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Director's Message March 26, 2004To: DHS Employees From: Gary Weeks, Director In this week's message: 1. Parents in prisons 2. Take our Kids to Work Day - April 22 3. Food for thought 4. Staff news Children of incarcerated parents are among the highest-risk children in the state. They are many times more likely than their peers to end up in the criminal justice system at some point in their lives. Recognizing the overlap between the child welfare system and adult corrections, we looked for ways to collaborate with the Department of Corrections (DOC) to address the problem. The result was our involvement with DOC in a program called the Children of Incarcerated Parents Project. One part of the program allows inmates to learn proper parenting skills and then participate in a series of parenting sessions with their children in a correctional facility. Last week, I joined a number of local and state elected officials and Erinn Kelley-Siel, the Governor's policy adviser on human services, to visit Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville and see first-hand how the program works in one of the state's prisons. Coffee Creek houses most of the state's female inmates, although parenting programs are also offered in a number of male prisons. Inmates in the parenting program must first take a 12-week course that covers issues they will face as parents while in prison and when they return home. After evaluation, some inmates move to the second phase of the program in which they and their children have visiting sessions in the facility. The visiting sessions are supervised by a family therapist and may also include the child's caregiver. During the sessions, inmates have the opportunity to interact with their kids in a more "normal" parenting environment and are encouraged to reinforce the skills they learned in class. Coffee Creek also has an Early Head Start facility that enrolls children for twice-weekly three-and-a-half hour sessions at the prison. While there, they not only participate in visits with their mothers, but also may receive supplemental medical and mental health services. There is also an excellent program for older girls and their mothers — Girl Scouts Beyond Bars — where during special Saturday visits they work together on typical Girl Scout projects and fellowship. During our visit, we met with five women who had participated in the program. They were extremely open with us and quite emotional about what the program had meant to them and their children. One woman showed us a photo of herself with her son in a pre-school setting taken during one of the visits. They were coloring and eating popcorn together. She was proud of the fact that, if someone saw the photo, they would not know it was taken in a correctional facility — it looked like a scene from a normal pre-school. The women all said that the classes, combined with the experience of their children visiting them in the facility, had given them a more positive outlook on their lives after prison. Each indicated the desire to find steady employment when they were released. One added that she was prepared to change her circle of friends on the outside because she didn't think they would fit with her newly found focus on her kids. We were all impressed with the powerful benefits the program provides. Over time, it should help reduce the growth of the foster care population, lower re-abuse rates and help break the intergenerational cycle of criminality. And because research indicates that inmates with strong family ties and support networks are more likely to succeed upon release, it should also increase the likelihood of the participants' full rehabilitation. I consider this a win-win situation for all concerned — and for the people of Oregon. It is yet another example of state agencies innovatively working together for the benefit of their mutual clients.
You are invited to bring your own child, grandchild, niece, nephew or even a neighbor child to work that day. We recommend the children be at least nine years old, but if you choose to bring a younger child, we ask that you have a back-up plan in case the day becomes too long or too difficult. Having your child "shadow" you on the job will not only increase his or her knowledge of the programs and services the state provides to Oregonians, but will also give you a chance to share another aspect of your life with them and demonstrate that the work you do here is meaningful. You may remember that this was once called "Take Our Daughters to Work Day." Happily, it has now been expanded to include both genders. In the next few weeks, we will be providing more information about the programs planned for that day at our main building in Salem, but for now, please mark your calendars for what should be an instructive and enjoyable event for all. "A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take." — Cardinal Mermillod View the current issue of DHS Staff news on the Web. Back to top |
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