PROGRAM COMPONENTS AND INTERVENTIONS TO HELP COUNTERACT
THE EFFECTS OF MATERNAL INCARCERATION
Shahni Nicole Smith
B.S., University of California, Davis, 2001
PROJECT
Submitted in partial satisfaction of
the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK
at
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO
SPRING
2011
PROGRAM COMPONENTS AND INTERVENTIONS TO HELP COUNTERACT
THE EFFECTS OF MATERNAL INCARCERATION
A Project
by
Shahni Nicole Smith
Approved by:
____________________________________, Committee Chair
Susan Talamantes Eggman, Ph.D., M.S.W.
____________________________
Date
ii
Student: Shahni Nicole Smith
I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University
format manual, and that this project is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to
be awarded for the Project.
______________________________, Graduate Coordinator
Teiahsha Bankhead, Ph.D., L.C.S.W.
Division of Social Work
iii
________________
Date
Abstract
of
PROGRAM COMPONENTS AND INTERVENTIONS TO HELP COUNTERACT
THE EFFECTS OF MATERNAL INCARCERATION
by
Shahni Nicole Smith
This research project explores the impact of maternal incarceration on both mother and
her minor child. This qualitative research project examined the question: what are
important program components and interventions to help counteract the negative effects
of maternal incarceration and improve the maternal-child bond? The sample includes ten
employees who have worked with incarcerated/formerly incarcerated mothers and/or
their minor children. The participants were interviewed using ten open-ended interview
questions regarding their experience working with this population in areas that dealt with
the needs of the mothers post incarceration. The interviews explored what types of
programs and services the participants consider to be helpful for mothers and families.
Important components include social support and resources to these mothers and their
children, and that the maternal-child relationship is important, but that it has been
problematic due to the lack of attachment before incarceration and the separation that
occurs as a result of incarceration. The participants further stated that mothers need
assistance with skills and tools to help combat incarceration, as well as
residential/transitional living programs that allow families to stay together were
iv
identified. Recommendations are provided for social workers and policy makers about
the special needs of these families.
___________________________________, Committee Chair
Susan Talamantes Eggman, Ph.D., M.S.W.
_______________________
Date
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Chapter
1. THE PROBLEM ............................................................................................................ 1
Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1
Background of the Problem .................................................................................... 3
Statement of the Research Problem ........................................................................ 4
Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................... 4
Theoretical Framework ........................................................................................... 5
Definition of Terms................................................................................................. 9
Assumptions............................................................................................................ 9
Justification ........................................................................................................... 10
Limitations ............................................................................................................ 11
2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ............................................................................. 13
Introduction ........................................................................................................... 13
Historical Background on the United States Prison System ................................. 13
The Experiences of Women in the Early United States Prison System ................ 16
Effects of Mass Incarceration ............................................................................... 17
The Incarceration of Women ................................................................................ 18
Experiences of Children Pre-Maternal Incarceration ........................................... 20
Effects of Parental Incarceration on Children ....................................................... 21
Parent-Child Intervention Programs ..................................................................... 31
Gaps in the Literature............................................................................................ 34
Summary ............................................................................................................... 34
3. METHODS .................................................................................................................. 36
Introduction ........................................................................................................... 36
Study Purpose ....................................................................................................... 36
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Study Design ......................................................................................................... 36
Sampling Procedures ............................................................................................ 37
Data Collection Procedures................................................................................... 38
Measurement Instruments Used ............................................................................ 38
Data Analysis Approaches .................................................................................... 39
Protection of Human Subjects .............................................................................. 39
4. FINDINGS ................................................................................................................... 41
Introduction ........................................................................................................... 41
Demographics ....................................................................................................... 42
Specific Findings .................................................................................................. 42
Summary ............................................................................................................... 54
5. CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATIONS, SUMMARY .......................................... 56
Introduction ........................................................................................................... 56
Findings................................................................................................................. 56
Recommendations ................................................................................................. 62
Limitations and Future Research .......................................................................... 63
Practice Wisdom ................................................................................................... 64
Summary ............................................................................................................... 64
Appendix A Interview Questions...................................................................................... 66
Appendix B Consent to Participate in Research ............................................................... 68
References ......................................................................................................................... 71
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1
Chapter 1
THE PROBLEM
Introduction
Incarceration is not a solitary sentence, but rather a shared debt that is felt by both
the incarcerated mother and her children alike. Much of society’s focus is on retribution
for the injury done to the victim and providing the victim’s of the crime with some
semblance of peace, reparations, and justice. The media draws the public’s attention to
the victims in the case, but less thought and attention is given to the children of these
incarcerated parents, whose lives are affected because of the loss of their parent to the
criminal justice system (Miller, 2006). The incarceration of a parent can be very
devastating for a child, particularly when it is their mother, since approximately two
thirds of the mothers incarcerated were the primary caregivers for their children prior to
their arrest (Young & Reviere, 2006). The problem with maternal incarceration is that
the hidden victims, the children, are left to deal with the fallout that parental incarceration
brings in to their lives, while trying to grow–up and become healthy and productive
citizens that this country expects.
This topic became of interest to me when I began working with children who have
experienced parental incarceration, particularly when it was their mother who was
incarcerated. During this time I was privy to the struggles that they and their families
faced as they tried to move forward with their lives. The struggles of prison do not just
end because a person is released. For these families the struggles continue when their
parent(s) attempts to reintegrate in to society. The stigma of being an ex-convict has far
2
reaching ramifications for the type of life that a parent is able to provide for themselves
and their children. This topic is also of strong interest to me due to the high number of
minority individuals, particularly African-Americans who are incarcerated in this
country. I began to think about the missing potential for these mothers and their children,
due to the effects of incarceration. What is the cost to the children, who are not only
experiencing the physical loss of their mother, but who also must contend with the
emotional, physical, and financial loss? Does the experience of maternal incarceration
impact future generations of kids? Children of incarcerated mothers are an important
population, who should not have to face any negative ramifications because of their
mother’s actions. The effects that children experience are hard to quantify, but getting to
the root of this issue will help children of incarcerated mothers begin to move forward.
The increase in the number of women prisoners directly affects the number of
children who will need alternative placements due to their mother’s incarceration.
Approximately three-fourths of these children are displaced from their homes when their
mother enters into the prison system, leaving them to be placed with their grandparents,
father, or in foster care placements (Dallaire, 2006a). Greene, Haney, and Hurtado
(2000) explained that children of incarcerated mothers were likely to have already
experienced troubling life factors prior to their mother’s incarceration, which mirrors the
experiences of their mothers when they were growing up. The traumatic and troubling
life experiences of children include the following: physical abuse, sexual abuse, violence,
drugs, poverty, and exposure to criminal behavior.
3
Background of the Problem
From 1925 to 1975 the amount of people incarcerated represented only a tiny
percentage of the United States population (Useem & Piehl, 2008). From 1975 to 2005
there was a dramatic expansion in the United States prison population, which went from
96 to 491 per 100,000 individuals (Useem & Piehl, 2008). This dramatic increase in the
prison population has left children without one or both of their parents. Glaze and
Maruschak (2008) reported that in 2007 approximately 809,900 incarcerated adults in the
United States were parents to an estimated 1,706,600 minor children. Approximately
two-thirds of mothers and half of fathers that are held in state prison are reported to have
been living with their minor children a month before or prior to their incarceration. More
than three-fourths of the mothers, who lived with their minor children report being their
children’s primary caregiver compared to one-fourth of the men. Glaze and Maruschak
(2008) stated that African-American and Hispanic children have respectively 8 and 3
times the rate of incarceration than that of Caucasian children. Glaze and Maruschak
(2008) also pointed out problems that parents faced before their incarceration, which
included: homelessness, mental health issues, medical problems, history of physical and
sexual abuse, substance use, abuse and/or dependence.
An estimated 1,706,600 minor children will be without their parent(s) during a
portion of their formative years, which not only impacts them and their family, but also
their communities and society as a whole. The impact of maternal incarceration is
particularly hard on children and due to the loss of their primary caregiver. If these
children and their mothers are not able to get support, effective interventions, and
4
services then society will have to deal with the consequences from their unmet needs.
This may appear in the form of high recidivism rates, minors getting involved with the
juvenile justice system, families having to work with child protective service, mental
health problems, etc. If support is not provided while this problem is in its beginning
phases, then the interventions needed to contain the results of the problem will be costly
and potentially harmful to larger sections of society.
Statement of the Research Problem
The inability of children, who have experienced maternal incarceration to have
access to appropriate interventions and services, may lead to ramifications that cause
their risk level to increase due. Appropriate services and supports will help reduce
recidivism rates amongst mothers, improve the mother-child bond, and assist children to
successfully face problems that stem from their mother’s incarceration. Some of the
issues facing children of incarcerated mothers include poverty, attachment issues,
internalizing and externalizing of behaviors, and delinquency and various others. Since
the number of incarcerated parents is higher for minority youth these services and
supports can go a long way towards uplifting entire communities of people.
Purpose of the Study
This study aims to provide greater insight into the needs, challenges, and
supportive services that will best benefit formerly incarcerated mothers and their minor
children. The information gathered in this study aims to provide program providers and
policy makers with firsthand accounts into the lives of these families, in order to better
understand what will help to propel these families forward after maternal incarceration.
5
This study also aims to provide social workers who are new into this field with a better
understanding of this issue and the types of programs, services, and interventions that
have been helpful in working with these mothers and their children.
Theoretical Framework
Risk and Resiliency Theory. Risk and Resiliency Theory provides a basis for
understanding why some people are able to persevere despite the hardships that they
encounter (Greene, 2008). Risk and resiliency theory’s integrative approach and
assumptions are derived from the ecological and systems theory. Risk and resiliency
theory posits that (1) Stress is experienced by individuals following a negative or
traumatic event; (2) After a negative or traumatic event individuals will attempt to
overcome any risks that stem from that event; (3) Stress is a natural part of life and can
originate from everyday experiences, such as life transitions, environmental pressures,
political, and economic events, etc.; (4) Biopsychosocial and spiritual factors play a role
in shaping one’s resiliency; (5) Resiliency is ever developing throughout an individual’s
life and is centered around how individuals deal with adversity; (6) The goodness of fit of
person-in-environment plays a role in the development of an individual’s resiliency; (7)
Resilient behavior is dependent upon the types of systems that a person has in their life;
and (8) A system can be resilient in its own right (Greene, 2008).
The experience of seeing one’s mother arrested and the subsequent changes that
take place following this arrest, such as the loss of a primary caregiver, having to live in a
different home, and the emotional toll that comes from this experiences, increases the
number of risk factors that children are exposed to. Risk and resiliency theory posits that
6
stress is a natural part of the human existence and that following a stressful and traumatic
event individuals seek to overcome those experiences. All children that experience
maternal incarceration are exposed to risk factors, such as the arrest of their mother and
other stressful events that may follow, which increases the likelihood of them
experiencing negative consequences in the present and in the future. If these children do
not have enough protective factors, such as internal strength, positive outlook on life, as
well as external supports they are liable to fall into negative life patterns that will be
detrimental to their emotional, spiritual, and physical health.
Using a risk and resilience theory framework will be helpful when setting up
programs and services to help these children better cope with maternal incarceration.
