Family and Marriage Issues

Overview and Inventory of HHS Efforts to Assist Incarcerated and Reentering Individuals and their Families . Purpose

The purpose of this document is to help Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies know the full range of programs and services in the Department that currently address the needs of incarcerated individuals and their families and to understand what research and evaluation efforts are underway to identify evidence-based practices. Altho

Overview and Inventory of HHS Efforts to Assist Incarcerated and Reentering Individuals and their Families . Introduction

Overview and Inventory of HHS Efforts to Assist Incarcerated and Reentering Individuals and their Families . Acknowledgements

This report builds on a draft of an inventory of HHS programs for incarcerated and re-entering individuals that was designed and compiled by Diana Merelman in 2009. Her contribution to this current effort is gratefully acknowledged. Appreciation is also extended to the members of the HHS Discussion Group on Incarceration and Reentry for their help

Overview and Inventory of HHS Efforts to Assist Incarcerated and Reentering Individuals and their Families

Prepared by: Erica Meade and Linda Mellgren The views expressed in this report are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. References

Accordino, M. P., & Guerney, B. (1998). An evaluation of the relationship enhancement program with prisoners and their wives. Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 42 (1), 5-15. Adalist-Estrin, A. (1994). Family support and criminal justice. In S. L. Kagan & B. Weissbound (Eds.), Putting families first: America’s f

Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 9. Conclusions

This report documents the state of the extant research on incarceration and family life. Our goal was to provide a timely and evidence-based summary of the research in order to document what we known about the effects of father incarceration on family life and to illuminate some next steps in research, policy, and programming for the field.

Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 8.7 Research Limitations

Several challenges to the implementation of marriage and family strengthening programs in prison and upon reentry have been identified, and many recommendations for improving implementation have been made based on descriptive and anecdotal information. Identification of challenges has rarely involved actual surveys of program or correctional staff

Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 8.6 Cultural Sensitivity

Although a high percentage of incarcerated fathers are of ethnic minorities, very few family strengthening programs in prison or surrounding reentry have been designed with cultural issues in mind. Those programs that have addressed culture have reported positive reactions from participants. For instance, one program uses discussion of family trad

8.5 Connecting with Supportive Services Post

Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 8.5 Connecting with Supportive Services Post Release

It is important for released prisoners to continue participation in family strengthening programs and other social services after reentry (Bobbitt & Nelson, 2004; Kaslow, 1987; Meek, 2007). Continued participation may help encourage the use of knowledge and skills gained while incarcerated. Yet, prisoners are often released without links to co

Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 8.4 Stigma in Group Setting

As most family strengthening programs in prison take place in a group setting, they face barriers related to stigmatization. Asking men to share their thoughts, in a group setting, on difficult issues involving their children is a challenge (Palm, 2001). Pressure to be unemotional or to disrespect ex-partners may interfere with fathers’ ability

8.3 Recruitment and Retention of Incarcerated

Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 8.3 Recruitment and Retention of Incarcerated Participants

Large numbers of inmate transfers between facilities, early releases, frequent residential moves upon release, the likelihood of reincarceration, and the fragility of family relationships make retention and follow-up evaluation difficult.

Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 8.2 Barriers to Family Involvement

Correctional agencies’ inherent emphasis on security and safety also creates barriers to involving family members in programming delivered within prison walls. Any contact or exchange of information between incarcerated individuals and non-incarcerated individuals is potentially problematic from a security standpoint and requires monitoring by c

8.1 Building Partnerships with Community-Based

Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 8.1 Building Partnerships with Community-Based Organizations

In a broad sense, correctional and human service agencies often have different roles and priorities that can impede the implementation of family strengthening efforts with incarcerated and reentering fathers (Festen et al., 2002; Nurse, 2004; Rossman, 2001). Correctional institutions prioritize public safety, which carries an emphasis on controll

Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 8. Challenges to Implementing Family Strengthening Programs in Prison and at Reentry

Numerous challenges to program implementation have been identified that apply to both marriage education and parenting programs during incarceration and after reentry. Cooperation between criminal justice and community-based human service agencies, family involvement, participant recruitment and retention, stigma, and cultural competence are some

Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 7.5 Research Limitations

Most existing evaluations of prison-based parenting programs are limited by small sample sizes and brief follow-up periods, and all rely on self-report measures, which raise concerns about the social desirability of fathers’ responses. A major research gap is understanding how to bring these programs to scale in criminal justice systems and pres

Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 7.4 Post-Release Family Programs

To be effective, it is important to offer consistent support both during and after imprisonment. However, programs involving family during pre-release preparation and after release have been scarce and have been subject to limited evaluation (e.g., Bobbitt & Nelson, 2004). A thorough review of programs to assist with prisoners post-release did

Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 7.3 Rehabilitation Programs

Educational and job readiness programs may benefit partners and children if ex-offenders are more likely to find higher-paying and stable employment.

7.2.4 Other Efforts to Address Parenting

Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 7.2.4 Other Efforts to Address Parenting

Other types of evidence-based practices used with children and families could be tailored to children of incarcerated fathers to reduce the deleterious effects of father imprisonment (Murray & Farrington, 2006). Recently, a review of fatherhood initiatives identified 35 effective or promising programs utilizing various strategies with diverse

Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 7.2.3 Programs with Children

Some prison parenting programs involve children. These programs usually incorporate enhanced visitation and/or parent-child play activities, which may or may not be supervised by program staff (Adalist-Estrin, 1994; Brenner, 1999; Dunn & Arbuckle, 2002; Hughes & Harrison-Thompson, 2002; Jeffries et al., 2001; Landreth & Lobaugh, 1998)

Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 7.2.2 Group Therapy

Group therapy or counseling sessions are another type of program that has been offered to incarcerated fathers (Jeffries et al., 2001; Magaletta & Herbst, 2001). The goal of these programs is often to empower fathers to improve their parenting attitudes and behaviors to prevent violence and enhance relationships (Jeffries et al., 2001). The

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