PURPOSE

CONCLUSIONS

BACKGROUND

This project aims to increase maternal-child bonding between incarcerated mothers and their children. This should lead to an anticipated decrease in negative child outcomes and an increase in positive outcomes for the mothers, once released. It is hoped that these improvements will then lead to decreased disparities in educational, mental health and economic outcomes between previously incarcerated and non-incarcerated women’s offspring. It is expected that this activity will increase a positive attachment between mother and child and assist in reunification once the mother is released. This project is available to any mother or primary caregiver of a child. The scope has been expanded to respect all family units. For clarity we will refer to the “mother” to encompass all eligible women.

The number of children with mothers in jail or prison is growing. It is estimated that the number of minor children with a mother in prison has more then doubled since 1991. From 1980 to 2011 the number of women in prison has increased by 587% nationally. Approximately 70% of incarcerated women have at least one child younger than 18. Nearly one third of incarcerated mothers have children younger then 5. Maternal incarceration can interfere with maternal-child bonding, leading children to have challenges that can have a negative impact throughout a child’s development. These children are considered to be at high risk for acquiring problem behaviors. Many of these children, typically 73%, will move to a new home soon after their mother’s incarceration. Approximately 50% of the children will move in with their grandmothers. Many times the grandmothers are elderly and ill equipped to raise a new generation. Family members may assist by taking in the children for periods of time. The Department of Justice estimates that 10% may be put in foster care. These disruptions play havoc on the child’s world. The child may suffer from insecure attachment relationships with both their mother and the alternate caregivers. Through attachment relationships children learn to form mental representations of themselves and others. This guides their behavioral and emotional reactions and provides a path for them to interpret future interactions. They will learn either interpersonal competence or incompetence. These traits are often life long. As a result of having experienced many life stressors, even prior to their mother’s arrest and departure, as many as 70% of the children of incarcerated mothers may suffer from emotional or psychological problems. Parental incarceration is now recognized as an “adverse childhood experience” and being such is differentiated from other adverse childhood experiences by the unique combination of trauma, shame and stigma. Some reactive behaviors can develop including anger, aggression, hostility towards the alternate caregiver, sexual promiscuity, substance abuse, gang activity, lying, and stealing. This can devolve into juvenile delinquency and a possibility of a repetitive family cycle. This does not suggest that all of these children are headed toward lives of crime but it is important to recognize their unique at-risk predicament and provide them with strategies that may support their resilience.

In Florida there are four women’s correctional facilities. The average prison sentence is three years. They are spread throughout the state. The largest is located in the center of the state. Current efforts to centralize the prison system in Florida will soon culminate in one prison complex housing up to 5000 female prisoners. If a mother is incarcerated in Homestead, Florida and her family lives in Pensacola, Florida, the other end of the state, it would take approximately 10 hours of drive time to reach the facility. Visitation is the first and perhaps most important step towards family reunification. Visits allow parents and children to maintain the relationship during the separation so as to reunite more successfully following release. Lack of transportation, attendant costs, and/or caregiver reluctance to bring the child to the prison are the most frequently identified obstacles to child visitation. In one study 35% of the children were not told that their mothers were incarcerated. Some of the caregivers either never mentioned the mother or told the child that she was on a trip or vacation. The stigma attached to the incarceration and the somewhat unwelcoming presence of the prison can be difficult hurdles to overcome. Studies have found that up to 58% of mothers in maximum-security prisons received no visits from their children. Since visitation is so difficult for many this program provides the opportunity for the child to listen to oral histories tailored by their mother for their benefit.  

DESCRIPTIONMommy Speaks is a project in which oral histories from incarcerated mothers are taken for the benefit of their offspring. The recordings are then made into compact discs (CD) and following a recognized oral history format are transcribed. Both the CD and transcript are then mailed to the designated offspring. Flyers are placed around the prison’s compound describing the program. Women voluntarily sign up for this program. The oral history is depicted as a gift from the mother to the child.  Approximately 1.5 hours are provided for each woman. During this time the project in explained, parameters explored (we do not talk about any legal proceeding), forms filled out, and the oral history is recorded. The women generally have between 35-45 minutes to tell stories for their children. The tone is conversational with most mother talking of their pregnancies, how the children were named, and things they liked to do as a child. There are no erasures but pauses can be made unobtrusively at the mother’s gesture. The mother is in control. She directs the oral history. She and I discuss areas she desires to avoid or promote. At the end of the session the tape will be erased if she wishes. Once the history is complete the mother writes a notecard to the child or children receiving the package, addresses labels, and fills out a brief questionnaire regarding the process. The recordings are then made into compact discs (CD) and their words are transcribed. In the packet mailed to the children is the CD, transcription of the oral history, letter explaining the program, notecard from their mother, questionnaire for the guardian, questionnaire for the offspring, and a self addressed stamped envelope. Once their children’s package is in the mail I send a letter to the mother letting her know her gift/story is on the way

