More than 1.5 million children under the age of 18 have a parent incarcerated in the U.S. and 22% of all minor children with a parent in prison are under the age of 5 according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Parental incarceration is related to a variety of adverse child outcomes, including emotional or psychological problems and school difficulties. The Children’s Justice Alliance will present its evidence-informed parent training program, Parenting Inside Out (PIO), the only parent management training curriculum designed specifically for incarcerated parents. PIO has demonstrated the potential to interrupt the intergenerational cycle of criminality and build behavioral skills for a pro-social life at reentry. PIO is the subject of an NIMH funded research study with results due winter 2009.
Moderator: Mindy Clark, Children’s Justice Alliance, Portland, Oregon
Speakers: Lauren Booth, Executive Director, Children’s Justice Alliance, Portland, Oregon; Cindy Duran, Parent Advocate, Pathfinders of Oregon. Portland Oregon; Lory Humbert, Superintendent, Oak Creek Youth Correctional Facility, Albany, Oregon
Talking about program called Parenting Inside Out, an initiative by a number of agencies in Oregon, with a focus on children whose parents are incarcerated.
Cindy Duran
I grew up in Oregon and graduated from high school. Then used meth for next 14 years. Have 5 children, youngest is 21 now. Was arrested in 2000 while pregnant. Difficult for me to comprehend my situation and the impact on my kids. Did not really have any parenting skills. Did not really think about what it meant to be a parent. I was shoplifting and doing drugs, but not really thinking about my kids. They were with me during all of that. I didn’t just drop them off anywhere. When I went to prison, they were living with their dad. Had opportunity to Parenting Inside Out. Curriculum was different. Focused on how to parent, how to handle discipline, be nurturing. Program gave me the skills I needed to focus on my children instead of just focusing on me. Helped me realize that I had not lost everything. I still had opportunities. Got to interact with kids while in prison. Worked through issues with my son so he would accept me back into his life. I knew that in order for my kids to be able to stay with me after my release, I could not take them back right when I got out. There were things I needed to do, like find stable employment. I knew if I took them back before I worked on my things, I would loose them soon again.
Lauren Booth
It was stories like Mindy’s that convinced us that we needed to develop a program.
What about the Children?
Children under 16 with an ever-incarcerated parent are twice as likely as other children to be clients of the Dept of human Services. They use more services than average Dept of Human Services client of the same age, suggesting family difficulties and personal problems.
They need contact with their parents; to have that relationship recognized and valued even under adverse circumstances. And – rather than being stigmatized for their parents’ actions or status – they need to be treated with respect, offered opportunity, and recognized as having potential.
Nationally more than 1.7 million children have at least one incarcerated parent. 63% of fed inmates
What about the parents?
Parents who are able to maintain regular contact with their children during incarceration are less likely to re-offend once they have completed their sentences.
Three Objectives of the program
- Reduce intergenerational criminality
- Reduce recidivism
- Give offenders skills to be effective parents when they are inside an institution or in the
- Community.
Lory
I want to talk a little about how we got this curriculum off the ground.
We’ve been dealing with the issue of incarcerated parents for about the past 10 years. We developed a multi-disciplined work group to talk about incarcerated parents. First product was “How to Explain Jails and Prisons to Children” – available on the Internet.
We knew that this population needed skill building, and that by offering this program, we would be helping the children. We brought together groups that had expertise in parenting. We did a national search for a packaged program that taught people had to parent from prison. We didn’t find anything in 2000-2001. We brought people together to develop this program. Pushed heavily in women’s prisons first. Now in all institutions. It can be modeled and packaged for different populations. Expected that inmates will go through the program if they participate in any programs other than just visitation. Use all of the time they have with their kids to practice the skills they learn, and be coached as they go along.
Lauren Booth
Parenting Inside Out - What is it?
Very detailed manual. Also involved parents in developing the manual.
Cognitive-behavioral parent management skills training program.
- Outcome based.
- Developed for CJ involved parent.
- Developed by interdisciplinary team
Parent Management Training
- Developed for high risk families and children
Elements of Parent Management Training:
- Positive reinforcement
- Communication
- Problem solving
- Monitoring
- Non-violent discipline
Added Recognizing and Understanding: Child’s Job; Parent’s Job – not using your past guilt to give in to everything your child wants – “tough love parenting” that is hard to learn. Also added co-parenting and healthy adult relationships. Learning how adult relationships affect children whether romantic or not.
Three Versions: Prison, Community, Jail
Implemented in 11 Oregon prisons
Available now nationally - Being used in San Fran city jails, PA jails and community-based programs, and other areas are looking at it.
Exercise they must do during week 6. Inmate must care for an egg 24/7. Make sure it is cared for and not injured. Staff had to become involved in reinforcing what was happening. After egg exercise, next week introduced to a stuffed animal, which becomes their pseudo-child after class. They carry animal everywhere they would take a child. If they go to work, and it would not be appropriate to take child, they have to find day care. Staffs help them come up with ideas. Might involve inmates interviewing other inmates to determine if they would be appropriate caregivers. Reinforced throughout by staff.
Men in prison do the same exercises. For last 5 years men have been doing the same exercises. Staffs address any issues that might be harmful for “child” (egg or stuffed animal) by taking it back to child protection. Then work with inmate to review what happened. Translated into how inmates talk to each other. Before they ignored each other. Now they come together on rec yards and dining room to ask how their kids are doing.
Initially concerned about men in prison carrying around teddy bears. Let first pilot group decide. The men wanted to carry the teddy bears. Participation in the program is voluntary. After doing this program in men’s prisons for 5 years, they have only had 3 men decline the teddy bear. Upon graduation, the men often pass the teddy bear to their children and it represents the inmate to the child until the parent can return home. If the child is not at the graduation, the inmate may give the teddy bear to the child’s caregiver.
Cindy Duran
Three best things I learned:
Problem-solving piece – Parole Officer directed her to live in an area by a bar where she knew it was not a safe place for her to live and stay sober. PO told her to then go back to jail. She decided to find her own place to live, which she did.
Self-advocacy – she knew what she needed and she didn’t want to be just another ex-inmate. She wanted her case plan to be individualized to her, she knew what she was going to need, and she wanted a say in the outcomes for her.
Not taking for granted that someone else was taking care of her children when she was not there. Not being jealous of that, but just being grateful.
Got her associated degree recently, and now working with parents who are going through situation similar to her own.
To order booklets:
Call 503-373-7604, ext 244
Or download order form at:
Blogged by Dr. Cindy Boyles, Administrator of Training and Staff Development, Orange County (FL) Corrections Department
0 comments:
Post a Comment