Making practitioners and policy makers aware of the negative factors that place children
at risk is a start to reversing the effects of maternal incarceration. It is also important to
identify what protective factors help children overcome stressful and traumatic events if
we want to improve the positive outcomes for these children. Using a risk and resiliency
framework will also aid in the types of services offered to both mother and child as a unit.
Understanding how to increase the protective factors for children and mothers will go a
long way in decreasing the risk factors experienced because of the incarceration. Risk
and resiliency theory provides an essential framework to create better support services
and networks to help this population persevere.
Family Systems Theory. Family Systems Theory looks at the family as a living
system. The family is likened to many other systems when it comes to participating in
the surrounding environment through the exchange of energy and information
7
(Broderick, 1993). The ecological environment from the general systems theory, that
family system theory draws from is made up of the microsystem, mesosystem,
exosystem, and the macrosystem (Smith, Hamon, Ingoldsgby, & Miller, 2009). The
microsystem of the child is the immediate environment in which the child interacts. The
mesosystem operates under the knowledge that the child and its environment act upon
each other. The exosystem are those institutions outside of the child’s direct environment
that still impact the child’s growth and development, i.e. social service agencies,
neighbors, extended ken, etc. Lastly there is the macrosystem, which includes values,
culture, and norms, which dictate how the child lives their lives. All of these systems are
important in understanding the needs of children (Smith et al., 2009). The family system
is a unit that responds to the actions, interactions, and emotions of its members. The
health of the each person in the family is related to how well the family unit is
functioning (Papero, 1990). The family unit tends to be thought of in terms of a nuclear
family, i.e. father, mother, and children. The origin of the term nuclear comes from an
observation that there appeared to be an emotional center that is central to all families or
a nucleus that connects both related and non-related family members to the emotions of
others in the unit (Papero, 1990).
The basic assumptions behind family systems theory are (1) The family unit is
greater than its individual parts – each individual in the family contributes to the family
system and its functioning as a whole; (2) The person is not the problem, rather the
dysfunction stems from the system that the person is a part of; (3) Behavior is guided by
circular causality– human interactions are comprised of multiple forces moving in
8
various directions simultaneously; focus is on the pattern of interaction; (4) Rules are
created within every family system and respective patterns of behavior are formed, which
predict the family members responses to situations; (5) Feedback loops is the manner in
which the family system tries to correct itself and return to homeostasis; (6 ) Problematic
and unclear communication patterns cause problems in the relationship; (7) All members
of a family have a role, or parts that they play in the family system; (8) Family types are
created from a families boundary pattern – open family, random family, and closed
family (Smith et al., 2009).
Family systems theory can be used to explore the impact of maternal incarceration
on both mother and child due to its family based approach and recognition that
individuals are not separate entities, but rather a part of a family system. Removing the
mother from the home and placing her into prison/jail throws off the family’s
homeostasis. A missing parent changes the dynamics of the family unit. When a mother
returns into the family fold her absence can greatly impact the family unit and cause a
shift in new configuration that the family system has taken on. All four systems are
important to the development of the child. If these systems are not nurturing then they
can interfere with the child’s ability to mature in a healthy manner. We are one with our
environment and not only effect the environment around us, but are also affected by it. If
the family environment is in disarray both mother and child will continue to have
problematic interactions with not only each other, but the environment around them. It is
important to help repair the rupture caused by maternal incarceration if the family system
is to function at a higher status than what it did before and during maternal incarceration.
9
Having services that work with these families to improve their communication patterns
and boundaries will ultimately help to improve their overall functioning.
Definition of Terms
Maternal-child bond - The attachment and/or connection pattern between a mother and
her child.
Protective Factors - Positive internal abilities, traits, or external supports and connections
that help to reduce an individual’s risk factors.
Recidivism - A relapse into criminal behavior.
Resilience - The ability to adapt and cope following a traumatic or negative experience.
Risk - Factors that contribute or increase an individual’s chances of experiencing stress or
adverse outcomes following a traumatic or negative experience.
Assumptions
Maternal incarceration only serves to intensify the negative experiences of
children and can result in harmful effects that carry over to future generations in a
family’s lineage. Maternal incarceration is not a foundation for rehabilitation, but is
instead a punishment that is mutual shared by both mothers and children alike. Mothers
and their children are better served through supports and services that will allow them to
remain connected while the mother is incarcerated, while simultaneously working to
improve negative life conditions, such as poverty, abuse, and addiction that only serve to
weaken the family’s foundation. There is a need for improved services and programs that
will provide these mothers and their children will the proper tools and supports needed to
decrease the harmful effects of maternal incarceration. There needs to be more programs
10
and services that are specialized to deal with the unique needs of formerly incarcerated
mothers and their children. There is an increased need for awareness and understanding
on behalf of policy makers and social workers legislation and programs are enacted to
work with these families. Increasing the understanding around current needs and
challenges that these mothers and their children face will improve our approach and
practice.
Justification
The incarceration of mothers in our society has far reaching effects that carry over
to their children and later to the American society as a whole. Our prison system’s
foundation is based on punishment instead of rehabilitation, which places mothers and
their minor children at risk of not having the necessary tools and supports to rise above
this experience. This research study is important to the field of social work because of
the rise in incarceration rates in this country that effect families as a whole. It is
important to understand these families experiences if we want to be helpful in working
with them. On a micro level this research will benefit social workers who come in
contact with an increasing number of children during their daily practice that are dealing
with the fallout from maternal incarceration. If these mothers and their children do not
get the appropriate services and supports to fit their needs, they will become products of
their environments and have increased risks for more severe problems, such as mental
health issues, physical health issues, social issues, and involvement in the criminal justice
system.
11
This research project will look at program components that will be help to assist
with improving the mother-child bond between once incarcerated mothers and their
minor children. This research project also will look at what will help to reduce
recidivism, ways to decrease intergenerational criminality, and reducing other harmful
and negative effects that children face due to maternal incarceration. This research
project will benefit social workers by providing first hand information from service
providers, who work with women who have been incarcerated and/or their children about
what types of services can help to improve the outcomes for this population. The
increase in the number of children who are experiencing maternal incarceration in this
country would benefit from having community members and service providers who are
aware of the unique problems that they face. Social workers often work in various
capacities with both current and former women inmates and their children. Having
additional information about the services that would be helpful to this population can
help improve family outcomes. Having knowledge about programs and services that are
successful for this population will also help improve the type of care and service that
social workers provide to this growing population of people.
Limitations
This research study will provide background information into the problem of
incarceration in the United States, particularly when it comes to the incarceration of
mothers. This research study will explore the effects that maternal incarceration has on
these women’s minor children, the early experiences of both mother and child before
incarceration, and programs that have been used to work with this population. Lastly this
12
research study will look to explore how program components and interventions can be
helpful in combating the effects of maternal incarceration for both mother and child.
13
Chapter 2
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Introduction
This literature review will explore the effects that maternal incarceration has on
children and the programs and interventions that have been developed to successfully
reduce recidivism rates amongst women, improve the maternal-child relationship, and to
decrease other negative effects felt by children because of maternal incarceration. This
literature review will explore seven themes. The first theme will explore the historical
background of the United States prison system. The second theme will look at women’s
experiences in the early prison system. The third theme is will explore of the effects of
“mass incarceration.” The fourth theme is on the incarceration of women. The fifth
theme is on the experiences of children pre-maternal incarceration. The sixth theme will
address the effects that parental incarceration has on children. The last theme will
discuss parental and child interventions that aimed at improving the mother-child bond
and reducing recidivism. Next this literature review will look at gaps in the literature and
conclude with a summary of the above themes and the outcomes discovered.
Historical Background on the United States Prison System
The foundation of the American prison systems extends back to the early
European settlers, who would call America home. In the beginning the colonist relied
heavily on the English prison system to serve as a guide for how punishment should be
meted out (Young & Reviere, 2006). The American colonial penal system started out
using the following punishments: capital punishment, corporal punishment, non-corporal
14
punishment, and death which were usually carried out in a public forum. Women were
not above receiving punishment through the early colonial penal system. There were
times when women received harsher punishments than for certain offenses like adultery,
which was weighted heavily because of the importance of inheritance laws (Young &
Reviere, 2006). Women who did not follow the law were perceived as going against
their female nature and were thought to be morally corrupt, making them worse than
male wrong doers (Edge, 2009; Young & Reviere, 2006). Crimes against female
morality only applied to white woman because black women were not considered moral
beings (Young & Reviere, 2006).
Blomberg and Lucken (2000) discussed the shift that the American colonial
justice system underwent by no longer prosecuting moral crimes and instead prosecuting
violent offenses and property crimes that were now deemed as social problems.
Blomberg and Lucken expressed that the move from an agrarian society to an industrial
one brought more people into the cities. They also discussed how this societal shift
caused many Americans to worry about the fate of their cities and if they would have to
endure poverty, greed, and excess materials, like their European brethren, which was not
looked upon unfavorably. After the end of the colonial period, which lasted close two
hundred years, America again found itself being influenced by Europe. Americans were
influenced by the secular rationalist movement, also known as the Enlightenment
movement that took place during the late eighteenth to early nineteenth century. This
movement favored liberalism and utilitarian principles over the belief that an individual’s
destiny is predetermined (Blomberg & Lucken, 2000).
15
The humanitarian movement of the eighteenth century helped inspire the idea that
the prison system would provide criminals the opportunity to work and pay penitence for
their crimes (McKelvey, 1977; Young & Reviere, 2006). According to Keve (1991)
American prison history can be divided into three phases: Phase I – No federal prisons
existed, relied on state and local facilities from 1776 to the end of the nineteenth century
to house prisoners; Phase II – Three Prison Act, which started the creation of federal
prisons during the turn of the century; Phase III – Creation of the Bureau of Prisons,
which was the start of a centrally controlled correctional system in 1930 (Keve, 1991).
Blomberg and Lucken (2000) discussed how the majority of the nineteenth
century was centered on prison reform. American prison reform moved away from the
early colonial method of cruel, excessive, inconsistent, and irrational punishment that was
thought to encourage deviant behavior towards a desire to reform the man, which was a
change ushered in through the Enlightenment (Blomberg & Lucken, 2000). They pointed
out how the prison reforms focus later changed because of overcrowding and recidivism.
The American prison system began another wave of reforms during 1880-1930s, which
introduced indeterminate sentencing, parole, probation, and juvenile courts (Blomberg &
Lucken, 2000). There was also a shift in the ideology about criminals, which moved
towards the belief that individuals were born criminals (Blomberg & Lucken, 2000). The
early penal system and its views on crime paved the way for the current prison structure,
which has led to overcrowding and mass incarceration.
16
The Experiences of Women in the Early United States Prison System
Women’s experiences in the prison system have been in some ways different from
those of men. Women have participated in a penal system that was not created with them
in mind. Freedman (1981) talked about the lack of liberties and privileges allotted to
women by society and how these limitations lessoned their chances of breaking laws,
which kept women’s incarceration rates low. The aftermath of the Civil War found some
women needing to provide for themselves, which led to prostitution and later
incarceration for breaking laws that were placed around women’s sexual conduct (Banks,
2003). Collins (1997) pointed out the inequalities black women participants of the
criminal justice system faced following the Civil War, which landed them with stiffer
sentences than white women because of the need for prison labor. Young and Reviere
(2006) talked about the disproportionate number of black women held in penitentiaries
throughout regions in the Northeast, West, and Midwest, with the exception being the
Southern region following the Civil War. Inequalities based on race continued to be seen
in sentencing (Young & Reviere, 2006).
