Family & Corrections Network

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The Canadian Families & Corrections Network:

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS ON FAMILIES OF ADULT OFFENDERS

Preparation of these policy recommendations was made possible by a grant from Correctional Services Canada. Points of view or opinions stated in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of Correctional Services Canada

Preamble:

In May, 1986, a National Leadership Conference on Families of Adult Offenders was held in Virginia, U.S.A. The conference, sponsored by the Family and Corrections Network (FCN), an American organization, established policy recommendations for effective family programs.

In October, 1993, the Canadian Families and Corrections Network (CFCN) sponsored The Fourth North American Conference on the Family and Corrections, in Quebec City, in collaboration with FCN. At this conference the policy recommendations from 1986 were distributed to all delegates, and a brief discussion took place. However, time did not permit a full review and update of what was considered a very significant subject and document. The Conference Declaration challenged both FCN and CFCN to each provide a forum for the development of current statements of policy recommendations

Thanks to a grant from Correctional Services Canada, CFCN was able to convene a gathering of CFCN Steering Committee and family members (see list in Appendix A), in February, 1995, at Kananaskis, Alberta. The following statement of policy recommendations on Families of Adult Offenders represents the consensus from this forum. While drawing liberally from the 1986 document, the participants from across Canada drew from their diverse backgrounds in the development of current, relevant recommendations.

As with the original working document, these recommendations only begin to define needs and suggest a focus on the family in program design.

The Canadian Families(1) and Corrections Network is a coalition of individuals and local, regional and national organizations who affirm the importance of families in the Canadian criminal justice process and who are united to encourage leadership, the sharing of resources, and the development of policies, practices and programs that enable prisoners and their families to build holistic family and community relations. If you or your organization would like to endorse this document, if you have any questions concerning its preparation, or if you would like to become a member of CFCN, we would encourage you to contact our office at:

(1) CFCN understands the term "family" to include a group of individuals who are related by affection, kinship, dependency or trust

Introduction

The intent of these recommendations is to strengthen the family ties of adult offenders. There are two principal reasons for being concerned with the families of prisoners and other offenders involved in the criminal justice process:

1. Stronger family ties for offenders mean safer communities

   The families of offenders are in crisis and deserve support

Studies have consistently shown that prisoners who maintain family ties do significantly better on release than those who do not. These recommendations are designed to enhance this effect by helping families of offenders from the time of arrest, through incarceration until offenders are successfully reintegrated into the community

Families of offenders deserve support. They are related in complex and intimate ways to the offender, and this relationship is often worsened by the criminal justice process. As a result they become innocent, unintended victims of crime. They suffer separation, economic hardship and social stigma. Suffering is especially acute for the children of prisoners, whose growth and development is jeopardized by separation from their parents. In addition, many prisoners in Canada are aboriginal or other minorities and almost all have low incomes. This means that families under social strain are the ones hardest hit by increasing rates of incarceration

In response to both humanitarian and public safety concerns we recommend comprehensive action by government leaders, criminal justice and human service agencies and the community at large in cooperation with the families of offenders. Aboriginals and other minorities experiencing disproportionate incarceration rates should have strong representation throughout this decision making and service delivery process

These recommendations fall into four groups: government policies and procedures, the role of the criminal justice process, community support, and the role of research

I. Government Policies and Procedures

Criminal justice and human service agencies should work to maintain and strengthen the offender family. Such efforts should include:

A. Using alternatives to incarceration to the greatest extent possible

B. Using the least restrictive methods possible when arresting or searching parents in the presence of their children

C. Giving family members the opportunity to participate in any hearings that they perceive will have a bearing on the need for family relationships

D. Choosing new jail and prison locations that increase family access. This will usually mean locating facilities within major metropolitan areas

E. Routinely housing prisoners in the appropriate facility closest to their family, unless the prisoners requests otherwise

