Abstract
The employment of inmates is a problem in juvenile as well as adult correctional institutions, too many of which are char acterized by unrealistic employment policies only vaguely con nected to the rehabilitative process. Very often, these policies do not reflect basic knowledge of the inmate's needs and his potential for rehabilitation. Often, too, the correctional staff and the inmate hold contradictory opinions about the purposes of employment. This article attempts to explore the genesis of these contradictions and suggests some means of resolving them.