While the state House yesterday passed legislation which would provide $500 million to expand the state's cramped prison system, construction alone has so far done little to relieve Pennsylvania's overfilled prisons.

"We do not have the resources to build our way out of this problem. We have to attack it from different perspectives," said John Taylor, deputy press secretary for Gov. Robert P. Casey.

One option is promoting better rehabilitation programs for inmates, Taylor said.

"Unless we're able to change attitude and change character, housing inmates for a short period of time will only get them back again. We must promote rehabilitation programs to keep them out of the prisons," he said.

A program through Penn Free, the governor's anti-drug campaign, houses offenders with drug and alcohol problems, he said, adding that 43 percent of the state's inmates are in prison for drug related offenses.

"The only way of reducing crime rate and prison overcrowding is to get some kind of handle on the drug problem," Taylor said.

Between 63 and 65 percent of inmates are back in jail within two years after their release, said Ted Alleman, a lecturer for the University's administration of justice department.

"If they simply had their problems dealt with, if they were counseled effectively, many would never go back to prison," Alleman said.

Another aid to easing overcrowding is the "boot camp" programs many states offer for young offenders, where prisoners work in camps rather than go to jail, Taylor said.

A similar option is a good-time law, which would release prisoners early for good behavior, Alleman said.

But such a law would be effective only if the "good-time" included some accomplishment, such as literacy, a GED or college degree, he said.

Some communities also use TASC --Treatment Alternative to Street Crime -- which allows certain inmates out of jail, monitoring them for behavior, Alleman said.

"It's far less expensive to run a TASC program than it is to run a jail," he said.

Some places attach electronic anklets on released inmates, which alert officials if the person moves too far from a monitoring device in a specific place, such as home or work, he said.

"That's becoming popular not in terms of treatment but in that its cost effective," he said.