Image copyright PA A bill to give prison governors "unprecedented" new powers will feature in the Queen's Speech later.
Billed as the biggest shake-up of the service since Victorian times, governors of six prisons will get control over budgets and daily regimes.
David Cameron said the changes would "extend life chances for all".
Measures on extremism, driverless cars and unmanned drones are also expected among the 21 bills as the government sets out its legislative agenda.
The Queen's Speech, which is expected shortly after 11:30 BST, is the centrepiece of the State Opening of Parliament, a tradition that can be traced back to 1536.
The government hopes its the proposals will be approved over the next 12 months but critics believe the speech is being overshadowed by the upcoming EU referendum.
The Queen's Speech on the BBC
Image copyright EPA- A special programme showing the State Opening of Parliament begins on BBC One and the BBC News Channel at 10:30 BST
- Online, the BBC's politics live page will bring all the news footage and reaction as it happens
Mr Cameron has promised a "clear programme of social reform" in the measures to be announced.
Plans to replace the Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights are expected to be mentioned, but with major detail on the plans yet to come.
Controversial plans to encourage schools to become academies, which were watered down following a Tory backlash, will reportedly feature, along with changes to the care and adoption system.
Writing in the Sunday Times earlier this month, Mr Cameron said the government would legislate to encourage permanent adoption - even if it meant children were not placed with relatives.
Analysis
By Chris Mason, BBC political correspondent
This morning, for the 65th time of her reign, the Queen will read out the government's proposed new laws.
But as the sovereign's carriage is polished and the roads closed; this moment, so often a pivotal one in the political calendar, is instead an island of respite in an EU referendum campaign tearing the Conservative Party apart.
So, for the prime minister, a chance to emphasise that his horizons extend beyond next month's vote. The emphasis: improving the life chances of the least fortunate; plans to improve social care and speed up adoption are expected, as is a shake-up of prisons in England and Wales.
Today, the Conservatives will seek to remind us about the range of ideas that won them last year's election. But it will also remind David Cameron that, with a slender majority, actually turning those ideas into laws won't be easy.
'Overshadowed by EU'
A former leader of the Commons, Lord Lansley said he believed the speech was being overshadowed by the EU referendum.
He said it was creating "a very large uncertainty" for the parliamentary programme.
"If there were a Brexit vote, not immediately but certainly in the latter part of the parliament, we would be completely absorbed with trying to manage the legislative consequences of that which would be monstrous to think about," he said.
Image copyright EPAIn the bill to be announced later, the governors of six jails will be given control over budgets, decide which rehabilitation and education services to use and be able to change the prison regime and the rules over family visits.
The prisons will be able to enter into contracts and to generate and retain income, the government said adding that governors would be held accountable by "a new regime of transparency".
By the end of the year, 5,000 prisoners will be held in the first six "autonomous" prisons, which will be:
- Wandsworth in South London
- Holme House, Stockton on Tees
- Ranby, Nottinghamshire
- Coldingley, Woking
- Kirklevington Grange, Cleveland
- High Down, Sutton
Inspectors have warned Ranby prison is at risk of being overwhelmed by the supply of so-called legal highs, and last month a prisoner was murdered at Coldingley.
The PM first outlined plans to give prison governors "complete control" over their prisons in February, saying it would reduce reoffending and allow prisoners to be treated as "potential assets to be harnessed".
At the time, the Prison Reform Trust said the measures were "only part of the equation", while the Howard League for Penal Reform said measures were needed to tackle the "profligate use of prison".
Mr Cameron said: "For too long, we have left our prisons to fester.
"Not only does that reinforce the cycle of crime, increasing the bills of social failure that taxpayers must pick up. It writes off thousands of people.
"So today, we start the long-overdue, long-needed change that our prisons need. No longer will they be warehouses for criminals; they will now be places where lives are changed."
The government will also publish a review of education in prisons and announce pilot areas chosen for satellite tracking of offenders.
In February a contract to develop the system was cancelled after the government had already spent £21m on the project.