Before the creation of prisons, women were placed in the same jail cells as both
men and children, without any categorizing of the individuals offenses or taking into
account the age or sex of the offender (Young & Reviere, 2006). Collins (1997)
expressed that these early jails also housed individuals that were insane, ill, black women
prisoners, and hardened criminals that were each expected to work for their keep.
Women and men continued to be housed together as prisons began to spring up during
the early part of the nineteenth century, until a1828 law was passed mandating that male
17
and female inmates be separated (Young & Reviere, 2006). Rafter and Kurshan
discussed the unmet needs of women prisoners in male oriented facilities, who were
without access to workshops, physicians, dining halls, and exercise space (as cited in
Young & Reviere, 2006, p. 28). Female inmates continued to experience poor prison
conditions throughout the country and were subjected to overcrowding, having
windowless cells, and abuse (Banks, 2003; Young & Reviere, 2006). The first all
women’s prison building was established in 1835 in Auburn (Young & Reviere, 2006). It
was not until 1877 that legislation was established to completely separate male and
female prisoners in to separate facilities (Young & Reviere, 2006).
Effects of Mass Incarceration
Up until the 1970s the number of people incarcerated was roughly less than one
percent of the population (Pattillio, Weiman, & Western, 2004; Useem & Piehl, 2008).
From the early 1970s through 2005 the rate of incarceration increased from 96 to 491 per
100,000 U. S. residents and continues to rise (Useem & Piehl, 2008). Garland (2001)
placed the incarceration figure at 680 per 100,000 residents if you include inmates from
the local jails. During the 1990s the Unites States has incarcerated more individuals for
its population size, than all other nations and continues to be the leader in this trend
(Haney, 2003). What created mass incarceration? Useem and Piehl’s (2008) scholarly
thought posits that mass incarceration was born from a social movement, which was
formed because of the strains on society and disruptive social change. Garland (2001)
stated that mass incarceration was not a process that the masses of society came together
18
to enact, but was instead born from policies and decisions, like the war on drugs,
mandatory sentencing, the privatization of corrections, as well as some other decisions.
Garland (2001) stated that “mass imprisonment” is more than just a large number
of the population who are imprisoned; it is also about the social aspect from the effects of
the imprisonment. Imprisonment becomes mass imprisonment when you systematically
imprison whole groups of a population, which can be seen with the imprisonment of
young black males from urban areas (Garland, 2001). Wacquant (2002), Christian and
Thomas’ (2009) discussed the progression from slavery to mass incarceration and the role
that race played in incarceration and the disparity behind who was imprisoned. Clear,
Rose, and Ryder (2001) pointed out that not only is incarceration affecting some groups
more than others, but it is also spatially concentrated. Arditti (2005) discussed that two
thirds of prisoners are incarcerated for non-violent offenses and that there has been a shift
in the amount of people sentenced for drug offenses. The percentage of women behind
bars has significantly increased over the last three decades and has surpassed the rate of
new male inmates (Allen, Flaherty, & Ely, 2010). This increase in women inmates is due
to drug offenses and harsher sentencing for nonviolent drug crimes (Young & Reviere,
2006).
The Incarceration of Women
The presidential polices that came to be known as the war on drugs was
instrumental in increasing the female prison population (Young & Reviere, 2006; Allen
et al., 2010). According to Sharp and Marcus-Mendoza (2001) the increase in crime
amongst women is due to the feminization of poverty. Women were incarcerated at the
19
rate of 10 per 100,000 women residents in 1977 and at 64 per 100,000 women residents
in 2004 (Women’s Prison Association, 2006, as cited in Allen et al., 2010). In 2006
women made up approximately 10% of the population who were either incarcerated in
jail or prison, while mothers of minor children made up for more than 65% of these
women (Women’s Prison Press Association, 2006 as cited in Allen et al., 2010). Young
and Reviere (2006) spoke about the increased likelihood of minority women being
incarcerated for drug involvement. Black women’s rate of incarceration is 3.1 times
higher than that of white women (Sabol, Couture, & Harrison, 2007, as cited in Christian
& Thomas, 2009).
Young and Reviere (2006) discussed that there are different reasons behind why
women use drugs and why men use drugs. They point out that women tend to use drugs
as a coping mechanism to deal with negative feelings and life experiences. Young and
Reviere also pointed out that women’s drug usage is more likely to be tied with a male
significant other that they were involved with. They discussed how women use both
legal and illegal drugs more frequently than men (Young & Reviere, 2006). Allen et al.
(2010) discussed that female drug offenders have high rates of mental health disorders,
that they have experienced abuse, poverty, and that they tend to be from a lower
economic class.
The increase in the number of female inmates directly affects the number of
children that are displaced because of maternal imprisonment. As women are primary
caregivers, the increased rate of women prisoner’s means that children will have to find
alternative living arrangements with kinship placements and through the child welfare
20
system (Johnson & Waldfogel, 2002; Travis, 2007). When women enter the prison
system, 10 percent of them are faced with having their children placed in to foster care
compared to 2 percent of men (Johnson & Waldfogel, 2002; Travis, 2007).
The effects of incarceration last beyond the time served and can been seen in the
form of exclusion from certain educational grants, public assistance programs, having a
political voice, and by effecting veterans benefits because of lengthy incarceration stints
(Gottschalk, 2008; Uggen & Manza, 2004; Wacquant, 2002). Incarcerated women and
mothers face additional shame and stigma due to their incarceration and the limitations
that have already been placed on them because of their gender (Allen et al., 2010). The
incarceration of mothers has far reaching effects as they plan for release and may attempt
to once again be a part of their children’s lives. The incarceration of mothers brings with
it the renegotiation of motherhood.
Experiences of Children Pre-Maternal Incarceration
An estimated 2 million children across the nation are experiencing parental
incarceration (Abram, Mahaney, Linhorst, Toben, & Flowers, 2005; Bocknek, Sanderson,
& Britner, 2009; De Hart & Altshuler, 2009; Glaze & Maruschak, 2008; rant, 2006;
Kinner, Alati, Najman, & Williams, 2007; Murray & Murray, 2010). De Hart and
Altshuler (2009) looked at children’s exposure to violence, before maternal incarceration,
as a means for social work practice to address the needs of these children. Greene,
Haney, and Hurtago (2000), Parke and Clarke-Stewart (2003) found that children were
exposed to risk factors, such as drug or alcohol use and/or abuse, physical abuse, sexual
21
abuse, domestic violence, and poverty before their mother’s incarceration. Greene et al.
(2000) found intergenerational exposure to violence.
De Hart and Altshuler (2009) study on children’s exposure to violence, prematernal incarceration consisted of open-ended interviews, with 60 randomly sampled
incarcerated women. This study did not account for women who had adult children.
This study did not directly ask women about their children’s exposure to violence prior to
their incarceration, but found that the women talked openly during the interview about
their children and their exposure to violence. This study found that violence affected
both parents and their children. The effects listed included psychological, behavioral,
physical harm, and even death in some cases. The findings in this study cannot be
generalized to children who have experienced paternal or parental incarceration of both
parents, due to the fact that only women were surveyed. Also, this study solely relied on
the mothers interpretations of their children’s experiences and did not look at the impact
that incarceration has on pre-existing conditions, due to exposure to violence prior to
maternal incarceration.
Effects of Parental Incarceration on Children
The harmful effects that children of incarcerated parents experience cannot be
easily measured, but attachment issues, internalizing, and externalizing behaviors have all
been issues recognized as pertaining to this population of youth (Geller, Garfinkel,
Cooper, & Mincy, 2009; Miller, 2006). Exposure to stressful and harmful events does
not solely end when a child’s parent is put into prison, it can also include several
22
placement changes, separation from siblings, and living in poverty to name a few
(Phillips, Burns, Wagner, Kramer, & Robbins, 2002).
The attachment process needed for children to form meaningful and healthy
relationships with their parents and ultimately the world around them may be negatively
impacted, due to parental incarceration. Poehlmann (2005) expressed that children who
were not able to have contact with their mother would start to believe that she was not
available to them and thus experience an insecure attachment. Poehlmann (2005) speaks
of attachment in terms of mother and child and does not discuss alternative caregivers
that the child can form an attachment with, i.e. the father if the mother is physically or
emotionally unavailable. Murray and Murray (2010) explored the role that insecure
attachment plays in children’s psychopathology following their parent’s incarceration.
Psychopathology in the Murray and Murray (2010) paper is used to denote symptoms and
syndromes for conduct and affective disorders.
Murray and Murray (2010) used qualitative analysis to study the impact of
parental incarceration and insecure attachment that may arise in children. Murray and
Murray (2010) posed the hypothesis that separation may have more of an effect on the
insecurity of the attachment that children have once their parents are arrested. The harsh
circumstances preceding parental arrests, i.e. the nature of the arrest, in which the
children are present and the sadness of the arrests, do not allow parents time to properly
talk with the child and plan for the separation, which might contribute to insecure
attachment (Murray & Murray, 2010).
23
Poehlmann (2005) study looked at the quality of the relationship between
children, their incarcerated mother, and caregivers. This study also looked at what
behaviors and emotions were exhibited by children who experience maternal
incarceration. The study consisted of 60 children, their mothers, and caregivers that were
not related by blood to the mother. The focus of this study was on children ages of 2.5 to
7.5 years old, who resided with their mothers before her incarceration and who had not
been a part of the foster care system because of neglect or abuse (Poehlmann, 2005).
Data was collected using interviews, videotapes, questionnaires, and assessments. It was
found that a large percentage of these children had insecure attachment, but that having a
positive relationship with a caregiver allowed the kids experience secure attachment
(Poehlmann, 2005).
Comparisons have been made between the loss experienced by children due to
parental incarceration versus the loss children experience because of divorce or the death
of a parent (Bockneck, Sanderson, & Britner, 2009; DeHart & Altshuler, 2009; Geller et
al., 2009). The experiences that children face because of their parents incarceration is
unique due to possible factors of instability and trauma that proceeded the loss that is
connected to parental incarceration (Bockneck et al., 2009; DeHart & Altshuler, 2009;
Geller et al., 2009). Bockneck et al. (2009) study explored the theme of ambiguous loss
among children who have a parent(s) or primary caregiver that is incarcerated. Bocknek
et al. (2009) study collected information directly from children using socioeconomic
variables and both quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis. The sample size in
24
this study was small and consisted of 35 youth who were referred to the study from a
mentoring program that worked with youth who had a parent(s) in prison.
The make-up of the parents incarcerated in this study is representative in terms of
gender and ethnicity of the inmates. The interview was conducted using a semistructured interview style that was done by a clinician, with support from staff from the
mentoring program. Social support, family relationships, internalizing, and externalizing
behaviors were some of the themes explored in this study (Bockneck et al., 2009). The
children in this study showed that high levels of stress and trauma correlated to their
environments and their ambiguous loss. There was a significant correlation found
between Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms and withdrawn behaviors of
these children. Due to the sample size of the study these findings cannot be generalized
to larger populations of children who have experienced parental incarceration.
