Examining the Effect of Correctional Programming on Perceptions of Likelihood of Recidivism Among Incarcerated Prisoners

ABSTRACT

For many years, policymakers and criminal justice scholars have debated the impact of correctional programming on recidivism. This debate is currently unresolved. Using data from 1,234 currently incarcerated inmates in a mid-Southern state, this study examines whether inmates who participate in correctional programming while incarcerated are less likely to feel that they will recidivate upon release from prison. The findings from this research suggest that program participation while in prison has little impact on the inmates’ perceived recidivism, although important programming effects may still occur. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Our Stories–Our Journey: An Empowerment Group Approach for Justice-Involved Women using Pecha-Kucha

ABSTRACT

This article presents Our Stories–Our Journey, a group-work intervention with justice-involved women. This narrative-based intervention helps members to develop insight into self-identity and to restructure narratives via mutual aid. Through a group-work intervention using empowerment and narrative theories with pecha-kucha (the word for chit-chat or chatter, in Japanese), incarcerated women work to create empowering stories that will support them in constructing new narratives. Considering the traumatic pathways to prison for women and the oppressive correctional environments, models of innovative programs that are strength based and empowering are needed that will guide the social work profession to work effectively with justice-involved populations.     

Homeless and financially dependent adolescents as clients of a family agency 1

A wide range of issues are explored that are identified by incarcerated mothers during their participation in a Family Reunification Group at a prison for women. They include concerns regarding parent–child visits; lack of communication by child welfare social workers, attorneys, foster parents, and other caregivers; the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA); lack of finances; past and present unresolved trauma issues; and the absence of notification of scheduled court hearings. This article also provides an in-depth look at how a group therapist established a therapeutic alliance with varied women in the group over a period of 5 years (2008–2013) and maintained a sense of professional self in this controlled setting. Finally, the implications for clinical social work practice and social work education are presented. Confidentiality is ensured with the use of de-identified case composite clinical material.     

‘Poor prison flowers’: convict mothers and their children in Ireland, 1853–1900

Pregnant women and mothers were among the thousands of individuals who were sentenced to at least three years’ penal servitude and admitted to the nineteenth-century Irish female convict prison. While some babies were born behind bars, others were permitted to accompany their convicted mothers into the prison after the penal practice of transportation had ceased. Other dependent children were separated from their convicted mothers for years, cared for by family members or friends, or accommodated in Ireland’s growing web of institutions. Using individual case studies, this article focuses on convict mothers and their young offspring. It draws attention to the increasing restrictions on the admission of infants that were imposed as the nineteenth century progressed, the problems that children of various ages in the penal system seemed to pose for officials, and the difficulties faced by incarcerated mothers who wished to maintain communication with their offspring. This article argues that while there were benefits to parenting within the confines of the prison, sentences of penal servitude had a significant impact on the lives of dependent offspring by dislocating families, separating siblings, or initiating institutional or other care that broke familial bonds permanently. In so doing, the article reveals attitudes towards motherhood as well as female criminality and institutionalization generally during this period and sheds light on an aspect of convict life unique to the women’s prison.     

Variations in the Life Histories of Incarcerated Parents by Race and Ethnicity: Implications for Service Provision

ABSTRACT

Incarcerated parents have complex life histories that often remain unresolved during incarceration, can continue to create barriers to prosocial success on release, and present similar intergenerational challenges for their children. This study examines the life histories of incarcerated fathers and mothers from the Pacific Northwest and how their experiences vary based on race and ethnicity. Five areas examined were exposure to trauma, child welfare involvement, mental health and substance abuse problems, juvenile justice and adult criminal justice involvement, and intergenerational criminal justice involvement. The sample comprised 359 incarcerated parents, and their racial/ethnic composition was 59% White, 14% African American, 11% multiracial, 8% Native American, and 7% Latino. Few differences were found across racial and ethnic groups. Mothers appeared more similar to each other across groups than fathers. Results illustrated similarities yet some surprising differences with national trends on key study variables. Implications for future research and intervention and prevention are discussed.     

