An Intermediate Sanction That Fosters the Mother-Child Bond

Ethnographic assessment of an alternative to incarceration for women with minor children.

“…This intervention was limited to mothers of infants, though there is a Circle of Security protocol for toddlers and preschoolers (Marvin, Cooper, Hoffman, & Powell, 2002). Other programs, relied on potentially less effective parenting classes (Brennan, 2008; Wiewel & Mosley, 2006; Lichtenwalter, et al, 2010; Siefert & Pimlott, 2001). Haney (2013) cautioned that parenting interventions within CJ settings can also be used to further punish or shame women, though this was not found in the present study.…”

“…Consistent with other studies, women remained or reunited with their youngest children. Tight age criteria separated families in some programs, but across studies women also reported custody losses prior to CJ contact (Barkauskas et al, 2002; Brennan, 2008; Kubiak et al, 2004; Lichtenwalter et al, 2010). The attributions for prior custody loss made by women in this study fit with research in incarcerated mothers, which shows a pathway to CJ contact through trauma, mental illness, and drug dependence (Brennan et al, 2012).…”

“…The core belief that preventing incarceration-related mother–child separation would lead to positive outcomes was also consistent across studies. While other studies also highlighted complex relational needs (Brennan, 2008), only the attachment intervention described by Cassidy and colleagues (2010) systematically addressed the effects of prior trauma on caregiving. This intervention was limited to mothers of infants, though there is a Circle of Security protocol for toddlers and preschoolers (Marvin, Cooper, Hoffman, & Powell, 2002).…”

“…Women may also be denied for taking psychotropic medications (Barkauskas, Low, & Pimlott, 2002) in this population of women with a very high burden of mental illness. Programs for women with children beyond infancy are rare, with only two peer-reviewed papers describing programs allowing school-aged children (Brennan, 2008; Wiewel, & Mosley, 2006) and one on a program that accepts children up to pre-adolescence (Lichtenwalter, Garase, & Barker, 2010). To my knowledge, no diversion programs besides the one described herein allow adolescent children to remain or reunite with their mothers.…”

Locked in the Home: A Critique of House Arrest as an Alternative to Imprisonment for Women Sentenced for Drug-Related Crimes

“…These programs assume the home as a key location for the female offender in the process of reincorporation and transformation of the context of life. Halfway houses (Robison & Hughes Miller, 2016) and summit houses (Brennan, 2008) are experiments that seek to overcome the specific difficulties faced by women at reentry and that avoid applying male program models that are not applicable to women (Carmichael et al, 2007; Morash, 2010; Opsal, 2014) or situate them in a disadvantaged position (King & Gibbs, 2003). Intervention in social contexts is important for any policy of social reinsertion of women, in order to confront “the contradictions of transitional housing in relation to their risk to re-offend” (Allspach, 2010, p. 718).…”