An increasing number of women are entering into the penal system, which will
have a different affect on their children, in part because of the large number of women
who are the primary custodial parents compared to men (Dallaire, 2007a; Myers, Smarsh,
Amlund-Hagen, & Kennon, 1999). When men enter the prison system they usually have
the mothers of their children to rely on for the continued parenting of their children
(Dallaire, 2007a; Myers, Smarsh, Amlund-Hagen, & Kennon, 1999). Children who
experience maternal incarceration may experience multiple home placements, multiple
school placements, poverty, and trauma associated with no longer having your primary
caregiver available (Dallaire, 2007a; Myers et al., 1999; Snyder, 2009). The inability of a
child to properly attach and bond with a mother, particularly if she is the primary
25
caregiver can have adverse effects later on for the child in terms of their emotional and
social competence (Dallaire, 2007a). Visitation with the child’s mother has been seen as
a protective factor (Dallaire, 2007a; Myers et al., 1999). There have been other studies
suggesting that visits are not helpful to children and can cause them to become more
frightened due to the rigidity and structure of the prisons (Dallaire, 2007a; Lange, 2000;
Nesmith & Ruhland, 2008).
Experiencing the arrest or missing ones mother can be the first point of trauma for
these children (Myers et al., 1999). Myers et al. (1999) found that some children who are
experiencing parental incarceration may turn their emotions inward, which is exhibited
by a child withdrawing, being restless, decreased self-esteem, feeling guilty, and having
emotional problems. Dallaire (2007a) reported that mothers who are in prison reported
more emotional problems being exhibited by their daughters. Protective factors, such as
social support and being hopeful have been reported to be helpful in combating
internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Kinner, Alati, Najman, and Williams (2007)
found that girls tended to exhibit more internalizing behaviors, while boys exhibited more
externalizing behaviors.
Delinquency is another area of interest that researchers have looked at to see if
there is a relationship between parental incarceration and juvenile delinquency. Murray
and Farrington (2005) stated that “different types of parent-child separation are likely to
carry different meanings for children” (p.1269), which begins the discussion about how
children react to separation from their parent. Murray and Farrington’s (2005) study
looked at children who have been separated from their parents because of parental
26
imprisonment and posit that this type of separation is more harmful to boys. LawrenceWillis (2004) also looked at antisocial behavior, but focuses her study on girls, in her
exploration of whether or not having a positive relationship with ones mother decreases
juvenile delinquent behavior and antisocial behavior. Murray and Farrington (2005)
found that other studies have reported psychosocial problems, such as aggressive
behavior, sleep problems, depression, truancy, poor school grades, delinquency, etc.
during the time that the child’s parent is in prison, but have not been able to show
negative effects later on in the lives of these children.
Murray and Farrington (2005) study looked at male children in the Cambridge
Study in Delinquent Development (CSDD) and used information on the youth and their
parents to explore outcomes that were due to parental incarceration. The data collected is
part of a longitudinal study. The longitudinal study used control groups that ranged from
children who were separated from their parents for reasons other than incarceration, as
well as children who had a parent that was imprisoned before their birth. In this study the
incarcerated father was the breadwinner in the household a majority of the time and came
from skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled labor (Murray & Farrington, 2005). The race,
nationality, and the work skills of the white British fathers in this study is not
representative of the male prisoners in America, who are African-American, poorly
educated men (Western, Lopoo, & McLanahan, 2004). While Lawrence-Wills (2004)
study, which was conducted in America, with 100, incarcerated mothers of adolescent
daughters is representative of the prison population in terms of its demographics:
27
minority, lives below the poverty line, has been a victim of physical and/or sexual abuse,
and has substance abuse issues.
Murray and Farrington (2005) sample of participants came from taking all boys
between the ages of 8-9, who went to school in a one mile radius of the research office.
There was a sample size of 23 that was made up of boys who had a parent in prison,
while the control group had 227 boys. A second control group had 77 boys who
experienced separation for other reasons besides parental incarceration in their first ten
years of life. A third control group of 61 boys was used that had parental separation for
other reasons than hospitalization or death. The fourth control group looked at boy who
had parents that were in prison prior to their birth. The method used to explore the results
was a t-test and meta-analyses, as well as logistic regression to control for other risk
factors that have been associated with antisocial behavior (Murray & Farrington, 2005).
This study found that parental imprisonment strongly predicted antisocial and delinquent
behavior in boys up to age 40 and found that the ratings for boys who experienced other
kinds of parental separation were not as high as those who experienced parental
incarceration (Murray & Farrington, 2005). This study found that antisocial behavior for
boys at ages 14, 18, and 32 were strongly influenced by parental incarceration (Murray &
Farrington, 2005). This study was able to retain 94% of its participants and the
longitudinal design shows how boy’s behaviors progressed over time, which strengthens
the design of the study (Murray & Farrington, 2005).
Lawrence-Wills (2004) study on antisocial behavior in girls consisted of 101
women, who had daughters between the ages of 10-17. This study used quantitative
28
analysis and had 99 surveys that were accounted for at the end of the study (LawrenceWillis, 2004). The questionnaire focused on three main areas that included: antisocial
and delinquent behaviors of their daughter; questions about their relationship with this
daughter; and what type of supervision they provided. The study reports that the three
topics chosen for the questionnaire were picked based on face validity and haven been
proved in the past to identify antisocial and delinquent behaviors (Lawrence-Wills,
2004). Delinquency was defined as contact with the juvenile justice system, while
antisocial behaviors were defined as being activities that are socially unacceptable or
illegal (Lawrence-Wills, 2004). The measurement instrument used was SPSS. This
study relied on the mother’s reports solely, which might provide variation from what the
daughters believe to be their bonding level with their mother.
The women in Lawrence-Wills (2004) study are representative of the
demographics of women prisoners in terms of ethnicity and income level prior to
incarceration. This study did not find that parent involvement in the criminal justice
system would mean that their daughters would follow suit. There were limited number of
daughters involved in the juvenile justice system and the mother’s reports show that most
had a good relationship with their daughters (Lawrence-Wills, 2004). This study did not
follow the girls over time to see if delinquent and antisocial behavior later developed.
Less than half of the girls lived with their mothers prior to their arrest, which might mean
that there are other protective factors to consider when exploring the low level of
delinquency in the girls in this study. The small sample size does not make this study one
29
that can be generalized to all girls that are experiencing parental incarceration. There is
no mention of possible incentives received or not in order to attract participants.
Risk factors, such as the following: socioeconomic levels, incarceration and/or
multiple incarcerations of parents and other family member’s, sexual abuse, mental
illness, and criminal activity of a parent are some of the factors that may contribute to
intergenerational incarceration (Dallaire, 2007b; Murray & Farrington, 2005). Miller
(2007) explained that outcomes cannot fully be addressed without looking at the child
and their environment, and looking at these youth in terms of dual risks that they face
because of parental incarceration and their environment. Children who experience
maternal incarceration have risks factors that include poverty, academic failure,
separation from primary caregiver to name a few, which might put a child at greater risk
for involvement in criminal activities (Dallaire, 2007b). Dannerbeck (2005) said that
children learn about criminal behavior by watching and that children of incarcerated
parents are 3 to 6 times more likely than other children to become delinquents. There
have been studies that have shown that maternal incarceration increases a child’s
likelihood of following in their mother’s footsteps when it comes to involvement in the
prison system, but on the other hand a Canadian study found that if teenagers have a
connection and attachment to their two-parent family that they were less likely to engage
in criminal activity (Dallaire, 2007b).
The appearance of mental health issues has been discussed in terms of the effects
that parental incarceration has on children. Phillips, Burns, Wagner, Kramer, and
Robbins (2002) study used 258 adolescents, who were receiving mental health services to
30
see if there is a difference in exposure to risk factors for children who have a parent
incarcerated versus those that do not. The study also wanted to see if parental
incarceration had an effect on emotional and behavioral problems in these adolescents.
Adolescents who were wards of the state were not included in this study (Phillips et al.,
2002). The information was collected from both the adolescents and their caregivers.
Phillips et al. (2002) study had a large percentage of white youth participants, which is
contradictory to the statistics that show that there are a greater number of black youth
who have a parent in prison. The study found that adolescents who had a parent in prison
were more likely to have disruptive behavior disorders, were also more likely to have
been expelled or suspended from school, and have had a run in with the juvenile justice
system (Phillips et al., 2002). This study also found children of incarcerated parents at
greater risk for having experienced a traumatizing event before entering in to treatment.
Secrecy and stigma are things that children of incarcerated parents have to deal
with. Miller (2007) described how children of inmates have to deal with other children
and societies stigmatization of both them and their parent. This stigmatization can
contribute to them feeling at fault for their parent’s situation, which can be emotionally
harmful (Miller, 2007). Secrecy can come in the form of family members not wanting
the child to tell others outside of the family about their parents being in prison, as well as
adults excluding the children from knowing where their parent is due to their not wanting
to worry the child (Adalist-Estrin, 2006; Lange, 2000; Murray, 2007; Nesmith &
Ruhland, 2008). Lange (2000) stated that keeping parental incarceration a secret from
the child can have negative effects, which can lead them to fill in the blanks as to why
31
their parent is no longer around, which can cause them to become afraid from the
uncertainty. Some of the protective factors that can help these youth include spiritual and
religious beliefs, as well as support from other adults and children with whom they feel
attached, having a positive sense of self, support from non-family members, and a
positive parent-child relationship (Miller, 2007; Nesmith & Ruhland, 2008).
Parent-Child Intervention Programs
One of the more common forms of intervention programs for incarcerated parents
is parenting programs that are administered while the parent is in prison. Gonzalez,
Romero, and Cerbana (2007) and Sandifer (2008) reported that not only are parenting
classes good for building the parent-child relationship upon a parents release from prison,
but it has also been shown as a factor in decreasing recidivism rates. Bushfield (2004)
notes that male inmates have been behind when it comes to parenting program
opportunities. Other benefits noted behind parents participating in parenting classes
while incarcerated are improved social and interpersonal skills (Sandifer, 2008). The
Rebonding and Rebuilding curriculum’s topics ranged from discipline, family and child
development, to difficult topics (Sandifer, 2008). The Rebonding and Rebuilding
curriculum used in this study was created by an outside source to be used in the jail
settings. It is unclear if this curriculum is used in other jails. There was a pre and post
test given to evaluate the parenting skills learned using a quasi-experimental design
(Sandifer, 2008). The Rebonding and Rebuilding participants consisted of 64 women
who completed the program and a comparison group of 26 women who had not taken a
parenting course. This study used AAPI-2 to assess parenting skills and consisted of 40
32
items on a likert scale. SPSS was used to tabulate and analyze the data and the results
found that there was an increase in parent knowledge and skills of the individual.
Frye and Dawe (2008) discussed parenting interventions for women that are in
prison in their effort to improve parenting skills and increase the maternal-child bond.