F. Supporting offenders' civil right to marry

G. Training agency staff to value and respect the families of offenders, to know their special needs, and to protect offenders' parental rights

II. The Role of the Criminal Justice System

Research has shown that strong prisoner-family ties reduce recidivism. Therefore, it is in the interest of the criminal justice system to maintain and strengthen family ties through the adoption of system-wide policies and programs. These policies and programs should include the following: a system of family support services, provision for information access by families, encouragement of family communication by letter and telephone, strong support for visiting activities, and special programs for incarcerated parents and their children

A. Family Support Services

Family support services should be available at each stage of the criminal justice process. Such services should include:

1. Relationship counselling and relationship building programs to promote adjustment and growth during separation and upon reunion

2. Parenting skills programs for prisoners and family members

3. Family crisis intervention services to prevent unnecessary stress and delayed problem resolution

4. Pre-release programs which prepare prisoners for family reunification as well as employment and community re-entry

5. Family services inside jails and prisons, provided by liaison personnel from public and private organizations, who can assist with family problems and facilitate prisoners-family communication .

6. Appropriate support for the family in the event of a critical incident within the prison, including critical incident stress debriefing after any significant incident which affects the family

B. Information Access

The criminal justice system should encourage information access for family members designated by offenders. Such access should include:

1. Family orientation to each stage of the criminal justice process the offender may expect to encounter - from arrest to return to community

2. Immediate family notice, to those as designated by the inmate on a release form, of changes in offender status or location, especially changes affecting mail or visiting

3. Family access to information from correctional counsellors, probation and parole officers, and other casework personnel

4. Clear oral and written communication to families using plain words in a language understood by the family

C. Family Communication

Criminal justice agencies should encourage communication between prisoners and their families. Such efforts should include:

1. Avoiding external identification of prison or jail origin on mail from prisoners

2. Providing for some free long-distance and local telephone calls from prisoners to their families

D. Family Visiting

Jails and prisons should provide a variety of programs to encourage visiting in the least restrictive environment. Such efforts should include:

1. A safe, secure and orderly visiting environment that promotes low stress, meaningful interaction between prisoners and their families

2. Rules and regulations developed through the combined effort of institutional personnel, families and prisoners

3. Visitor information handbooks, updated appropriately, with information on visiting rules, hours, and conditions, nearby lodging, transportation, visitor service organizations and other human services

4. Visitor orientation available for all visitors on the occasion of their first visit to the institution, including the screening of a video showing all areas of the institution, and where appropriate, a tour of the institution

5. Prompt notice to visitors of substantive changes in visiting rules, hours and conditions

6. Visitor centres at or near major institutions

7. Support for transportation services from urban centres to jails and prisons

8. Visiting hours that are congruent with the needs of family members and public transportation schedules. Provision should be made for visits during the evenings, week-ends and statutory holidays

9. Support for frequent visiting. A minimum of one visit a week should be allowed priority over the prisoners' institutional assignment

10. Provisions for visitors to bring packages for prisoners

11. Assigning a single staff person ongoing responsibility for the management of visiting

E. Special Programs for Incarcerated Parents and Their Children

Many of the male and female prisoners in Canada have children under 18 years of age. These children are the forgotten victims of the criminal justice system. The trauma of separation from their parents seriously threatens their growth and development. There is a special need to help them and to nurture their relationship with the incarcerated parent. This is especially critical for the single, head-of-household parent, the situation of most prison mothers. Programs for incarcerated parents and their children should include:

1. Training for all involved public agents in the appropriate care and treatment of prisoners' children

2. Programs within jails and prisons for parent-child bonding, as well as programs designed to strengthen parent-child relationships. These should include:

a) Contact visiting in safe, child centred settings, with weekend/overnight visiting by children whenever possible

b) Parenting skills training and family support programming for offenders

c) Support services and crisis intervention for prison parents and their children

3. Legal services for incarcerated parents which enable them to respond effectively to issues of foster care placement, creation of guardianships, visitation, custody and other legal actions concerning their children

