Prison Support Work

Jacaranda House Mothers' Group

All parents, including women in gaol, experience the birth of a child as a time of new beginnings, of hope for the future and connection to a bigger picture. For this reason, pregnancy and early parenting can be seen as a window of opportunity for parents to begin to recover from past traumas and make positive changes in their lives. PIFA’s group will facilitates women’s emotional adjustments during early parenting and helps them gain confidence and experience satisfaction in their parenting role.

Project Description
Two PIFA consultants conduct a weekly therapeutic parenting group for mothers at Emu Plains Prison’s Jacaranda House. The aim of these groups is to help women manage the issues which arise during motherhood and to alleviate, as much as possible, the impact of these anxieties on the parent-infant relationship.
The group provides a safe place for the women to:

think about how their individual histories and experiences might impact on their ability to develop a good relationship with their child, and
come to terms with past traumas and manage the effects of them, so that they are less likely to be re-enacted in their relationship with their child

Group Aim:

support women to manage the transition to parenting particularly in the context of being in prison
Assist parents to increase their sensitivity and emotional responsiveness to their child
Support parents to overcome negative patterns of child rearing and replace them with parenting strategies that are both rewarding for parents and beneficial to their child’s development

Strategies:

An art therapy approach is used to:

Mobilise mothers’ inner and outer resources to help them through early parenting
Normalise and contain the mothers’ anxiety
Support mothers to think about their children as individuals
Make links between mothers’ own childhood experiences and their relationship with their children
Discuss expectations around parenting

Discuss the impact on the mother child relationship of the gaol environment

Discuss how parents can assist their child to meet normal developmental challenge
Model appropriate behaviour management with the children in the group

Anticipated Outcomes for parents are:

Greater confidence to deal with their child
Decrease in parental anxiety, depression and stress

Evaluation includes:

Qualitative assessment via pre and post questionnaires and ongoing action research

Jacaranda Post Release Support Program

Women released from prison report finding it difficult to fit into their communities. This they say is because of stigma to do with having been in prison but also because they are trying not to go back to contacts which were connected with their incarceration.

The Jacaranda Project supports women and their children through their transition back into the community. It connects mothers to community organisations for support and involvement in activities around parenting. Because of attendance at PIFA’s parenting group in prison women feel better prepared to go to groups outside.

PIFA offers brief home based support in areas where it operates and will connect women to community resources in other areas for this initial support. At least fortnightly face to face, phone or email contact will be made with women during the first three to six months following release, and PIFA will offer mentoring per phone to other workers who are supporting these women if needed.

It is envisaged that PIFA workers who already conduct a weekly group for women with their children at Emu Plains prison will take on the role of Project workers. As the women will already know them this will make a smoother transition.

Objectives:

Provide home based contact for up to 6 months to facilitate women’s return to their communities with their children after release from Emu Plains Prison
Provide support for workers in communities not covered by PIFA who are supporting this group of women

Outcomes:

Positive engagement with local communities will be reported by women recently released from emu plains prison
Lower levels of contact with previous negative influences will be reported by recently released women
Less Docs involvement will noted in these families
Less recidivism will be noted in women involved with the program

Strategies:

Home based contact by PIFA or other workers for up to six months following release to facilitate connection with local organisations around parenting
Mentor local workers when necessary

Evaluation:

1. Program evaluation - data gathered through self-report by parents

2. Action research - ongoing process of reflecting and feeding back which facilitates modification and improvement of the project during development so that the needs of women in the project are better addressed