Brown and Bloom (2009) stated that when women leave prison they not only have to
figure out how to fit back in to their community and lives before incarceration, but that
they also have to figure out how to reintegrate back in to having a relationship with their
children. Frye and Dawe (2008) discuss the uncertainty, confusion, and rejection that
women feel when trying to identify their role within the family. Dodge and Pogrebin
(2001) pointed out that successful reintegration is in part connected with women’s ability
to reestablish relationships.
Parents Under Pressure (PUP) program was created to assist women with
regaining their maternal roles once they leave prison through intensive parenting skills
training. This program was administered for 3-4 months. Frye and Dawe (2008) started
off with a sample size of twelve, but ended up with eight women who completed the
program. The findings showed improvements in maternal emotional well-being,
improved child behavior, and improvements in the level of stress experienced by the
mothers due to their parenting. The findings from this study consisted of too small
sample size to generalize this study to larger populations. The use of a control group
would have been beneficial in evaluating the strength of this program.
The Family Support Program (FSP) and the Parenting Inside Out (PIO) program
can both be used with former incarcerated parents and their families before and after their
33
release from prison (Eddy, Martinez, Schiffmann, Newton, Olin, Leve, Foney, & Shortt,
2008; Johnson, Selber, & Lauderdale, 1998). FSP focuses on the both the offender and
the family, community supports, the children of the ex-offender, and predictors for
reintegration in to the community (Johnson, Selber, & Lauderdale, 1998). Services
provided by the FSP are short term, 3-9 months and included case management with
significant persons in the incarcerated parent’s life (Johnson, Selber, & Lauderdale,
1998). The FSP also provided individual and group education and support, counseling
with families, groups for kids, and a large number of in-home supports (Johnson, Selber,
& Lauderdale, 1998). The findings of this study did not show statistical significance, but
showed a 10% improvement with those participants that completed the program versus
individuals not in the program (Johnson, Selber, & Lauderdale, 1998). This study also
had a very small sample size and those participants that were able to remain out of jail for
approximately five years were a total of 21 participants. This program was a local
program that originated and Texas and was in the process of branching out to another site
in Texas during the end of this study.
Eddy, Martinez, Schiffmann, Newton, Olin, Leve, Foney, and Shortt’s (2008)
multi-systemic program for incarcerated parents and their families are based in adult
learning theory. The PIO program has a 36 session parent management training that uses
real life situations and topics to explore, use role play, peer reviews, as well as have a
therapeutic component for participants who complete the first twelve week program
(Eddy et al., 2008). The therapeutic program allows incarcerated parents to practice the
skills and interacting techniques with their family and the caregivers, while having
34
support and receiving feedback from the videotaped session. This study aimed to use
evidenced based practices, but statistical analysis from the results from this study would
be helpful in evaluating its effectiveness. No demographics were mentioned about the
participants beyond their gender, which would make it difficult to compare the
participants to the national statistics that are representative of the incarcerated population.
Gaps in the Literature
The literature is lacking in longitudinal studies that look at more than just pointin-time effects of incarceration on children. There is also a lack of studies, particularly
longitudinal studies that look at the affects experienced by children, when it is their
mother who is incarcerated. The gaps in the literature include the limited number of
studies that talk directly with children about their experiences with maternal incarceration
and how it ultimately affects them. Usually the parent is the one stating what they
believe their child’s emotional state is due to parental incarceration. There also seems to
be fewer studies about this topic and more inferences about the consequences of parental
incarceration. The interventions seem to be focused on parenting classes in prison. Their
do not seem to be a great deal of community based programs for mothers and their
children. The study of these programs effectiveness is lacking. Most of the studies were
done on a small scale.
Summary
This literature review looks at the historical background of the United States
prison system, the early experiences of women in the prison system, the effects of mass
incarceration and its impact on our current prison population. This literature review also
35
looks at the incarceration of women and the pre-parental incarceration experiences of
children. The effects of parental incarceration on children was explored to see if there is
a connection between attachment, internalizing and externalizing behaviors, delinquency,
and stigma as it relates to the children’s well-being. Lastly programs and interventions
were explored that worked to help incarcerated mothers and children improve the
maternal-child bond was explored, which resulted in prison parenting classes that are
offered, as well as a few programs that are aimed at working with both the parents and
the child. These programs were explored to see what it available to help reduce the
negative impact on both mother and child from maternal incarceration.
36
Chapter 3
METHODS
Introduction
This chapter will discuss the research methods that were employed in this study.
This chapter will also focus on the study purpose, study design, sampling procedures,
data collection procedures, measurement instruments used, data analysis, and the
protection of human subjects. The methods/methodology used in this study were to
better understand the effects of maternal incarceration and what program components and
services can help improve outcomes for these mothers and their minor children.
Study Purpose
The purpose of this study was to explore the needs of formerly incarcerated
mothers and their minor children. This study explored what types of program
components and/or services are helpful to these mothers and their children. The types of
program components and services that were explored were about the needs of the mother
upon exiting prison/jail, the maternal-child bond, and ways to help reduce the negative
effects because of incarceration on both mother and child.
Study Design
The study design used in this research project was qualitative content analysis.
The qualitative information was gathered from the participants, using an open-ended
interview that I created for this study. This interview was created to collect information
around the research topic of what program components and interventions are/or could be
helpful in working with formerly incarcerated mothers and their minor children, to reduce
37
the negative effects of maternal incarceration. There were 10 participants in this study
that were chosen through the snowball sampling method. The participants were chosen
based on their work with formerly incarcerated mothers, whose child was a minor during
some point in their incarceration. The participants worked with these families in different
capacities, i.e. therapy, alcohol and drug programs, criminal justice programs, etc.
Sampling Procedures
Non-probability sampling procedures were used in this research study via the
snowball sampling method. I talked with colleagues, other graduate students, and friends
about my research topic in order to find participants, who fit the research project
demographics. Colleagues, other graduate students, and friends let me know if they knew
anyone who might fit the research project demographics. I was either given the contact
information for these prospective research participants or they were given mine. For
those individuals who I was given their contact information for, I placed a call to them
introducing myself and then explained the purpose of this project. I questioned these
individuals to find out if they fit into the demographics or if knew someone who did, so
that I could continue to build my sample size. I also made some cold calls to local
agencies who worked with incarcerated and/or formerly incarcerated mothers. I again
introduced myself and explained about the purpose behind this study, then asked if they
could participate. I asked for participant referrals and if given any names would ask for
permission to say who referred me. The participant’s identity was kept confidential. The
participants were informed prior to the start of this study that their enrollment and
participation would remain confidential. I also provided the participants with a written
38
copy of the informed consent letter on the day of our interview and explained the terms of
their participation in this research study.
Data Collection Procedures
The research participants were first explained the nature of this study and that
their participation was voluntary. Each participant was then provided an informed
consent letter to review and sign, stating that they agreed to participate in this study.
After collecting the forms the participants were given a copy of this form. Next I began
to interview the study participants through face to face interviews, using the 11 interview
questions that were created for this study. I transcribed the interviews that were digitally
recorded and added that information to the interviews that were conducted using long
hand. The interviews were held out in the community at locations chosen by the
participants. Six out of the ten participants consented to being digitally recorded, while
the other four consented to have their interview written via long hand.
Measurement Instruments Used
The standardized open-ended interview approach was utilized for this research
study. The interview questions were comprised of four demographic questions about the
participants and 10 standardized open-ended interview questions. Interviews were either
digitally recorder or recorded using long hand, depending on the participants comfort
level. Six interviews were digitally recorded, while four were written in long hand. The
standardized interview questions explored the needs, challenges, and gaps in services for
ex-incarcerated mothers and their minor children, from the participant’s perspectives.
The standardized interview questions also explored society’s misperceptions about
39
formerly incarcerated mother, program components and services that could be helpful to
these families, stories about the impact of maternal incarceration on both mother and
child, and ideal programs or services that would be helpful to this population. This study
was approved as a “no risk” study that caused minimal to no discomfort.
Data Analysis Approaches
After the interviews were completed they were transcribed and analyzed to explore
key themes that came from this process. I spent time processing what I heard from the
participants after each interview and reviewing my questions to make sure that the
interviews were consistent and obtaining the appropriate information. I jotted down
notes after reviewing the transcribed materials to help further pinpoint any themes that
came out of the interviews. I took a tally of the programs, services, and interventions
listed by each participant to help pull out themes. I reviewed these notes from the
transcriptions to compare and contrast the needs that the participants expressed for this
particular population of individuals. The interview questions were analyzed
independently of one another and overall themes were pulled from each question.
Protection of Human Subjects
I took every precaution to protect the participant’s rights to safety and anonymity
throughout this research project. Before interviewing the participants I completed the
human subject’s application process and got approval for this project from the Internal
Review Board (IRB) within the Division of Social Work at California State University,
Sacramento. I completed the Protocol for the Protection of Human Subjects and
identified this to be a “no risk” research project. All participants were verbally told about
40
the nature of this study prior to their participation. The participants were also verbally
told that their participation is voluntary and that their enrollment will be kept
confidential.
Prior to conducting the interviews I provided each participant with a informed
consent letter, which explained about the study, the risks, benefits, procedures, and other
rights provided during their participation in this study. Participants had to acknowledge
and agree to the terms outlined in the informed consent letter before moving on to the
interview. The informed consent letter also provided a listing of mental health resources,
should the participants needed support after their participation in this study. The
participants could choose to not have their interview digitally recorded and still
participate in this study. A copy of the informed consent letter was given to the
participants prior to the start of their interview.
The information collected from the participants in this study was kept in a secure
location in my residence. Only my thesis advisor and I were privy to the raw data
collected. The information that was digitally recorded was promptly transcribed and
deleted. The raw information and transcribed notes were destroyed a three months after
this thesis project was approved.
41
Chapter 4
FINDINGS
Introduction
This chapter will present the findings of the study which asked, “What are
important program components and/or interventions that are helpful in reducing the
negative effects of maternal incarceration on both mother and her minor child?” The
research project used a snow ball method in order to obtain the sample. Qualitative
interviews were used to collect information from the ten participants, who are employees
who have worked with incarcerated and/or formerly incarcerated mothers and their minor
children. One-on-one interviews were conducted with the participants using a series of
ten open-ended interview questions (See Appendix A). The participants were also asked
four demographic questions about themselves and a question about the age range of the
mothers, with whom they have worked. The participants had the opportunity to choose
between having their interviews digitally recorded and later transcribed by hand or to
have their interview written out via long hand. Six participants consented to having their
interview digitally recorded, while four consented to having their interview recorded via
long hand.
The interviews were analyzed to assess what types of programs and/or
interventions are helpful in reducing the negative effects of maternal incarceration on
mother and child, from the prospective of the service providers. Each interview
questions was analyzed individually to explore common or consistent themes. The
overall findings section will include demographics on the study participants and the
42
average age of the mother’s, with whom these participants have worked. The
Participants in this study were given fictitious names to protect their identity.
Demographics
This study consisted of ten participants. There were nine women and one man.
