Jail Staff Members' Views on Jailed Women's Mental Health, Trauma, Offending, Rehabilitation, and Reentry

• NCJ Number: 249602
• Journal: Prison Journal Volume: 96 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2016 Pages: 79-101
• Author(s): J. Belknap; S. Lynch; D. DeHart; A. J. Lurigio
• Date Published: January 2016
• Length: 23 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2010-DB-DBX-K048
• Sponsoring Agency: Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
• Publication Format: Article; Document (Online)
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This qualitative study is unique in the expanded research on the increasing number of incarcerated women in reporting perspectives of 37 jail staff members (e.g., supervisors, line staff, and mental and physical health care providers), from four regions of the United States.

Abstract

Interviews explored staff perceptions of women's pathways to jail and their individual, structural, and reentry needs and challenges, including frequent experiences of interpersonal violence and struggles with mental health. Staff perceptions were consistent with the existing literature. Most of the staff were at least partially sympathetic to and aware of the women's difficult and varied lives and challenges. (Publisher abstract modified)