Prison and Parenthood
I did not realize that 80% of incarcerated women are mothers of school-age or preschool-age children. That is HUGE! I am a big fan of personal narrative, and with the “Mothers in Prison, Women’s Autobiography, and Activism” article as a first taste, I’m excited (and nervous) to hear the ICIW women’s stories and personal experiences. The “Reentry and Renegotiating Motherhood: Maternal Identity and Success on Parole” article fits well with the research I did. It seems there is very little, and poor, programming to help women negotiate their motherhood while incarcerated AND throughout reentry and parole.
Because I have such strong ties to Germany, I decided to focus my research for the week there:
This is a ‘Mother-Child-House.’ It is one of seven such institutes in just one state of Germany (of which there are 16 total). Altogether, however, these houses can hold just 85-90 women of prison and their children.
This one in Nordrhein-Westfalen, where I lived for 12 months, is the only one in this state:
These houses are designed for mothers of children who have had healthy relationships in the past, who have already lived together, whose mothers are sentenced to at least 4 months, whose mothers are to be released (at the latest) by the time the child enters compulsory schooling. Mothers ineligible for the program are those who cannot attend to the needs of the child, those who have significantly endangered the well-being of the child and who, through social-pedagogical measurement are unable to develop a healthy mother-child relationship, and those whose children have great sickness or disabilities.
During the time at the Mother-Child house, the child will also receive medical care. Children have playsets/rooms and a garden (with sandcastles and slides) and partake in activities with their mothers. The goal is to socialize the child, as well as the mother, in preparation for reentry and re-socialization.
The following is the excerpt about the treatment and development of the mother at this facility:
“Ziele und Grundsätze
Goals and Policies
Ziel des Konzepts zur Behandlung und Förderung der inhaftierten Mutter ist es, ihren Aufenthalt in der Mutter-Kind-Einrichtung so zu planen und zu regeln, dass sich Versorgung der Kinder, Arbeit, Fortbildungsbedürfnisse und Freizeitwünsche sinnvoll ergänzen und zu einer kreativen Tagesgestaltung führen.
The goal of the concept for treatment and development of the incarcerated mother is to plan and regulate her detention in the Mother-Child-Facility so that she can meaningfully complement the well-being of the child, work, skill enhancement/continuing education requirements to her wishes/goals for when she is free again AND to conduct a creative daily structure.
Das Leben in der Mutter-Kind-Einrichtung soll sich nicht nur auf die notwendige Versorgung und Betreuung der Kinder beschränken, sondern die Mütter sollen auch, ihren Fähigkeiten, Bedürfnissen und Interessen entsprechend, angeleitet werden, ihre beruflichen, sozialen und hauswirtschaftlichen Kompetenzen zu verbessern. In der Erweiterung und Differenzierung der Verhaltensmöglichkeiten der inhaftierten Mütter liegt eine Chance, deren Selbstbild und Selbstwertgefühl zu stärken und so den Umgang mit den Kindern positiv zu beeinflussen.
Life in the Mother-Child-Facility should not be limited to only emergency care and supervision of the child, but instead the mothers should also improve their skills, corresponding to their needs and interests, guided to improve their career, social, and household abilities. In the expansion and differentiation of opportunities for retaining the imprisoned women, there is the chance to strengthen their self-perception and feels of self-worth and with that, positively influence their children.
Das Behandlungskonzept sieht deshalb vor, für die in der Mutter-Kind-Einrichtung inhaftierten Frauen
- Arbeitsmöglichkeiten zu schaffen
- Maßnahmen zur schulischen und beruflichen Weiterqualifikation zu vermitteln und
- haushalts- und sozialpraktische Trainingsmöglichkeiten anzubieten.
Für jede Mutter in der Mutter-Kind-Einrichtung wird ein individueller Behandlungs- und Vollzugsplan entwickelt.
The concept for caring at the Mother-Child-Facility for detained women therefore aims to:
- develop opportunities for work
- mediate measurements of further school and career qualifications
- offer household and practical social trainging opportunities
For every mother in the Mother-Child-Facility, an individualized plan for and implementation of care is developed.”
If the relationship between the mother and child becomes unhealthy, if the mother becomes fixated on the child, if the mother uses the child emotionally and materially, if she instigates aggressive feelings in the child, if she makes the child feel guilty, if she uses manipulates the relationship of the child to his/her father and other close personal contacts.
I think this facility sounds great and it looks amazing. There aren’t very many places available, but perhaps that is my own perception due to our incredibly high incidence of incarceration here in the U.S. I have still so much to look up to really see how this facility works within the German system, but it looks like a great model.
I totally agree with you- this facilitity looks pretty darn good! It seems as though they really want to help these women and their children out; not just have them serve their time and move on (I feel as though that is the States motto). It would be great if we could integrate some of these same principals into our systems. Just imagine how much that could help!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe how lovely this looks! Thanks so much for posting and for translating!
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