The participants ranged in age from 30 years to 60 and up, with the average age being in
the 40-49 year range and 50-59 year range. Out of the ten participants, three identified as
White/Caucasian, four as Black, two as Latino, and one who preferred to be called
American. The participant’s work experience with this population ranged from 2.5 to 27
years, with the average length of experience being 13.25years. The participants stated
that the age range of the mothers that they worked with was wide and that they could not
fit them into one category. With this being the case, the participants were allowed to
check more than one category of ages for the mother. The fictitious names used for the
participants are as follows: Janice, Monica, Phyllis, Pam, Senora, Sarah, Betty, Hannah,
Liz, and Mike.
Specific Findings
Common Needs of Mothers After Incarceration. The participants were asked
the question: what are the most common needs of mothers of minor children are once
they exit prison/jail? The theme that emerged was the need for the basics. Eight of the
ten participants stated that the “basic needs” were housing, financial support, clothing,
transportation, medical etc. According to Hannah the “basic needs” are different
depending on whether or not you are talking about a mother who is exiting prison versus
a mother who is exiting jail. She thought that mothers exiting jail had a greater need for
43
the basics, because of the lack of release planning done by the criminal justice system.
Hannah stated that housing can still be an issue for women exiting prison. According to
Janice a barrier to getting their “basic needs” met is due to their inability to qualify for
supports, like food stamps because of their criminal record. Liz shared that these women
experience social support exclusion forever. She also shared how the felonies incurred
by these mothers that limit their ability to get their needs met, may actually belong to
their significant other, whom they took the fall for.
The Challenges Faced by Mothers. The participants were asked the question: in
your experience what challenges do these mothers face as they rebuild their relationship
with their minor children? Two themes emerged, which were the troubled relationships
between mother and child prior to incarceration and the limited amount of contact
between mother and child upon release. Seven of the ten participants sited lack of trust
as being problematic for these mothers as they rebuild their relationship with their
children. The lack of trust was around the child not trusting their mother or the mother
not trusting or believing in self and in her ability to be a good parent. The participants
expressed that the worry these women face around not being a good parent comes from
the poor relationship with their children. Senora added that the mother’s interactions
with their children are riddled with feelings of guilt and shame. She further asserted that
the mother’s guilt impedes her ability to parent her child. Parenting by guilt creates
bigger problems in the future for these children and society. The larger issue for these
children that Senora addressed is around possible future involvement with the criminal
justice system because of their home structure.
44
Another point made by the participants was about the lack of bonds between
mother and child prior to incarceration and the effect this has on the mother’s belief that
she is not good enough and thus not a good parent. Pam stated, “They are not bonded
with their children or they have lost that connection and it depends on the length of time
they have been incarcerated.” Monica shared that the mothers must face the fact “That
they have kids that have been told nothing but bad things about them and now they are
trying to rebuild this relationship with their children. They have been told things like you
can’t rely on her, you can’t trust her kind of stuff.”
Janice expressed that these mothers face the challenge of parenting, which is
further complicated by having to negotiate their roles as mothers with their family
members and the foster care system. The assertion made by Janice relates to family
systems theory, that posits that every family member has a role or part that they play in
the family system. Once a family member returns to the fold there can be a disturbance
as the other members of that system adjust to the return of this individual.
The second theme: access to their children was discussed by the participants.
Monica mentioned that the challenge with this is not having access to their child because
they do not know where their child is. According to the participants the child may have
been left with family or friends when the mother went to prison. Monica shared that the
restrictions placed on these women in prison affects their ability to contact their kids.
They can lose sight of where their child is because they are dependent on the person who
is taking care of their child to accept collect calls and bring them in, Monica shared.
Another challenge that Monica shared is that, “You are paroled back to the county where
45
you committed your crime,” which may not be where their kids live. Another option
around gaining access to their children is having family members bringing the child to
see mom. Monica shared that mothers have said that “My parole officer is not willing to
give me a travel pass. My family either, one is not willing to bring my child or they don’t
have the means or the money to bring the child to me.” The city in which these mothers
are paroled, impacts their ability to have contact with their children.
Gaps in Programs, Services, and/or Interventions. The participants were
asked the question: in your experience what currently do you see as the gaps in programs,
services, and/or interventions? The participants identified different gaps in programs,
services, and/or interventions, with the most prominent one being the lack of availability
for permanent housing. Half of the participant’s reported that access to housing is the
biggest gap in programs. These participants reported how difficult it is for these mothers
to transition back into the community upon release from prison/jail. Participants shared
that one thing that makes reentry difficult for these mothers is that they do not have
anywhere to go once they are released. The reasons that the participant sited for this was
around the mothers criminal record, lack of financial resources, and lack of employment.
Betty reported that a felony conviction is problematic “Because of the stigma that goes
along with crime.” Senora shared how accessing housing is made more difficult when
the children are not residing with the mom, which limits the financial resources that she
can then qualify for. The participant’s responses focused on the needs of the mother and
how not having one of your “basic needs” met can impede the progress to getting the
other needs.
46
Helpful Supports and Service. The participants were asked the question: in
your experience what has been helpful in working with formerly incarcerated mothers?
The common theme expressed by nine of the participants was around some type of
support services. The support services that participants identified as being helpful were
around alcohol and drug support, education and vocational training. While Pam and
Betty both identified parenting supports as being helpful. Participants discussed the
importance of having programs that were easy access and included case management
services to assist the mother with various needs, whether they deal with drug and alcohol
issues, educational, medical, financial, vocational, etc. Some of the services that are
already in existence that were mentioned are the Multi-Service Centers. Programs that
allow women to remain with their children were also expressed as being helpful to
decrease the problems that may come from lack of contact.
The Needs of Incarcerated Mothers vs. Other Mothers Separated from Their
Children. The participants were asked the question: in your experience do you think that
there are different needs for mothers who were incarcerated versus mothers who were
separated from their children for a significant period of time for other reasons? If so
how? Nine of the participants agreed that the needs are different for these two groups.
The underlying commonality found in the participant’s response was the emotional
effects that come from dealing with incarceration and the separation from your family,
which effects both mother and child. Mike explained that these mothers are already
impacted by early trauma experiences, which is common amongst incarcerated. He
shared how these trauma experiences effect the decisions that these mothers make
47
regarding how they lead their lives. Senora exclaimed, “There is more guilt and shame
behind the choices they have made versus someone having the choice to make that
decision and being okay with it, you know, so it is more easier for them to accept and
deal with, to be able to establish a rapport with their children later on.”
Phyllis reported that there are emotional and psychological effects for both
mother and child. Sarah shared that the children may be traumatized from watching their
mother get arrested and how this may change the child’s view of the role of law
enforcement. The interconnectedness of the mother and child’s experiences can be
viewed through a family systems theory. The family system is affected by change to its
structure, which in this case is the separation of mother from child. This separation will
cause the other members to react in a manner to right the system. This correction to the
family system may appear in the emotional, psychological, and behavioral responses of
both mother and child.
The Importance of Working with Mother’s and their Children During Her
Incarceration. The participants were asked the following question: do you think that it
is important to address maternal-child bonding? If so, what are important program
components and/or intervention that are helpful in improving this bond? The participants
were in full agreement about the importance of addressing the bond between mother and
child. The participants also stressed the importance of contact between mother and child.
Monica, Betty, and Sarah explained that it is important to work with both mother and
child while she is still incarcerated in order to help strengthen their bond. The emphasis
was on teaching these families about how to connect and to be prepared to maintain these
48
connections. Monica discussed the importance of creating and strengthening these
bonds, which are challenged by incarceration. Monica stated,
“Some of the women go into prison pregnant and they get to spend one to three
days with their and their child is taken. They go serve five years and they are out
and this baby that they carried around for six to eight months in their belly is now
four or five years old. And even though the babies have had pictures of mom,
letters from, that kind of stuff there is still that you are my mommy kind of thing”.
The contact that these families are having while the mom is incarcerated allow for
supports to work through stressors that may unfold as the mom rejoins the family.
The programs that participants identified as being most helpful were those that
allowed the child to reside with their mom and those that provided parenting and
counseling. Five of the participants identified residential type programs that included the
child. A few of the participants took this question a step further and discussed
transitional services being a good next step after incarceration. Mike identified two
alternative sentencing programs that fall fit into residential type housing. Those
programs are the Family Foundations Program (FFP) and the Community Prisoner
Mother Program (CPMP), which allow women to have between 1-2 kids with them
during their sentence.
A helpful parenting program that Janice identified used a therapist as a parenting
coach, who would use a microphone and an earpiece to help coach mothers when they
were interacting with their children during visits. Senora also mentioned this type of
program and added the importance of having culturally sensitive parenting practices.
49
Counseling, in addition to parenting was discussed as a way to help the mother-child
relationship improve.
Maternal-Child Bonding. All ten participants were in agreement with the
question: do you think it is important to address maternal-child bonding? If so, what are
important program components and/or interventions that they think will help to improve
the maternal child-bond? Some of the participants first began by sharing the difficulties
around maternal-child bonding. Betty said, “a lot of women don’t understand bonding,
but they do understand attachment and love.” While Phyllis stated,
“Often times, there is a cycle. I think that it is important to educate people about
what that means. In certain communities that is not really talked about. It’s just
like you just had a kid. You were 16 or 17 and never heard about. You never
ever heard the word. I think that it is important to educate people about what that
is. Some moms are from a cycle of not having maternal bonding, you know”.
Both Betty and Phyllis’ statements reflect the importance of not only addressing
what bonding means, but also educating mothers around what it looks like and how it can
be improved. Maternal-child bonds are a necessary part of a child’s relationship, not only
with their mother, but also with the world around. Hannah stated that it is important for
bonding to occur in the first 18 months of a child’s life. Hannah addressed the need for
bonding between mothers and their older children, who she states are at risk for issues
like fear of abandonment, anxiety, and anger. The commonality behind the helpful
programs that were identified is that they allow mothers more access to their child.
Programs that were identified for pregnant, soon to be mothers allow them to keep baby.
50
Pam’s version of access would have prison or jails to set up to accommodate overnight
visits between mother and child. For Monica it was a bussing program that she knows of
that is paid for by the inmates, to help keep them connected to their children.
Misperceptions of Incarcerated Mothers. All ten participants responded in the
affirmative to the question: do you think that society has misperceptions about exoffender women who were mothers during the time of their incarceration? The common
misperceptions had to do with the women’s perceived immorality, failure as mothers, and
inability to make positive changes with their lives. Monica shared that one of the biggest
misperceptions that she hears is that, “She is the one that went to jail. She doesn’t deserve
to have her kid back.” This statement shows that there is no redemption for ex-offender
women in the eyes of society. Sarah shared that she has heard that these mothers, “Don’t
love their children, that they are worthless, that the mother’s living off of the societies
dime, and she is having her kids who, are going to be losers just like her.” These
misperceptions further showcase thoughts that society members have about not only
mothers who have been incarcerated, but also about their children and their children’s
path in life.
These participants shared that society views these women as being their mistakes.
The identity of what it is to be a woman and what it means to be a mother is compounded
when you add crime in to the mix. Hannah articulated this sentiment when she said,
“If you take the radical perception of criminal to the extreme, I think a lot of
people do carry around those stereotypes. Then if you put in the mom aspect, you
know women and their roles as mom that has been the primary thing that they
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have been held to do. So if you are a bad mom that is like wham. That’s like
triple whammy on top of being a bad person and all this and now you are a bad
mom. And then somehow on top of that you have managed to do something while
you were pregnant. I mean, whoa! I found that when I was working with
pregnant heroin addicts there was so much bias, even within my social work
community, where we are you know, very understanding liberal folks. I would get
like, how dare someone use while they are pregnant, just all this condemnation.