4. Responsible and adequate care for pregnant prisoners. These efforts should include:

a) Placing pregnant prisoners in community-based alternatives to incarceration whenever possible

b) Improving prenatal care within jails and prisons to meet modern medical standards. This will usually require contracting with community health care providers

c) Addressing infant needs with mother-infant bonding programs, including live-in nursery programs for infants inside of jails and prisons, with attention provided to placement planning based on individual needs

III. Community Support

Offenders' families face rejection and social isolation as well as economic and emotional hardships. Community support for offenders' families should begin early in the criminal justice process, before hardship becomes overwhelming and social isolation becomes a pattern. The incarceration of a family member is a crisis touching every aspect of family life. In particular, its youth are at risk. Community response should address emotional, economic, social, and spiritual needs. Community awareness should be mobilized for positive, informed action extending through the period of incarceration until the offender's successful re-integration into the family and the community. Community support efforts should include:

A. Local coordinating agencies linking offenders' families with community services

B. Advocates for families faced with discrimination

C. Counselling, support groups, family networking, recreation services, information, referral, and advocacy, specific to the circumstances surrounding incarceration. Special attention should be paid to the provision of supports and services for the adolescents of offenders

D. Support from the religious community for families facing the spiritual crisis of the incarceration of a family member

E. Reduced cost or free transportation for prison visits

F. Emergency financial assistance for basic survival needs such as food, clothing and shelter

G. Initiatives which bring the needs and strengths of offenders' families to the attention of lawmakers and the community

IV. The Role of Research

Previous research has demonstrated a strong, positive relationship between the maintenance of offender-family ties and the reduction of the adult repeat crime. The existing research base should be expanded and new research relating to the dynamics of offender-family relationships should be developed. Research is a necessary and important element of program development, design, and evaluation and should be a collaborative effort of the correctional, academic and philanthropic communities

A. Research efforts should increase the knowledge and understanding of:

1. The dynamics of family crisis precipitated by arrest and/or incarceration and the means of effective recovery from such crisis

2. The role of the personal support system of the offender, particularly the family, in the reduction of repeat adult crime

3. The problems families experience in maintaining and strengthening family ties and in carrying out family roles and commitments

4. The special needs and strengths of offenders' families within aboriginal and other minority groups

5. The legal rights of families in terms of international conventions and the laws of Canada, and their relative importance with respect to laws governing incarceration

6. The impact of public opinion on the reintegration of offenders with their families

7. The impact of incarceration on the children of offenders 8. The impact of life sentences on prisoner families

B. Researchers should also:

1. Develop an effective national data base on family characteristics and family ties of offenders. Standard procedures for informed consent, privacy and confidentially should be followed

2. Define a service delivery model for the families of offenders which addresses the entire course of the criminal justice experience

3. Develop comprehensive directories which identify services and programs for the maintenance of offender family ties and personal support systems

4. Evaluate the effectiveness of programs and services for families of offenders

Participants involved in developing these recommendations in Kananaskis, Alberta, February, 1995:

Dennis Boissonneault - Calgary, Alberta

Gladys Bolinski - Calgary, Alberta

Chris Carr - Ottawa, Ontario

Chantal Charbonneau - Montreal, Quebec

Bernie Cooke - Calgary, Alberta

Rene Durocher - St. Pierre, Manitoba

Donna Gannon-Harris - Kingston, Ontario

Sylvia Griffith - Abbotsford, British Columbia

Jackie Jaquich - Okotoks, Alberta

Francine Leblanc - Kingston, Ontario

Aleisa Peyachew - Calgary, Alberta

Goerge Peyachew - Calgary, Alberta

Graham Reddoch - Winnipeg, Manitoba

Juliet Shaw - Calgary, Alberta

John Tonks - Amherst, Nova Scotia

Ann Walker - Calgary, Alberta