The Moderating Effect of Living with a Child Before Incarceration on Postrelease Outcomes Related to a Prison-Based Parent Management Training Program

ABSTRACT

With the rapid growth in incarceration in the United States over the past few decades came dramatic growth in the number of the incarcerated parents with at least one minor child. Parental incarceration places extra stresses and strains on families and children. Almost all of those incarcerated will eventually be released. However, the majority of those released from prison will be rearrested within a year. Finding interventions that can decrease the likelihood of returning to crime and to incarceration are of utmost importance. Using a social bond theory framework, the authors examine the moderating effect of living with a child before incarceration on program outcomes related to a prison-based parent management training program. A significant effect was found. Implications for these findings are discussed for future research and practice.     

Early Relational Health: Infants’ Experiences Living with Their Incarcerated Mothers

ABSTRACT

Little is known about the experiences and inner worlds of infants who live with their parents in prison-based residential programs. Infant observation and qualitative methods were used to study the experiences of seventeen infants living with their incarcerated mothers in a women’s correctional facility. Glimpses into their inner worlds provide insights into factors that hearten and hinder early relational health. Practitioners and parents can use a relational health approach to recognize and cultivate budding capacities in infant-parent relationships. The researcher discusses the usefulness and relevance of infants’ accounts for communities of practice and research.     

Physical and social circumstances of children in Iran affected by the incarceration of the mother

The children of incarcerated parents have been a relatively invisible population. More and more children are being affected by the incarceration of a parent. These young people are already at high risk along several dimensions and tend to live under conditions characterised by poverty, instability and diminished access to sources of support. The study presented in this research explores the physical, social and psychological conditions of children in Iran affected by the incarceration of the mother, thereby contributing to the international literature by describing the problem of children of prisoners in Iran. Here we describe in an international perspective the physical and social conditions with which these children are confronted. The study comprises 33 children who had spent some time in prison with their mothers but were then moved to welfare centres. The most prevalent illnesses of these children were infectious diseases, bruises, wounds on lips and fractures of the hand. The Vineland Social Maturity Scale indicated that the children's locomotion and socialisation skills were relatively low.     

Measuring Infant‐Mother Attachment: Is the Strange Situation Enough?

The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of a new procedure for assessing infant-mother attachment. Sixty children (34 in child care) and their mothers were seen in the Strange Situation (SS) at 17 months and in a new attachment assessment, the California Attachment Procedure (CAP), which does not involve mother-child separations, at 18 months. Overall, children were more likely to be classified as secure in the CAP (83% vs. 67%), but this was particularly true for children with experience in routine nonmaternal care. Of the children in nonmaternal care who were insecure in the SS, 91% were secure in the CAP, whereas of the maternal-care children who were insecure in the SS, only 44% were secure in the CAP. Attachment security in the CAP was more highly correlated with observed maternal sensitivity than was attachment security in the SS, particularly for children in nonmaternal care.     

Eight years after – a follow‐up study of mothers and children at psychosocial risk who received early treatment: does early intervention leave its mark?

One‐hundred forty‐five mothers at psychosocial risk who, with their babies, had been given treatment at a parent–baby clinic during a 2‐year period starting in 1999, treatment designed to strengthen the mother–child relationship, were followed up 8 years later. Both the mothers who had agreed to take part in the treatment programme (n= 73) and those who had declined (n= 72) were searched for in the records of the Social Welfare office to determine if the treated mothers had been focused on to a lesser degree in the following 8 years than those who had declined treatment, a hypothesis that was initially put forward. The behaviour of the children whose mothers had undergone treatment (n= 46) was studied. The initial hypothesis had to be rejected; support and intervention from the social authorities had been equally common in both groups. However, the children of treated mothers had fewer externalizing behaviour than children of untreated mothers at psychosocial risk.     