OUTCOMESI have taken over 50 oral histories. Responses to the project by both mothers and children have been positive. One, soon to be released, mother wrote “ ..I was able to prepare myself for future conversations with my child.” Another mother wanted her daughter to know that she had completed her GED (high-school equivalency degree) and asked me if I thought that her daughter would be proud of her accomplishment. One daughter/recipient spoke of how her mother’s journey could be a testament to others; another spoke of how her granddaughter had been traumatized by her mother’s actions but after receipt of the transcript found her softening towards her mother. I have attached some portions of various transcripts and notes from the mothers, children and guardians as illustration. In a few situations, after the original packet was received, I have had the opportunity to meet with the mother a second time to continue with her oral history. Often the tenor of the talk changes with this additional opportunity. It appears that once the mother recognizes the impact her words have she desires to impart lessons to the child. One mother wanted her children, two daughters, to know how difficult prison was and how she has no control over her life while incarcerated. She wanted her daughters to know that she finally understood why she was incarcerated. Another mother begged for her daughter to get help (counseling) so that she would not grow up to be a woman who accepted domestic abuse.

The incarcerated parent/caregiver is a population that has little voice in our legal system or society. Methods to maintain, build, and/or strengthen the mother-child bond are extremely important for all involved parties including the state. The Mommy Speaks project appears to be a beneficial therapeutic practice. Future research could include assessment of health, employment, educational and (re)-incarceration outcomes of mothers/children in this project versus controls. Qualitative research could assess: 1) the themes that arise in the oral histories; 2) the value that mothers and children ascribe to the project. It may also be possible to interview these mothers after release and once they have examined the entirety of the packets to determine if this program has had a long-term impact.

ILLUSTRATIONS

H: I’m here with Cassandra Raulerson and this is our chance to continue with our oral histories that we started a few months ago. So this is Part II. I got a lovely note from you, Cassie.R: I really appreciated what you did.H: Sounds like your kids really liked it, too. R: Oh yes, they did. They loved it. H: It was nice that they got to hear your voice. We were talking a little bit before. Your release date is pretty close. I’m going to have to get this typed pretty fast [laughter]. R: I’m actually in the process of doing work release. I’m that close. H: And what does work release consist of?This is where she wants her children to know how she has changed. ….. R: My bunkee now? I love her. Cuz I got, like, quite a few of them. I love my bunkees. I do not want to go back to a two man cell. I think when I first came in, that had scarred me real bad. I’m scared to go to a two man cell. I did confinement for two weeks and I flipped out. H: Where did you do that?R: Here. I found out. . . she wasn’t like my co-defendant, but she’s the one that snitched me out. When they came to check my house for the dope. So she’s the one who snitched me out. So I found out she was in the same compound I was. First reaction—I had been trying to do good for the Lord and all of that. You know, just taking every step. And that was my other step was going face to face with the person that put me in prison.H: We’re going to have to be careful here, because we can’t go into anything legal because I don’t want anything to come back to haunt you.R: So I went to the Captain and told her about it. She says, “Well let me check”. So, I guess she found out she was here, so she had her arrested and me arrested. Put us both PC because I flipped out. [laughter] But I mean, I was allowed to have my moment. She was the one that put me here. H: Oh, so what? You had a screaming match with her?R: No. I told her she’s like “well you all agree to coexist then you all can stay in the same compound”. I said, “Well I don’t agree to “coexist” with her. I said, “Because I think I might do something stupid.” [laughter] It was the truth at the time because I was upset. I did three years because of her. But after I sat in that cell I got to thinking “Yeah, she helped out, but it takes two to tango”. By the same fact, if I wasn’t doin’ it then I wouldn’t get caught. If I didn’t put myself in that situation, for somebody to have to tell on me to save their butt, then how is it right for me to put all the blame on her? I have to put blame on myself, as well. I’m the one who took myself away from my kids. I was the one who took myself away from my family because of my choices. And sittin’ in that cell was the hardest part to realize. I mean, I’d already said it. I told my Mom because she was tryin’ to be mad at everybody. I went, “Mom, don’t be mad. I did this to myself.” But I never grasped it until that one point when I was face to face with the person that did it. And so I was sittin’ in that cell and I was like, “I got you, God”. I yelled through the door. Got her attention. She didn’t remember who I was. So I got her to remember who I was, and I told her, I said, “I forgive you. I understand what you did. Can’t say I wouldn’t have done it because I was never put in that position. I had to forgive her. Why hold on to that baggage when it was my fault, too? So I had to let it go. If I want to be new and fresh the way God wants me to be, I got to take the baggage that I was holdin’ and release it. So I did what I had to do. It’s taken me a lot through this prison to learn my mistakes, learn my decisions that I need to make, and it’s come all down to it’s time to change my life. It’s been for a long time, but I’ve been so scared and so hurt that I just kept runnin’ from it. Even though God was right there holdin’ me every time I fell; every time I thought I was doin’ right, he was there lovin’ me unconditionally. And it took all I had just to keep runnin’ when He was right there. Because He was in my heart the whole time. And He said it was finally time for me to do what I needed to do. [sniffles] I always tell everybody, they’re like “I don’t deserve this”. And I say “Well nobody really deserves this, but God’s got everything planned that He wants for us. And if we don’t sit there and listen, He’ll get our attention one way or another.