It was like triple whammy, it would kind of build up. So, yes definitely lots of
misconceptions”.
Hannah’s response shows negative perceptions of these mothers is not limited by an
individual’s job or so called liberal beliefs. Betty’s stated, “There is no understanding of
what these women are like or what they have been through,” they are just seen as
hardened criminals.
Stories of the Effects of Maternal Incarceration. The participants were asked
if they had any stories to share that could shed light on the effects of maternal
incarceration on both mother and child. One such story involved a 14 year old girl who
Pam worked with, whose mom was incarcerated on multiple occasions throughout her
life. Pam said that this mother said, “Birthday is coming up. Daughter says you haven’t
been here for any of them. Mother says, yeah I know, do you forgive me? Daughter said
no, not yet.” This story shows the strain that incarceration can put on the mother child
relationship. This mother was seeking forgiveness, but this was something that her
daughter was not ready to give.
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Not being present in their child’s life for significant periods of time can cause
these mothers to question what the future holds for their relationship with their children.
Monica shared a story about a mom who was incarcerated as a result of being involved
with men who made drugs. This mother had three daughters, one in her early twenties, a
twelve, and an eight year old. The older sister took custody of the eight year old after
their mother’s arrest, but refused to take in the twelve year old. This twelve year old girl
felt abandoned not only by her mother, but also by her older sister. Monica stated,
“So the message that she is getting is that she is not lovable, that she does not
deserve the good in life, and why me and why am I the ugly duckling basically.
So, you know she had a lot of struggles, you know and she was really angry
because she didn’t understand you know. She was angry at the police because
they came and got her. She was angry at her mother because she did that again.
She was angry at her older sister because it was like how are you going to take
my little sister, but you won’t take me. And so that was a serious problem”.
These children grow up and some still experience the effects maternal
incarceration. One such example was given by Hannah, who worked with a woman
whose mom was incarcerated when she was a child. This woman lived with her
grandmother while she was growing up and only got to see her mom a few times during
the first twelve years of her life. Hannah said,
“When she was released from prison, she really didn’t believe that she was her
mom. She just didn’t like. It was like kinda hard for her to even believe that this
person my mom. What does that even mean and then part of what struggles with
53
to this day is her own sense of identity of not knowing her mom. Of not really
knowing her mom, she is like, she is like you know sometimes, cause sometime
shortly thereafter her mom actually passed away. So it was one of those were then
she was not given the opportunity at all. And so kinda just really what, what I
always think about is I am one of those blessed people who, I know I was wanted,
I know I was loved. You know, I know my mom wanted me. I know she loved me.
I don’t ever have to walk around with any doubt about that. I know it all the way
through my being and this is someone who sits across from me and she doesn’t
know that. In fact she thinks the opposite, you know. And I think that the impact
of that, what that has and how incarceration can contribute to that, you know it’s
huge, it’s huge”.
This story that Hannah shared shows just how much of an impact a mother’s absence can
have in her child’s life. The lack of contact with her mother when she was a child in
some ways contributed to her current state. Being able to spend time with ones mother
can help to counteract some of this doubt and uncertainty of being loved.
Programs, Interventions, and Services Ideas. The participants were asked the
question: what type of program, service, and/or intervention would they create if there
were no limits. The programs imagined by the participants were around multifaceted
transitional living programs, allowing a mother and her child to live together. The
programs offered would help with parenting, vocational, interpersonal, alcohol, and drug
issues and even for one participant include money management. Senora added teaching
mother how to have fun and travel, as well as what it means to be a woman. The
54
programs would include the needs of entire family. The imagination of the participants
could not be contained. One unique response that was given was around creating a
paradigm shift around societies need for social order to instead be based off of love and
understanding.
Summary
Maternal incarceration impacts both mother and child. The participants in this
research project spoke to some about the challenges facing these mothers and their
children as they attempt to move forward. Being released from prison comes with its
challenges as these mothers are expected to reenter the community and be productive
individuals. The research participants reported that one of the most common needs for
mothers when they exit prison is access to their “basic needs.” The inability to access
one need, impacts these mothers ability to access the rest of their needs. The most
common challenges reported by the participants were the troubled relationship that they
mom’s have with their child prior to incarcerated and limited access to their children
upon release. A great deal of women who are incarcerated have experienced trauma,
which impacts their lives and affects that of their child.
The participants identified that the most common gap in programs, services, and
interventions are around the availability of housing. The participants report that
incarceration affects a mother’s ability to provide housing for herself and her child
because places will not rent to her because of her criminal record and she has hard time
financially being able to do so because she has recently left prison and may not be able to
find employment due to her criminal history. The participants shared that what has been
55
helpful are support services, like alcohol and drug counseling, education, and vocational
training, financial support. The participants also identified programs that make it easy for
mothers and their children to get their needs met in one site as being helpful.
The participants spoke about the importance of addressing the maternal-child
bond and providing supports to help strengthen these bonds. Participants discussed how
some of these mothers may not have been appropriately bonded with their own mothers
while growing-up and thus do not know how to do so with their children. The services
and interventions mentioned as being helpful involved increasing access between mother
and child, providing parenting, and counseling services. Participants reported the benefit
of having programs like transitional housing that would allow both mother and child to
get their needs met.
This chapter reflects findings from this research project, which were analyzed and
discussed. Chapter 5 will summarize the major findings from this study and review the
literature from chapter 2 for the purpose of comparing and contrasting the outcomes
found in this study. Lastly recommendations will be made to about how this research
project will be helpful to other from this study will be discussed.
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Chapter 5
CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATIONS, SUMMARY
Introduction
This chapter will summarize the major findings that came out of chapter 4. This
chapter will discuss whether or not the findings from the last chapter answered the
research question of: what are important program components to increase the bonds
between incarcerated mother and child while reducing the negative effects of maternal
incarceration. This chapter will explore how the research projects finding compare or
contrast to the literature review that is found in chapter 2 of this study. Next this, chapter
will discuss future recommendations for social workers and policy makers that work with
this population. Lastly the limitations of this study will also be explored.
Findings
The increased number of mothers incarcerated in this country will have
resounding effect on both mother and her minor children. Allen et al. (2010) stated that
the majority of incarcerated women are mothers to minor children. Since the majority of
incarcerated mothers were the primary care providers for their children prior to
incarceration, there are youth who will be displaces as a result of maternal incarceration
(Johnson & Waldfogel, 2002; Travis, 2007). This research project interviewed with
individuals who work with incarcerated/ formerly incarcerated mothers and/or their
minor children to find out about the needs, challenges, and gaps in services that directly
impact them from the employee’s perspective. Common themes were taken from each of
the ten interview questions to help answer the research question.
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The first research question looked at the most common needs of mothers as they
exit prison/jail. Eight of the participants reported the most common need to be the “basic
needs,” which are housing, food, clothing, finances etc. A common thread that arose
from this theme was how incarceration limits a mother’s ability to access these “basic
needs.” The participants shared that the mother’s ability to access these needs is limited
because of her criminal background, which disqualifies her for services, as well as being
denied things, like housing. The literature supports this finding. One participant in the
research project pointed out how a mother’s inability to have financial support directly
affects her ability to obtain housing. This point gives rise to the importance of helping
these mothers access the necessary supports and services, so that they can maintain their
selves and their family.
The second research question asked the research participants to share from their
experiences, “What are some of the challenges facing these mothers as they rebuild their
relationship with their child?” The two themes that arose were the troubled relationships
between mother and child prior to incarceration and the limited amount of contact
between the two following incarceration. The literature did show evidence of the
problematic relationships between mother and child prior to her incarceration. The
participants sited lack of trust from the child and the mothers own inability to trust herself
and her ability to be a good parent as a factor in the troubled relationships with their
children. Allen et al. (2010) discussed the guilt and shame of women and mothers
because of their incarceration, which goes with what some of the research participant’s
shared. Participants also discussed the problematic bonds that these women have with
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their children because of the lack of properly bonding with them. The literature did not
address these points, nor did it focus on the nature of those bonds after. The literature did
not address the lack of trust that these children have for their mother that the participants
pointed out. The participants brought up the challenge of mothers trying to renegotiate
their role as mothers with family members and the foster care system. The literature
supported the participant’s assertion that mothers do have difficulties renegotiating their
position back within their child’s life. Frye and Dawe (2008) talk about the uncertainty
and confusion of these mothers face around their roles.
The findings around the interview question: “What are the biggest gaps in
programs, services, and/or interventions for these mothers and their children from the
participant’s perspective was around housing?” The participants again, expressed that
housing was a challenge due to the mother’s limited resources and criminal background.
The lack of resources greatly impacts their ability to get their needs met which is what
this research project showed. However the literature did not capture the gaps in
programs, services, and interventions. The literature discussed some programs that have
been used, which were around parenting and counseling, but these programs did not have
enough of a sample size to relate these finding to a larger segment of the population.
The fifth question asked to the participants was: “In your experience what have
you seen that has been helpful in working with formerly incarcerated mothers and their
minor children?” The common theme of support services around things like education,
vocational services, alcohol and drug counseling, parenting etc was identified by nine of
the participants. The research participants focused on the needs of the mothers. The
59
literature identified the need for parenting and counseling programs. Most of the
parenting programs in the literature however were done while the mother was still
incarcerated.
The sixth interview question asked: “Do you think that there are different needs
for incarcerated mothers separated from their children versus mothers separated for other
reasons?” Nine participants agreed that the needs of the mothers are different. The
commonality found in the response was around the emotional effects that come from
dealing with incarceration and from dealing with the separation from their family. I
specifically asked about the women’s experiences and if there is a difference between the
two groups. The literature, however did the reverse and looked at this question from the
child’s perspective to explore if there are separation differences? The literature showed
that there is a difference between children whose parents have been incarcerated versus
children who have experienced different types of parental loss.
The research participants discussed the mother’s experience with trauma and loss,
which impacts their emotional state as well as the guilt and shame from incarceration.
The literature discussed that the children have experienced trauma around witnessing
their mother’s arrest and later the experience of her incarceration. The literature also
supports ambiguous loss experienced by the children. A participant in this study made
similar remarks about the emotional effects of incarceration for both mother and child.
The seventh question explored in this project as the participants if, from their
experience it was important to work with mothers and their children while they mother
was still incarcerated and what programs or services have been helpful. All of the
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participants found it helpful to work with both pairs. The theme identified that the most
beneficial programs were those that allowed mother and child to reside together and those
that provided parenting and counseling services. The literature did not discuss
transitional/residential programs where children are allowed to live with their mothers as
these participants have. The literature identified one multi-service program, but it did not
report this programs effectiveness. The literature showed that the parent’s knowledge
about parenting skills improved after they participated in a parenting program. The PIO
program from the literature used a similar intervention that was mentioned by a couple of
the participants as being helpful. This intervention involved the coaching the parent on
how to interact with their child through videotaped sessions after the visit, which was
slightly different from the participants who described an intervention that utilized this
technique during the visit.
