Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 7.2 Parenting Programs in Prison
Only 11 percent of fathers in state prison report ever participating in a parenting class.
Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 7.1.5 Research Limitations on Marriage and Relationship Education Programs
Recently published reviews of the marriage-strengthening literature concur that, including lack of control/comparison groups, short follow-up periods, and use of non-standardized measures. Evaluation results are particularly limited for programs targeting racial and ethnic minorities (Larson, 2004), couples with low education and income, and coupl
Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 7.1.4 Marriage and Family Strengthening Grants for Incarcerated Fathers and their Partners
On September 30, 2006, with funding provided by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA) announced grant awards to 226 organizations to promote healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood. Thirteen of these awards were funde
Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 7.1.3 Furlough Programs
Male prisoners in Massachusetts who received furloughs were less likely to return to prison within one year after release compared with those who did not receive furloughs.
Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 7.1.2 Couples Counseling
Similar to marital education in a group format, couples counseling workshops have been used in prisons to strengthen intimate partner relationships (Showalter & Jones, 1980). In these sessions with small groups of couples or one-on-one, discussion may focus on (1) changes experienced by each partner during incarceration, (2) communication skil
Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 7.1.1 Group Classes
The majority of prison marriage and relationship education programs are designed as a series of group classes. They usually involve both incarcerated men and their partners, although the value of programming for men alone may have merits as well (Kaslow, 1987). Couples generally meet with a facilitator, clinician, or chaplain at the prison, with m
Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 7.1 Marriage and Relationship Education Programs in Prison
Teaching incarcerated fathers and their partners relationship skills may help the reentry transition and reduce recidivism.
Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 6.6 Research Limitations
Much of the research examining the links between prisoner reentry and father-child relationships is based on qualitative interviews with small samples of fathers (for exceptions, see Bahr et al., 2005; Naser & Farrell, 2004; Visher & Courtney, 2007).
Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 6.5 Positive Parenting Relations and Criminal Desistance
Fathers clearly face many challenges to reestablishing their relationships with their children upon release from prison. In turn, the quality of these relationships may affect their reentry success. Unfortunately, most studies that have found associations between family closeness and support and reduced criminal involvement have focused on the fam
Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 6.4 Risk of Child Abuse
Research has not documented the prevalence of child abuse among children of incarcerated fathers or the implications of incarceration and reentry for child abuse. Nonetheless, programs that aim to strengthen father-child relationships of incarcerated fathers tend to exclude fathers who are incarcerated because of crimes against children (Dunn &
Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 6.3 Involvement in the Child Welfare System
Another challenge to father-child relationships is that some children are placed into the child welfare system during the father’s imprisonment. Although the proportion of children of incarcerated fathers in foster care is smaller than that of children of incarcerated mothers (approximately 2% compared to 10%), the number of children is actual
Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 6.2 Child Support Payments
Child support demands present major difficulties to incarcerated and reentering fathers. A study of inmates in Massachusetts found that 22% of inmates under Department of Correction (DOC) jurisdiction were part of the child support caseload; a Colorado study found that 26% of inmates in state prison facilities and 28% of parolees were involved wit
Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 6.1.6 Prisonization
A final set of barriers to parenting upon reentry, which has been the most widely addressed in prison parenting and family-based programs, involves the experiences of fathers in prison. The prison environment is highly structured and controlled, and gives fathers little autonomy or need to make decisions for themselves. Displays of aggression and
Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 6.1.5 Unrealistic Expectations
Research with prisoners awaiting release has found that fathers tend to have unrealistic expectations of their relationships with their children (Day et al., 2005; Schmitzer, 1999). A survey of 51 incarcerated fathers found that although more than half felt that they had close relationships with their children, 41% indicated that they never or rar
Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 6.1.4 Quality of Relationship during Incarceration
One of the most important predictors of father-child relationships upon reentry is the quality of these relationships while fathers are incarcerated (Festen et al., 2002). Many studies of incarcerated fathers (e.g., Hairston, 2001) have documented the dearth of contact that they have with their children while they are in prison. The multitude of
Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 6.1.3 New Father Figures
Related to this issue is the fact that other adult men may begin to serve as “father figures” in a child’s life during a father’s incarceration. In many cases, this person is the mother’s boyfriend but may be an uncle, grandfather, or other male relative (Nurse, 2004). Qualitative interviews with incarcerated fathers revealed that they a
Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 6.1.2 Interference from Mothers and Other Family Members
Fathers cite their relationships with their children’s mothers as a primary determinant of their relationships with their children.
Incarceration and the Family: A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. 6.1.1 Co-Residence
Structural issues such as housing, child support, and child welfare may place limits on fathers’ abilities to reestablish their relationships with their children. One of the major changes to father-child relationships is co-residence: In one study of 32 fathers on parole, about half of the fathers reported having lived with at least one of their
