Maternal Intervention
Project (MIP):
Life History Experiences of
Incarcerated Women
Dr. Laura Kamptner
Dr. Faith McClure
Department of Psychology
California State University, San Bernardino
10/25/13
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Background/overview
Collaboration between SBCo Sheriff’s Dept. & CSUSB
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THE RESEARCH LITERATURE
• Incarceration is often a multigenerational problem
• Children of incarcerated parents are at high risk for incarceration
themselves
• Incarcerated women typically:
 come from an unstable early family life (i.e., frequent moves, placement
in foster care or with many different family members)
experience multiple types of abuse such as physical, sexual, and
emotional abuse
substance abuse
poor mental health
family instability (due to lack of education, lack of job skills, and poor
parenting skills)
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• Without support, drug relapse and the intergenerational
transmission of both drug use and incarceration are extremely
high
• Child development research: impact of early attachment security
(i.e., positive, warm, caregiving experiences) which facilitates the
development of children’s emotional, cognitive, and brain
development, as well as academic success.
The impact of early parenting is profound-4
• If parents can be trained in positive parenting approaches, they
are more able to:
- provide a stable home environment for their children
- help eliminate the intergenerational transmission of
incarceration
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Data Collection:
• 336 women in 3 SBCo jail system
• Extensive assessment covering:
1) demographic info
2) early history/experiences
3) health/drug history
4) many psychosocial assessments
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OUR FINDINGS RE: INCARCERATED
WOMEN’S LIFE HISTORIES
EARLY HISTORY:
• many had multiple caregivers; many lived in foster care &
with relatives (over 70% reported having lived with more
than one family in childhood)
• Parents shamed them, called them names, ridiculed them,
told them they wouldn’t amount to much ( chose partners
who repeated that)
• Many left home/got pregnant at 13-14 yrs.
• close to 100% had either a mother or father who used drugs
or alcohol
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• 61% experienced parental divorce early on
• 70% report not living with their biological father while
growing up
• 58% report not living with their biological mother at
some point while they were growing up
• 33% report that their mother had psych/emotional
problems while they were growing up
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ABUSE:
• over 40% have a history of physical abuse
• over 50% reported sexual abuse/rape/molestation in
their childhood
• over 50% report emotion/verbal abuse
( causing them to start using drugs early on to manage/
“shellac” what was going on)
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EARLY TRAUMA:
A.C.E. assessment
(Adverse Childhood Experiences study: www.acestudy.org
Assesses stressful/traumatic childhood experiences (e.g.,
abuse, neglect, witnessing domestic violence, growing up with
alcohol/ substance abuse, mental illness, parental discord,
incarcerated parent/family member, crime in home)
Has been linked to: social, emotional, cognitive impairments
leading to increased risk of unhealthy behaviors (e.g., substance
abuse), risk of violence, disease, joblessness, disability, mental
illness, homelessness, early death
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Our data:
(ACE score ranges from 0-10)
% of jailed
A.C.E.
SBCo women:
score:
_____________________
15%
0
42.8%
1-3
42.2%
4-10
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FAMILY INSTABILITY:
• frequent moves
• over 50% had attended more than one school in any
given year
• 33% have been homeless at some point in their lives
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DRUG USE:
• over 68% report that they have used street drugs and
alcohol or both
• 52% reported using meth
• 80% use tobacco
• many began using alcohol and drugs before the age of 12
(with some as young as age 7)
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MENTAL HEALTH:
• many of these women reported their own as well as their
parents’ histories of poor mental health
• depression/mood disorders: 53% report “feeling blue”,
down-in-the-dumps (depressed); 29% report crying
spells
• anxiety symptoms: 46% report excessive worry; 23%
report nervousness; 8% report having been diagnosed
with anxiety disorder
• 10% report hallucinating
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• 52% report having been in counseling at some point
Loss:
• many major losses
• many have lost their own children to foster care system
• a number have had their own children killed by their
partners
FAMILY HISTORY OF INCARCERATION:
• over 40% have a family member who they knew had been
incarcerated
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EDUCATION:
• 62% had not completed high school (and only 22% of
these had completed a GED)
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PARTNER RELATIONSHIPS:
• Poor relationship choices
• many are in domestic violence relationships (put up
with it because they are desperate to not be alone)
• many have partners who prostitute them out to other
men/relatives for money
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THE MATERNAL INTERVENTION PROJECT
Purpose: to assist mothers and children reduce the intergenerational cycle of trauma, substance abuse, and
incarceration
• emphasizes the development of strong & stable families both
within and outside the jail setting
• helps mothers:
learn developmentally-appropriate parenting skills
learn effective parent-child communication
strengthen the parent-child attachment bonds
support their children in developing social and emotional
competencies
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• is based on the most current research on attachment, child
development, and mental health
Six “Components” of Intervention:
In-jail: 1) psychotherapeutic parenting class
2) TALK parent-child program
3) caregiver support/transition group
4) grief/trauma class (Trauma Recovery)
5) individual counseling
Post-release: 6) Re-entry support group for
mothers and children
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1. In-jail psychotherapeutic parenting class
48-hr. class teaches “at-risk” parents:
• developmentally-appropriate child guidance skills
• parental attachment histories which impact
parenting/
parenting skills
• assisting parents in changing their attitude toward
parenting and having empathy for their children
(which will enable them to be consistent and
implement developmentally-appropriate parenting
skills under stress)
• child growth and development
• parenting children of different ages
• creating safe and healthy home environments
(communication, routines, etc.)
