Mother and child live-in programs in Canadian prisons

149 Pages·2005·2.69 MB·English

MOTHER AND CHILD LIVE-IN PROGRAMS IN CANADIAN PRISONS:
A POLICY ANALYSIS OF PROGRIqM DEVELOPMENT
AND IMPLEMENTATION -.
t
' by
Donna MacLean
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B.A. Simon Fraser University, 1982
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THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF P
i ,
MASTER OF ARTS
in the School
-
Criminology
\
a ~ o n n Ma a cLean I997
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
November 1997
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APPROVAL
Name: E. Donna MacLean
Degree: Master of Arts
Title of Thesis: Mother And Child Live-In Programs in Canadian
Prisons: A Policy Analysis of Program Development
And Implementation.
Examining Committee:
Chairperson: Dr. Robert Menzies
Dr. ~ a r ~ aJkactks on
Senior Supervisor
Dr. William lack man
Adul t Custody A n a l y s t
C o r r e c t i o n s Branch
A t t o r n e y G e n e r a l , B.C.
Vic tor ia , B.C.
ABSTRACT
In Canada, motherlbaby live-in programs have been available in two provincial g !
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prisons since the 1970's. Recent changes to the Correctional Services of ~ i n a d a
(CSC) policy, huwever, will result in the implementation of these programs in five
new regional institutions across Canada. The &pansion of the programs into these ,
facilities for incarcerated women, serving sentences of two years to life, appears to
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have been based on certain ideas about their potential rehabilitative value and,
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more fundamentally, certain ideas about the concept of mothering itself. The
background against which the present study is placed, however, is a consideration of -.
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yet another perspective, that is, the "best interests of the child", in which .+
Governments, both international and national, Lave mandated that those interests
receive priority in the development of public programming.
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The present research examines these ideas thiough a survey, using both closed and
open nded questions, of 108 women offenders and 94 institutional staff at the
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Burnaby Correctional Centre for Women (BCCW) in British Columbia. It was felt
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that it was important to gain an understanding of the opinions of these women and
staff to determine their views about the nature and purpose of the programming.
The results reveal the complexity of the issues and the difficulty in determining what
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actually is in the "best interests of the children". Given the multiplicity of personal
problems the women identified, for example, personal abuse of drugs and alcohol,
there may be difficulties for the mothers to take on the added responsibility of
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mptl;ering in an inshut ion in which they are intensely involved in programming
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aimed at resolving these problems. As wed the physical environs themselves may
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well prove problematic to the "safe and loving development".of the children.
Finally, it is interesting to note that, unlike other studies which suggest that a
significant proportion o f mothers in prison have had resppnsibility for thp care of
their children immediately prior ' to being incareemted, the opposite seems true for
9 the major proportion of women in this study. Therefore, i t is not even clear that
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parenting is a duty, activity andlor interest in which these women have been.
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engaged at the point when they were imprisoned. The latter possibility should not
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sugges<that these women are somehow deficient or not adequate women according
to a stereotypic view o f women as mothers. As well, it should be noted that i t was
not the intent of the present research to suggest that these programs should be
entirely eliminated, but that more research is clearly needed to determine the
realities of the needs o f the women for the programs, and above all else, what
constitutes the "best interests of the child" in such initiatives, before they are fully
implemented into correctional institutions.
, DEDICATION
TO MY HUSBAND
ROB
QUOTATIONS '&
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when five new women's prisons open across Canada latpr this year and in the spring -
o f 1996, children from new horns to teenagers wil l be part o f the landscape.
(Dambrofsky, G. 1995:A31) - .
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Positive parenting is the ability to instill-in your children a sense o f self-worth that is
so well-rooted, they'll grow up-able to cope with just about anything.
(Wolfond and M o a n , 1994:62) L
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It herefore think that the exploration of elficient alternatives should be pursued'
particularly before endorsing too broadly the mother and child programs which
bring children into prisons, rather. than their mothers into the community.
(Arbour, L. 1996:226)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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Iw ould like to thank the many individuals whose support was instrumental in
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assisting me throughout the research study. I am very grateful for theiegenerous
assistance. Acknowledgments can never be enough to express my gratitude and
thanks to my committee for their ongoing support and encouragement. They
allowed me to think and express my views independently, while guiding me through
the intricate maze o f academic growth. I n particular, Dr. ~ a r g a r eJta ckson who
provided invaluable and unwavering assistance to me, Ia m very grateful to have
had the opportunity to work with her. A special thank you to Dr. William Glackman
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for his confidence and belief, in me and the research study. Iw il l always cherish the
committee's positive influence and never ending support.
Ir emain eternally grateful to the volunteer research assistants, Susanne Gaspar, El l i
Kim, Afli Malm, Brooke ~ h e ~ l eTrri,n a Talarico, and Lnrraine Lynch who
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dedicated so much o f their time to conduct the interviews at BCCW. Without their
assistance the scope o f this ~esei?rc~studwyo uld not have been possible. Iw ould
also like to thank Sue Wong and Christina Browne for the time they were able to
contribute, i t was appreciated.
Iw ould also like, to extend-my appreciation to the B.C. Corrections Branch.for their
continued support o f this research study, particularty the District Director at
BCCW, Esther McMullan and the former Vancouver Regional Director, Dave Bahr
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for their ongoing encouragement. A sp&ial thank you to Patsy Charette for assisting
with the administrative paperwork that at times was overwhelming. Thank you to
the correctional Services of Canada for their assistance, with a special thank you to
Judith ~dwrencefo r her ongoing sipport of this study.
I am very grateful to my family who have inspired and motivated me throughout the
arduous journey of completing this research study,,for without their support the
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journey would not have started.
G very special thank you to all the women and staff at BCCW who participated in
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the study. Their participation and generous sharing of their experiences, opinions
and views made this study possible. I
TABLE OF CONTENTS -
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APPROVAL ....................................... :. .............................................. 11
8 ...
ABSTRACT ............................................................................... ....... 111
DEDICATION ...................................................................................... v
QUOTATIONS ........................................... ;. ....................................... vi . .
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..
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................+ :.. ............................. VII
TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................ ix
1
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LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................. xi11
.
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................. xiv
CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION ............................................ ............ 1
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CHAPTER I 1 - LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................5
Q.
The Motherhood Issue .................................................................. 5
The Complexity of the Motherhood Issue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
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Female Offenders ....................................................................... 10
Incarcented Women .................................................................. 14
Background Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Mental Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Incarcerated ,Mothers ................................ ................................. 20
The Child's Perspective ................................................................ 24