The only child 1 : A study of one hundred only children living at home with both parents,referred, to a child guidance clinic

This study examined differences in attachment typology, early histories of unresolved trauma and loss, and intergenerational patterns of substance abuse in a high-risk sample of African American, White, Mexican American, and Native American mothers involved with the child welfare system. The Adult Attachment Interview and Chemical Dependency Assessment Profile were used to collect data from 24 mothers who were in-patients at a substance abuse treatment center. Consistent with attachment theory mothers classified as secure/autonomous (46%) had positive early attachment relationships, although several mothers in this group had histories of unresolved trauma and loss. The insecure classification included 21% dismissing and 33% preoccupied. The unresolved classification included mothers from all racial/ethnic groups who had histories of trauma and loss. Results indicated prevalence of substance abuse in all racial/ethnic groups as well as patterns of intergenerational substance abuse in the aforementioned attachment classifications.     

Racial and Ethnic Variation in the Predictors of Maternal Parenting Stress

ABSTRACT

Little is known about racial and ethnic disparities in maternal parenting stress. Using Belsky's (1984) conceptual model, which characterizes parenting stress as a function of maternal and child characteristics and social context, we examine determinants of parenting stress among Mexican American mothers in comparison to non-Hispanic White and non-Hispanic Black mothers. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being (FFCWB) Study, we analyze a sample of 2,898 mothers. According to our findings, patterns of parenting stress for non-Hispanic White and non-Hispanic Black mothers are fairly consistent with Belsky's model. However, for Mexican American mothers, social support, but not partner support, ameliorates parenting stress, and depression is not associated with parenting stress. Importantly, despite significant social disadvantage, parenting stress levels in Mexican American mothers do not significantly differ from those of non-Hispanic Whites. Specific recommendations are made to practitioners for culturally competent responses to parenting stress with Mexican American families.     

Addressing Unmet Needs in Incarcerated Women With Co-occurring Disorders

ABSTRACT

This article will present findings related to critical needs in a group of 281 incarcerated women with co-occurring disorders. The women completed interviews while incarcerated and again at various time points after community reentry. Findings revealed that the number of basic needs increased over time, and a low level of social support was related to negative outcomes. Recommendations for this population include holistic evaluation assessments and integrated treatment plans that encourage staff to comprehensively assess clients at intake and link them to support services during and after incarceration. Implications of this female empowerment model will be discussed.     

Deaths of people with serious mental disorder: An exploration of deaths in custody and fatal police contacts

People with serious mental disorders (PSMDs) are overrepresented both in prison deaths and during fatal encounters with the police in the community (deaths after police contact, DAPC). To identify common factors present across cases of who died during contact with the criminal justice system in Queensland, publicly available coroners reports were analysed (N = 38). The findings of the study indicated psychosis and mood disorders were the most common diagnosis in incarcerated PSMD deaths, and suicide was the most common cause of death for incarcerated PSMDs. Within incarcerated settings, access to healthcare records, medication compliance, risk assessment and monitoring, and safe housing of at‐risk prisoners may be potential areas to explore with regard to prevention. Similarly, PSMD DAPCs were more likely to be experiencing mood or psychosis disorders than other forms of mental disorder, and suicide and police shootings were the most common causes of death. In PSMD DAPC, inadequate mental health access, treatment noncompliance and comorbid substance use were included as potential areas that could direct research efforts toward prevention.     

Social Support for Mothers of Children With Disabilities in China

ABSTRACT.

This article analyzes the gendered parenting experiences of mothers of children with disabilities in China. These mothers struggle to meet their children's needs, including daily care, financial security, and child development. In the context of China's social welfare development, are social services responding to their needs, so that mothers can share responsibility for the needs of their children with disabilities? The research analyzed qualitative data about 6 case-study children in rural and urban China. The data were derived from observation and interviews with their parents and other family and community members. The analysis revealed that the capacity of the mother, community, and local social services had an impact on the rights of the children and mothers. They experienced social discrimination, insufficient social support, and local failure to implement central policy social services and income support. These findings are consistent with international research about disability rights. They reinforce the importance of economic redistribution to enable local implementation of the national disability rights policies, rather than merely relying on ephemeral concepts of cultural change. Further research about the comparative impact of economic and social change in China on mothers and children with disabilities would extend these findings.     