• parent development and family unification
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Curriculum topics:
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history of their early experiences being parented
parenting styles/attachment
brain development in children
child development milestones
creating a safe environment for children
basic needs of children
punishment vs. positive child guidance strategies
parent/family issues (divorce, blended families, single
parenting)
• self-help (coping mechanisms, interpersonal relationships)
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2. In-jail TALK parent-child program
(children aged 13 and under can visit their incarcerated mothers)
• clinical psychologists works alongside volunteer student interns to
set up “play stations” and assists mothers and children as they
read, play, and interact
• mothers are helped to implement some of the parenting skills
learned in the parenting class (e.g., active listening, validating the
children’s feelings)
• The mothers are affirmed by clinician whenever the mother is
observed implementing these positive parenting practices
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3. In-jail caregiver support/transition group
• assists the caregivers who bring children to TALK with concerns
about the emotional, behavioral, or other adjustment issues of
children
• offers assistance in accessing resources (e.g., psychological
assessment , counseling)
• offers a “pre-release” family meeting so caregiver and soon-tobe-released mother can address concerns re:potential areas of
family conflict when the mother is released
• caregivers provided with information about the Maternal ReEntry Program and are asked to encourage the mothers to attend
once released from jail
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4. In-jail grief/trauma class (“Trauma
Recovery”)
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addresses history of trauma
provides opportunities to grieve losses
provides strategies to cope
provides support as the women mourn their losses
gives them opportunities to deal with any shame they
may have about feeling unloved, unworthy, or having
been abandoned in instances when they should have
been kept safe or protected
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Curriculum:
1. Developing trust versus mistrust
2. Basic emotional needs
3. Types of traumatic experiences
4. What is grief
5. What is unresolved grief
6. What is trauma
7. Symptoms associated with trauma
8. Unhealthy coping styles (substance use and abuse, etc.)
9. What the grief process looks like
10. Relaxation activities
11. How to identify people who will may be hurtful to us and/or
place us in hurtful situations
12. How to identify healthy and supportive individuals in your
life
13. Connecting with healthy resources
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5. In-jail individual counseling
• Is not mandatory/sign ups available
• Prerequisite – currently enrolled or have taken Grief and
Trauma in the past
• Meetings- once a week:
50 minutes sessions
4- 6 weeks
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6. Re-entry support group for mothers:
Meets for 10 weeks (2 hrs. each week); provides a light meal for
both mothers and children. The purpose of this program is to:
• assist them maintain their sobriety
• practice developmentally-appropriate parentingemphasizes
child guidance; helps with parent-child attachment/bonding;
increases parents’ positive attitude toward children so skills
learned can be implemented even during stressful times
• manage stress and coping
• assist them access other needed programs (e.g., enhancing
their education and employment potential)
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• meeting basic needs of housing and food
• provide psychological resources
• parent-child communication and reunification
• family relationships
• grief and loss
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Next Steps:
• Data collection on 600 men
• Classes for males: parent educ, trauma recovery
• Build collaborative re-entry:
-counseling center/clinic
- support group run by mental health professionals
- parent education classes
-resource center with social work caseworkers
-drug courts
• Caregiver support & transitional support
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