appropriately respond.