The eighth interview question asked: “Do you think it is important to address maternalchild bonding?” All ten participants were in full agreement about the importance of this
topic. A few of the participants discussed the problematic bonds between mother and
child prior to incarceration and that the cause for this was the mother’s lack of knowledge
about how to attach to their children. The participants stressed the importance of
addressing maternal- child bonding, which can effect these kids when they become adults
one participant reported. The literature did not focus on the effects of maternal
incarceration in adult children, but it did look at attachment styles. One particular study
found that children who lived with their mom before her arrest showed insecure
attachment. While the literature also stated that being able to securely bond to their
61
mother is a protective factor. The literature also pointed out that having a positive
relationship with an adult helped to repair this insecure attachment, which is important to
note. Participants identified more access to mom as being helpful, while the literature has
both positive and negative views around this.
The ninth question asked: “In your experience are there any misperceptions about
incarcerated mothers who had a child that was a minor during the time of incarceration?”
The participants all agreed that this was true. The common theme identified was around
the mother’s immorality, failures as mother, and incapable of making positive changes in
their lives. The literature did not cover any misperceptions that are around about these
mothers. The literature discussed the stigma felt by children because of their parent’s
incarceration. Society holds a strong stance against crime and even though our system is
said to be rehabilitative, we do not allow these mothers the same rights as other citizens
even after they are released, thus still punishing them.
The tenth question asked the participants to share any stories that they may have
heard about the impact of maternal incarceration on both the mother and her children.
Eight of the participants had more than one story to tell about the negative impacts of
incarceration on both parties. The stories usually depicted the loss of the relationship
between mother and child and the psychological or behavioral effects they exhibited.
The literature focused more on the effects from the child’s perspective. From this
standpoint the literature is in agreement with the participants that children are deeply
affected emotionally and behaviorally from this experience. The loss of a significant
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parent, whether this relationship is positive or not, usually hurts children and causes them
to question their selves.
The final question asked the participants to share what type of program, service,
or intervention that they would create to help with the negative effects of incarceration
for these families if there were no limits. The programs that were suggested were multiservice oriented and accounted made up for the lack of programs and services that they
discussed earlier. The literature is lacking in studies on transitional living type programs
that the participants are describing. The Family Support Program (FSP) was the closest
one mentioned in this literature, however it was shorter term program than those that the
participants were describing and it did not provide residential housing, but instead went
out into the participant’s homes.
Recommendations
Social Work Practice. It is important for social workers to be versed on the
unique needs and challenges of these families, so that we will be better equipped to meet
their needs. It is important to be aware that these mothers and their children are facing
multiple challenges that require services that treat the needs of the whole person and not
just single out one issue or even just one family member. Having a greater depth of
knowledge about these families backgrounds and experiences pre and post incarceration
will help us to become stronger advocates.
Policy Makers. It is important for policy makers to understand the unique needs
of women and particularly mothers when creating policy that impacts them and their
children. It is equally important for policy makers to understand the importance of
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keeping mothers connected with their children and how by providing supports and
services during and after incarceration, they can help reduce the effects of incarceration.
There needs to be more funding and services directed at these families because negative
effects of incarceration can create, things like intergenerational crime, emotional and
behavioral effects, poverty, difficulties experienced by children, as pointed out in the
literature. The negative experiences of these families will be a societal if these families
are not supported in getting their needs met. Lastly it should be known that limiting a
mother’s access to her basic needs because of her criminal record, only serves to create
barriers that do not help to rectify things.
Limitations and Future Research
A limitation of this study is the sample size. The needs for services and programs
for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated mothers and their children cannot be
generalized to the larger population due to the small sample size of this study. Another
limitation in this study is that the identified services, programs, and interventions that
were identified did not come directly from those who would be receiving the services. It
would be helpful to have talked with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated mothers and
their minor children to see if they agree with what the participants mentioned as being
needs and challenges that they face. To ask if the areas that could be improved upon, as
mentioned by the providers is the same for them. After completing this study I have
come to recognize some limitations around the interview questions I created, which did
not fully capture the child’s perspective and individual needs, which would help to
understand the needs and dynamics of the family.
64
Future research in this area is very much needed. It is important to explore more
about the impact of maternal incarceration from the perspective of the children. Future
research can also be done around the effectiveness of established programs to find out
their strengths and weaknesses in order to improve upon and possibly replicate. A
project could be done exploring the perspectives the child, mother, and provider to get a
more inclusive picture of problems, needs, and solutions.
Practice Wisdom
This process has caused me to reflect on how I may be of service to the families
that I work with in the future and having a better understanding of these families
experience in order to meet them were they are at. I have learned more about the impact
of trauma and how it can alter families if not appropriately recognized and attended to. I
will take with me the knowledge gained through the interviews about the challenges and
needs that this population face. This project has taught me that it is important to take a
holistic approach when working with formerly incarcerated mothers and their children. I
hope to continue learning about how to better serve and support these families.
Summary
Incarceration does not help to improve the connection between mother and child.
The participants in this study have addressed the importance of allowing mother’s access
to their children, while she is incarcerated as a way to help mother-child bond grow.
Programs and service, like parenting, counseling, residential, and transitional living were
discussed as being helpful to improve the mother-child bond, but also to assist mother
and child to get their needs met. One participant addressed the large proportion of
65
women behind bars who have experienced trauma, which affects not only them, but how
they interact with others and view their experiences. The literature has shown that the
children have also experienced similar types of trauma in their lives, which makes it
important to address the needs of both individuals. Incarceration has emotional effects on
both mother and child, which are import to address.
This project identified the most common needs and challenges that these mothers
face after they leave the prison system and try to reintegrate. Limitations are placed on
these mothers because of their criminal history, which makes it difficult for them to
access their basic needs to provide for both them and their child. The participants in this
study identified support services as being beneficial to help these mothers learn the skills
needed to reduce the impact that they face because of incarceration. An ideal program
that all of the participants in this research project captured was an all inclusive program
that would address the unique needs of the mother, whether that be around alcohol and
other drug issues, parenting, counseling, education, vocation, life skills etc., while also
providing youth with supports needed to combat the effects of incarceration. These
programs would include transitional housing that not only meets the identified basic
needs, but allows these family the support need to gain these skills in a safe and nurturing
environment.
66
APPENDIX A
Interview Questions
1. Demographics
a. What is your gender?
Male_____
b. What is your age? 18-21_____
59_____
Female_____
22-29_____30-39_____40-49_____ 50-
60 and up _____
c. What is your ethnicity?
African-American/Black ______Asian/Pacific
Islander_____ Caucasian/White_____
American_____
Latino______ Native
Other_____
d. How long have you been working with this population? ______
2. In your experience what are some of the most common needs of mothers of minor
children once they come out of prison/jail?
3. In your experience what are some of the challenges that women who were once
incarcerated face as they work towards building up the relationship(s) that they
have with their minor children?
4. In your experience what currently do you see as being the biggest gap in
programs, services, and/or interventions for women who are ex-offenders and
their children?
5. In your experience what have you seen that has been helpful in working with exoffender women and their minor children?
6. Do you think that there are different needs for mothers who were incarcerated and
who had minor children at the time from mothers who were separated from their
children for a significant period of time for other reasons? If so, how?
67
7. In your experience do you believe that it is important to work with mothers and
their children while the mother is incarcerated? If so what type of program or
service do you see as being helpful?
8. Do you think it is important to address maternal-child bonding? If so, what are
important program components and/or interventions that you think will help to
improve the maternal-child bond for these women?
9. In your experience are there any misperceptions that society has about ex-women
offenders who had minor children during the time of their incarceration? If so,
what would they be?
10. Can you share any stories that you may have heard about the impact of maternal
incarceration on these mothers and their minor children?
11. If funding, policy stipulations, and regulations were not a factor and you are able
to rely solely on your imagination and inspiration what type of program for
women offenders and their minor children do you see yourself creating?
68
APPENDIX B
Consent to Participate in Research
You are being asked to participate in a research project, which will be conducted by
Shahni Smith, a graduate student in the Masters of Social Work Division at California
State University, Sacramento. This study will explore the needs of mothers who have
been incarcerated and their minor children around the areas of improving the maternalchild bond, reducing recidivism, and decreasing the negative effects on children, which
may be emotional problems, behavioral problems, school difficulties, intergenerational
criminality, social support, etc. This study looks to explore what program components or
services will help improve the overall outcome for mothers who have been incarcerated
and their children.
Procedures:
After reviewing this form and agreeing to participate you will be given the opportunity to
set up a time that is convenient for you. The interview should take approximately one
hour. It will be digitally taped or hand written. You as the participant are given the
choice of not having your interview recorded, but still participating by having the
interview written out through long hand. The interview will be transcribed and then
destroyed. As a participant in the interview you can decide at any point to skip, not
answer any specific question, or to end the interview.
Risks:
Some of the questions in this interview may elicit an emotional response and/or
memories that may make you feel uncomfortable. You do not have to answer any
question if you do not want to. You will be provided with a list of mental health
resources in Sacramento as need that provide services.
Benefits:
You may gain additional insight into the needs of these families and what program
components are effective. You might also gain additional insight around what program
components could be provided to assist mothers who have been incarcerated and their
minor children to improve the overall quality of their lives. You may also gain additional
insight about the current lack of services and supports for these mothers and their
children. It is hoped that the results of the study will be beneficial in providing
information to social workers, agencies, and policy makers that either directly or
indirectly work with mothers who have been incarcerated and their children. This
research project looks to add additional information about the needs and program
components that could be helpful to these families.
69
Confidentiality:
All information is kept confidential and all efforts will be taken to protect your privacy.
Your responses, either on digital recorder or written on paper will be kept private. All
digital recordings will be deleted soon after the information has been transcribed. This
researcher’s thesis advisor will also have access to the written and transcribed
information collected from the interviews. Until that time they will be stored in a secure
location. No identifying information will be connected with you in the completed
research project. All written materials will be kept safe in a secure area and will be
destroyed two months upon completion of this research project.
Compensation:
You will not receive any compensation for participating in this study.
Rights to Withdraw:
If you decide to participate in this research project, you have the right to withdraw at any
point. You can choose not to answer any specific question(s) during the course of the
interview.
Contact Information:
If you have any further questions about this research, you may contact me at (xxx) xxxxxxx. My thesis advisor, Susan Talamantes Eggman, PhD, MSW can be reached at (xxx)
xxx-xxxx if you have any additional questions.
Additionally, should you feel the need to contact any support services in the community,
I have listed some agencies below.
Sacramento County Mental Health Services Adult ACCESS Team (916) 875-1055
Sacramento County Mental Health (916) 875-7070
Family Service Agency (916) 875-1055
Visions Unlimited (916) 393-2203
La Familia Counseling Center (916) 452-3601
70
I have read and understand the descriptive information on the research participation cover
letter. I understand that my participation is completely voluntary. My signature indicates
that I have received a copy of the research participation cover letter and I that I agree to
participate in the study.
I ______________________________________ agree to have my responses digitally
recorded.
Or
I ______________________________________ do not agree to have my responses
digitally recorded, but I do agree to participate in this research study and have my
responses recorded through long hand.
Signature _________________________________
Date _________________
71
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