More present than absent: Men who use domestic violence and their fathering

An earlier article referred to the “absent presence” of the perpetrator in the lives of children and their mothers who have lived with domestic violence. It identified the ways in which the shadow of the perpetrator continued and was evidenced in the “symptoms of abuse” that both women and children experienced in spite of his absence. The current article argues that fathers who use violence are actually more present than absent in the lives of children (and women), even following separation. A mixed method approach surveyed men in Men's Behaviour Change Programs (N = 101), and interviewed women who had experienced violence (N = 50). The studies reported that the majority of men in both the quantitative men's study (80%) and the qualitative women's study (77%) had substantial contact with children. The women's interviews highlight the problematic fathering that many of their children experienced, both before and after separation. They reported very high levels of child abuse and poor attitudes to both women and children. The article concludes that the family violence and child welfare systems are poorly configured to address fathers who use violence and continue to hold substantial parenting roles, including following separation.     

Negotiating motherhood: women with troubled upbringings and their self‐conceptions as mothers

This paper examines how women who experienced severe adjustment problems during adolescence, and who had troubled childhoods in families with high levels of conflict, construct their self‐conceptions as mothers. Applying data from a 30‐year‐long follow‐up study, this paper examines how participants with troubled upbringings experience social norms of motherhood. Two overall themes emerged along with their associated subcategories, and these are identified as significant findings. The first theme is the stigmatizing gaze, exemplifying how the intervention of the child welfare service is recognized as essential to the women's self‐conception; its three subcategories are prejudiced motherhood, predestined motherhood and self‐critical motherhood. The second theme is significant relationships, exemplifying the mothers' personal bonds and contributing greatly to their self‐conception; its three subcategories are the other half, next of kin and disturbed relations. The findings reveal that the way these women view themselves as mothers cannot be separated from the way that others view them, and in addition, they must negotiate their positions as mothers through the normative discourses of motherhood. The findings apply to both theoretical and practical social work, addressing the need for an understanding of motherhood within the field of child welfare.     

Single Mothers,Nonresident Fathers,and Preschoolers’ Socioemotional Development: Social Support,Psychological Well-Being,and Parenting Quality

ABSTRACT

Using data from two waves of a short-term longitudinal study, the influences of mothers’ social support with respect to parenting from nonresident fathers and significant others on behavioral outcomes among poor and near-poor preschool-aged Black children were examined. The sample consisted of 99 single Black mothers—each with a preschool-aged child (ages 3 and 5 years old, respectively, at Time 1 and Time 2)—who were current and former welfare recipients. Results revealed protective effects of nonresident fathers’ presence in the context of mothers’ parenting stress and depressive symptoms at Time 1 that appeared to operate through decreases in the negative influences of these variables on the children's development of behavior problems 1.5 to 2 years later. Greater availability of instrumental support from significant others, including nonresident fathers, was associated with more adequate parenting at Time 1, and through the latter, with fewer child behavior problems at Time 2. Implications of these findings for program and policy interventions are discussed. Nonresident fathers are described in the Appendix.     

A qualitative exploration of reentry service needs: The case of fathers returning from prison

The challenge of community and family reentry after a parent's release from prison remains an under‐addressed area of collateral damage stemming from high rates of U.S. incarceration. Many fathers released from prison return to living with family, and later attribute family connections and parent–child contact as key factors in their postrelease success. However, reentry planning is hampered by a dearth of research on family‐focused reentry services, and consequently, often omits attention to resuming family and parenting roles. To address this gap, we conducted 38 semi‐structured interviews with 19 previously incarcerated fathers, 9 co‐parenting mothers, and 10 relatives to explore service needs of fathers during reentry. Findings suggest programs not only should be multimodal, emphasizing family connections complemented by socioeconomic, self‐care, and social support services, but also should be accessible and relatable, offered within the community, and engaging for fathers and family members. Findings reinforce the importance of self‐determination and human agency while underscoring the multiple challenges fathers face upon reentry. By including the voices of those most affected by incarceration, this study advances knowledge to shape reentry programs and policies, contributes to efforts addressing criminal justice inequities, and promotes well‐being among formerly incarcerated parents and their families.