From teaching rights and responsibilities, to building parenting skills, these programs apply Penn State expertise to a large population — mothers and fathers living behind bars.
Jennifer Mastrofski stands in front of a group of incarcerated men at Rockview, a state correctional institution near State College, Pa. She asks them how many children they have.
“This piques everyone’s interest,” said Mastrofski. “They’re surprised at how many children are ‘in the room’ with us.”
Mastrofski, associate professor of administration of justice with Penn State’s Justice and Safety Institute (JASI), runs “Panel on Parenting,” a program aimed at helping incarcerated fathers better understand their rights and responsibilities as parents.
At a recent program, the 37 participants represented 98 children. The program includes information related to custody and visitation, child support, termination of parental rights, and maintaining relationships with children while incarcerated.
The panel is composed of Mastrofski; Ann Marie Oldani, the director of Centre County’s child support office; and a local attorney. First offered in January 2008, the program was expanded to a county facility the following year. To date, more than 240 inmates have attended classes at the state and county facilities combined.
Mastrofski, who initiated the program, views the information provided as critical to JASI’s mission of justice-related education and training.
In addition to providing information about rights and responsibilities, Mastrofski describes idea-sharing sessions that often are poignant.
“A father once recited a poem that he had written to his son, which touched everyone in the room,” she said. Another time, a man described how his teenage son sends him his math homework to look over. He checks it and sends it back.
The program is one of several across the state — some of them described here — implemented by Penn State faculty, staff and students, that provide education and guidance for incarcerated parents.
For the Kids
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, more than 800,000 of the nation’s 1.5 million inmates in 2007 were parents of minor children.
The separation, combined with poor parenting skills, has been linked to increased rates of anxiety, depression, learning problems and aggression among the children of incarcerated parents.
However, in a 2008 report, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found evaluations of prison parenting programs encouraging, as inmates involved in these programs indicate such results as improved attitudes about the importance of parenthood and parenting skills.
The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections has a 40-plus year history of running parent education programs for male and female inmates, so any additional programs offered by institutions like Penn State either differ from and/or complement existing state programs.
While the JASI program provides legal-related information, other Penn State programs focus on building parenting skills among incarcerated mothers and fathers.
For example, students from Penn State Altoona have started a program at Blair County Prison that aims to provide parenting education to incarcerated mothers.
Lee Ann De Reus, associate professor of health and human development and family studies at the campus, had wanted to start a parent-education program for incarcerated women for some time after learning of the need. However, it was De Reus’ students who spearheaded the program with her supervision and assistance.
In fall 2009, students Adrienne Brown and Jessalyn Kenner developed the curriculum (modeled after similar programs in other states) and led the classes, working directly with approximately 10 women at weekly classes at the prison.
The classes were designed around topics such as parenting styles, discipline and stress and anger management and involved activities such as role playing. Penn State Altoona Continuing Education recognized this program so that participants could receive a certificate upon completion. Women at the prison are already asking if there will be another class offered, according to Abbie Tate, treatment supervisor at Blair County Prison.
Although it was intended to be mainly an educational experience, Brown said the class evolved into something more emotionally substantive for the participants. “Many of them were struggling with emotions surrounding the issues of missing their children and the guilt associated with that,” said Brown.
Added De Rues, “Engaging marginalized populations such as the women at the prison is some of the most meaningful and important work we do.”
Stopping the Cycle
In 2001, the warden of the Venango County Jail posed this question: “How does a community prevent children of incarcerated parents from following their parents into the court system?”
At that time, there were as many as three generations of families incarcerated in the jail. In hopes that educational programming might be the answer to this question, the warden approached Penn State Extension educator Bibiana Chestnut.
In March 2001, Chestnut established a parent-education program for men and women called Caring for Kids. It focused on such issues as changing attitudes about discipline, understanding child development and understanding how separation from a parent affects children. Since that time, the program has expanded to include anger management, and local organizations such as the PPC Violence Free Network have provided complementary programming.
A follow-up survey showed positive results. “The parent education programs have proven to be effective in changing attitudes and changing the way parents discipline their children,” Chestnut said.
What’s next? Plans are in the works for a state pilot project using current services available in Venango County to assist soon-to-be-released inmates and their families with family group decision-making. Extension will help identify the inmates, through the parenting programs, who show the greatest interest in making parental changes. The Blair County program aims to get more students involved and eventually offer a similar program for incarcerated fathers.
The JASI program staff is developing a handbook for fathers that will provide resource material as well as sample letters for correspondence with courts. An evaluation of “Panel on Parenting” is pending.
But the true test of these types of programs has come in the form of feedback received by those inmates working to better themselves for the sake of their children.
“I’m a changed father today,” said one participant of the JASI program. “I’m putting my kids first now.”
This article is from the spring issue of Penn State Outreach magazine. To view the flip version, go to: http://www.outreach.psu.edu/news/magazine/currentissue/spring2010/ online.
Melissa Kaye, Penn State University
