Behind no bars - Cambria County Prison's innovative family visiting program

Children Today, May-June, 1990 by Charlotte H. Rudel, Margaret L. Hayes

Behind No Bars

This is the way one inmate, the father of a Head Start child, described the "family visiting" conditions two years ago at Cambria County Prison in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. His comment led us to apply for an Innovative Project grant from the Head Start Bureau to develop a program to meet the needs of Head Start families who are affected by the incarceration of a parent.

The result is the "Behind No Bars" program, now in its second year. According to William M. Wolford, Warden of Cambria County Prison, the program exemplifies an innovative approach to teaching effective parenting skills to incarcerated individuals. He said, "It promotes the development of one of the most basic and important facets of an individual's rehabilitation--the creation of a sound family unit. The potential benefits that can be derived from this program are immense."

"Behind No Bars" provides a pleasant, child-oriented area where young children (age 10 and under) can visit with a jailed parent. The program also offers parenting classes and family counseling for all interested inmates who are parents of young children.

Grant funds were used to create a playroom (a mini-Head Start classroom) in one section of the warden's work area. Here, bright furnishings and interactive, age-appropriate play materials transform an institutional environment into one that encourages an active family experience. After attending one month of parenting classes and gaining prison administrative approval, inmates may schedule visiting periods in the playroom. The visits, held twice a month, are supervised by a corrections officer.

Family counseling occurs infrequently for Head Start families experiencing a parental figure's incarceration. When it is needed, however, counseling usually focuses on separation issues and behaviors of the children. Children's fears are explored and responded to individually.

Parenting and Life Skills

Parenting classes, which average about 15 participants, take place in the prison chapel, the only available space. The exceptional needs and characteristics of inmates dictate a specialized class format for the 7-week long program. Most class participants have a history of chemical dependency, were abused as children, display poor impulse control, and experienced poor relationships with their own fathers. Additionally, most are under age 30, parent multiple families over the course of time, and are fathers of very young children.

The one-hour classes explore three interdependent areas: conflict resolution, discipline and communication. Emphasis is placed on pro-active and non-abusive discipline, behavior management, compromise and problem solving. Class participants are given folders for storing handouts and notebooks, which may use for recording a journal of thoughts on parenting and self-examination.

Regular journal assignments also spark ideas for participants' appraisal of their roles as parents and persons. Class handouts--many of which are sent home to the children's mothers--have been written at a 4th-grade reading level to match the literacy level of most of the prisoners.

While both male and female inmates (the facility houses both in separate sections) attend sessions, male inmates respond much more positively to the class experience. Female inmates (there are eight currently residing in Cambria County Prison) have often lost custody of their children or do not tell them they are in prison. They are reluctant to discuss their children and frequently refuse family visits. Thus, classes for female inmates have been conducted sporadically and only for brief periods of time.

Many male inmates are enthusiastic class members and loving parents. They participate in discussions, speak perceptively about their children, ask concerned questions and keep journals with conscientious regularity. Their behaviors and attitudes contrast sharply with those of other inmates we have worked with who were court-ordered to take parenting classes. Walking into the prison "classroom" is not frightening; most of the men resemble fathers we have seen playing with their young children in our city park.

Although many inmate fathers have a sincere desire to be good parents, they need to be taught how to interact appropriately with their children. We conduct mock family visits with program participants, demonstrating ways to use play materials appropriate to each inmate's child. These exercises, which are well-received by the fathers, have proved to be eye openers for them. Most of these men have never had caring role models, or anyone who related to and played with them in a loving, pleasing way.

For example, one inmate father said he discovered there are alternative methods of discipline that are superior to the ones he was using with his children. "I thought when kids were bad, you smacked them," he said. "I learned there are other ways of correcting them. A smack is not always the answer."

We have found that participation in these sessions reflects a proven rehabilitative dimension of prison parenting programs. Those attending classes are generally "on their best behavior." Inmates who don't want to lose the chance to visit with their kids warn other class members not to "mess with" the program. Because a visit involving physical contact with family members is the highest prison privilege, inmates are careful not to jeopardize their advantage, and thus they present fewer disciplinary problems.