What Counties can Do for Prison Parents
May 20, 2004
Research News
What Counties can Do for Prison ParentsAmerica's prison population is booming. Mandatory sentencing laws have contributed to the wealth of convicts on probation, parole, or in prison custody. Many of these men and women are parents who leave children behind if they become incarcerated. The most recent data available reports that, in 1999, an estimated 721,500 state and federal prisoners were parents to nearly 1.5 million children under age 18. Approximately 10 percent of these were female inmates
While in prison, many parents do not have interaction with their children on a regular basis. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, a majority of both fathers (57 percent) and mothers (53 percent) in state prisons reported never having a personal visit with their children since entry into prison.
For these children and parents, maintaining the family structure can be mutually beneficial and improve the lives on both sides of the prison bars. Research suggests that children of incarcerated parents are more likely than other children to exhibit behavioral problems and become involved with the juvenile and criminal justice systems.
Fortunately, some states and local jurisdictions are beginning to acknowledge the importance of parent-child relationships by introducing pioneering programs.
Monroe County, Ind. administers the Families in Transition Program (FIT). Parenting and life-skills education, contact visits with their children, and support services to families constitute the FIT program. The program model is drawn from research demonstrating a positive relationship between parole and success, and the maintenance of strong family ties while incarcerated. Family contact visits are the centerpiece of the FIT program. The visits give inmates an opportunity to apply concepts from their classes.
McCracken County, Ky. began offering parenting classes to female inmates in 2002. Volunteers from the First Baptist Church coordinate the activities and work with approximately 20-25 inmates per month. Classes cover areas such as relaxation exercises, helping children with their homework and balancing a checkbook. The county plans to implement a sentence-reduction program for those inmates who successfully complete the training classes.
The Ohio State University Extension-Clermont County offers educational programs in horticulture, agriculture, and family life to misdemeanor offenders at the Clermont County Jail. The program is a part of the comprehensive inmate rehabilitating process. The family and consumer science agent uses the Active Parenting Today program for parents of children ages 2-12, and the Active Parenting of Teens for parents of teenagers. Using the power of video drama, the programs portray situations between parents and their children or teens. This program covers topics from discipline techniques to communication skills.
PATCH (Papas and Their Children), run by the Bexar County (Texas) Adult Detention Center and Detention Ministries, encourages inmates to attend parenting and life skills classes - sessions intended to help reduce recidivism. For each one-hour class attended, a father is entitled to a one-hour "contact" visit with his child (sitting in a room with his child, instead of speaking through a glass window).
For more information on programs that help prisoners and their families, contact the Sentencing Project at www.sentencingproject.org, the Bureau of Justice Statistics at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs, or the Aid to Incarcerated Mothers at www.takingaim.net.
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(Research News was written by Christina Crayton, research associate.)