Who Is Training Behind the Wall?

Abstract

Despite the critical inmate need for correctional mental health services, little attention is paid to those in training to provide such services. The present study fills this gap by examining, across 25 years, 896 predoctoral psychology interns who matched for and completed a 1-year federal corrections internship. Student characteristics, their graduate training programs, and postinternship hiring outcomes are presented. More women and students with prior clinical experience in criminal justice settings have, through the years, entered into internships in correctional settings. Outcome data suggest that more than half the graduate students find employment in correctional settings after completion of internship and that having criminal justice experiences prior to internship and receiving training in more urban locations was related to such hires. Implications for training and recruiting a strong psychology services workforce in corrections are discussed.