This program is for parents who are incarcerated and is intended to impact parents and their children.

Parenting from Prison (PFP), a community-based educational parenting program, is designed to support inmates with children by teaching about risk and protective factors, substance abuse prevention, and parenting skills to build strong family relationships and enable positive changes in behavior.

One internal uncontrolled study examining the program's effectiveness has been conducted. At posttest, self-reported improvements were found in self-esteem, self-mastery, parenting satisfaction, and parenting confidence. An improvement was also found in parenting attitudes for mothers, but not fathers, whose scores did not detectably change. Mothers' parenting attitudes were more negative than fathers' attitudes at pretest, and the improvement resulted in mothers' attitudes becoming more comparable to fathers' attitudes.

PFP sessions cover the following topics:

• Parenting from prison - consider how children are affected by a parent's incarceration and learn how to help children adjust;
• Making custody arrangements for children - understand power of attorney, legal guardianship and allocation of parental responsibilities; consider how to handle divorce while in prison; and identify reasons to place children for adoption;
• Financial help for the care of children - learn about Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, food stamps, and medicaid;
• Dependency and neglect court cases - understand what dependency and neglect court cases are, who is involved in these cases, and why it is important to be actively involved;
• Paternity - understand what paternity cases are, who can file paternity cases, and why one would want to file a paternity case; and
• Child support - determine if child support payments are required while in prison, if payments can be lowered, and if money can be taken fron one's prison account to pay for child support.

Groups comprised of a minimum of 8 to maximum of 25 inmates are led by a correctional facility staff member.  Participants learn 10 steps called the "Wise Way" from the BrainWise curriculum that teach critical thinking and problem-solving skills. PFP is delivered using a combination of individual and group work, group discussions, and role-play.

In 2004, PFP was adapted from the Partners in Parenting (PIP) curriculum to include additional subject matter relevant to the unique needs of incarcerated parents, such as how to maintain relationships with children while incarcerated and how to reunite with children after being released from prison. PFP has been implemented in Department of Corrections facilities in Colorado.

Group facilitators must have at least an associate's degree and previous job experience relevant to their role as parent educator.  A 2-day, on-site training is required for facilitators and is available for up to 30 individuals. The cost of the training is $200 per person.  Additional training support and technical assistance are available. Training costs vary based upon services selected.

Considerations for implementing PFP include gaining prison administrative support and buy-in, identifying qualified staff members to be trained as facilitators, recruiting and retaining participants, and determining the best time to hold the sessions.

The Clearinghouse can help address these considerations. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu

If you are interested in implementing PFP, the Clearinghouse is interested in helping you!
Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu

The program consists of 20 sessions. Length and frequency of sessions varies based upon factors, such as inmates' length of sentence.  The average time to implement the program is 1 month or less.

A required curriculum manual for instructors including 20 lesson plans and a Powerpoint is $100.  An additional curriculum manual for each participant is also required.  Please use details in the Contact section for more information.

To move PFP to the Promising Category on the Clearinghouse Continuum of Evidence, at least one well-designed evaluation should be performed demonstrating positive effects lasting at least one year from the beginning of the program or at least six months from program completion.

The Clearinghouse can help you develop an evaluation plan to ensure the program components are meeting your goals. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu

Contact the Clearinghouse with any questions regarding this program.
Phone: 1-877-382-9185 Email: Clearinghouse@psu.edu

You may also contact Christie Donner by mail Rocky Mountain Peace & Justice Center, P.O. Box 1156, Boulder, CO 80306 or email christie@ccjrc.org

https://www.ccjrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/ParentingFromPrison.pdf; https://www.fatherhood.gov/research-and-resources/parenting-prison-resource-guide-parents-incarcerated-colorado; and Wilson, Gonzalez, Romero, Henry, and Cerbana (2010).

Wilson, K., Gonzalez, P., Romero, T., Henry, K., & Cerbana, C. (2010). The effectiveness of parent education for incarcerated parents: An evaluation of Parenting from Prison. Journal of Correctional Education, 61, 114-132.