NCJ Number
219845
Journal
Corrections Today Magazine Volume: 69 Issue: 4 Dated: August 2007 Pages: 34-37,42
Date Published
August 2007
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article describes the residential infant bonding programs at two Washington State correctional facilities, which were designed to ease the reunification of mothers and their babies.
Abstract
Women are being incarcerated at increasing rates and more than two-thirds of these women are mothers, half of them are the primary caregiver to children under the age of 18 years. Research has shown that not only are these children at risk from ill-formed bonds with their incarcerated mothers, they are also at increased risk for a host of negative outcomes, including later criminal behavior and contact with the criminal justice system. In an effort to increase mother-child bonding and decrease the risk factors to children associated with having an incarcerated parent, the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) created the Residential Parenting Program in 1999 in cooperation with Early Head Start and the Puget Sound Education Service District. The program allows pregnant, minimum-custody offenders who give birth while incarcerated to return to WCCE with their infants and reside in a unit designed for both of them. The program includes an educational component that teaches inmates parenting skills that focuses on the healthy development and education of the child. The program also facilitates external family involvement and community support systems following release. Screening and eligibility requirements, program requirements, activities, and expenses are reviewed. The article also describes the Eleanor Chase Work Release facility, which houses all female inmates on work release, allowing them to reside there with their infants and have older children visit regularly.