Program Components
There are four components to the Second Chances program: programming for incarcerated parents, programming for custodial parents, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for the children of incarcerated parents, and contact visitation. Program staff also conduct brief follow-up phone interviews to gather informal data on their graduates’ progress after they have been released. They ask graduates about their overall mental health and life skills progress, whether they are still actively involved in their child’s life, and if they are still participating in therapy sessions of any kind.
Each component of this multi-pronged approach stands alone as a support service, but when combined, they create a meaningful and holistic experience for program participants and their families.
Programming for Incarcerated Parents
The program provides a 12-week fatherhood course (motherhood courses will be added soon) to the incarcerated parent that consists of lessons on the topics below.
Parenting Classes
Parenting classes focus on prioritizing the strength of the parent-child relationship. The goal of these parenting classes is to create a strong foundation between parent and child by equipping the father or mother with effective parenting skills, so that regardless of possible changes to the family dynamic (i.e., parents separating or getting divorced), the relationship between program participants and their child will remain strong. Ultimately, Second Chances staff hope that a healthy and strong parent-child relationship will provide the child with protective factors for a healthy adolescence. However, discussions about effective co-parenting, listening, and communication skills are still important elements of the course.
As part of the parenting classes, incarcerated parents are encouraged to write letters to their child through the “Letters to Home” initiative. Alongside letters written by the incarcerated parent, program staff send materials to the child’s home for them to write their own letter in response. Written responses from the child vary depending on the custodial parent’s or caregiver’s level of comfort with the child engaging with the incarcerated parent.
Trauma-informed Care Classes
The 12-week course for incarcerated parents includes in-depth discussions of the participant’s history, triggers, relationships, and more. These lessons aim to increase self-awareness and address root causes of harmful behavior in a safe and nurturing environment.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
All participants in the program are provided access to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) through licensed mental health professionals at another Second Chances partner organization, The Counseling Center, LLC. CBT is a form of psychological treatment that focuses on changing problematic thinking patterns, which in turn change behavioral patterns in the participant’s life.4 It equips participants with the tools to recognize problematic thoughts, behaviors, and tendencies, and develop healthier coping mechanisms and problem-solving skills.
CBT has been shown to be as effective, if not more effective, than medication in treating depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders.5 This is particularly true when examining long-term effects on symptoms.6 While CBT has been shown to be more effective than medication alone, research shows that combining both CBT and medication is more effective at decreasing symptoms than CBT alone.7
The CBT component of Second Chances’ programming for incarcerated parents is particularly significant given the rates of mental health concerns present among incarcerated individuals in the US. Approximately 14 percent of individuals in state prisons, 8 percent of individuals in federal prisons, and 26 percent of individuals in local jails report serious psychological distress in the past month at their time of entry.8 Furthermore, 43 percent of individuals in state prisons, 23 percent of individuals in federal prisons, and 44 percent of individuals in local jails report having previously been diagnosed with one or more mental health conditions.9
Second Chances aims to help participants develop healthier thinking patterns and coping mechanisms to deal with their unique mental health concerns and better prepare them to cope with a high-stress environment upon release. Program staff believe that a parent who is mentally healthier and able to effectively manage their triggers will be better able to provide a secure home and relationship to their child. Staff advocate that this secure environment will decrease the child’s likelihood of future contact with the justice system and improve their outcomes across a range of indicators (e.g., positive behavior, academic performance, graduation rates).
Programming for Custodial Parent
Much like programming for the incarcerated parent, parenting classes for the custodial parent cover a range of topics, including effective listening, communication, co-parenting, and impact of parental actions on the family. Content covered in programming for the custodial parent mirrors that which is covered in the incarcerated parent’s class, so both incarcerated and custodial parents receive lessons and guidance on the same topics, at roughly the same time.
Ensuring alignment between the two courses is important to Second Chances, as staff believe that having both parents explore the same material, learn the same skills, and get on the same page with parenting strategies will ultimately set the child up for optimal success.
Custodial parent programming consists of an eight-week class (compared to the 12-week course for incarcerated parents). When the program began in 2019, these one-hour classes took place in-person. During and following the global COVID-19 pandemic, however, the classes transitioned onto a virtual meeting platform. If consistent scheduling conflicts emerge among several of the parents in a cohort, Second Chances staff adjust the timing of classes and condense the eight-week course into a one-day, eight-hour class on a Saturday.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Children of Incarcerated Parents
Much like their incarcerated and custodial parents, children participating in Second Chances are also provided with access to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT sessions with the children and youth are held separately from those conducted with either parent.
Although the program offers CBT services to the children of participating incarcerated parents, some children already attend therapy through a family provider and therefore do not partake in the CBT component of Second Chances programming.
Contact Visitation
Research shows that contact visitation with family members is correlated to moderate decreases in recidivism rates, improved child perceptions of trust and communication in the parent-child relationship, and reduced internalizing and externalizing behaviors among children who have an incarcerated parent.10 The effects that contact visitation has on recidivism are thought to be most pronounced when visitation from a spouse or significant other is included.11
Given these benefits, Second Chances coordinates scheduled meetings at The Garden of Hope’s facility between incarcerated parents and their families once a month. This contact visitation is an integral part of the program and is highly encouraged for all families who are willing and able to participate. Although families are informed of the benefits that visitation can have for both the incarcerated parent and the child, there are circumstances in which the custodial parent or caregiver is unable or unwilling to bring the child to visit the incarcerated parent. These situations often arise when the nature of the incarcerated parent’s offense was such that the custodial parent or caregiver feels uncomfortable or unsafe having the child maintain contact. Custodial parents or caregivers may also opt out of the contact visitation if they logistically cannot attend due to prior commitments or if there would be a considerable amount of additional support needed from program staff to accommodate visitation from particularly large families, given limited space and staff at the off-site location.
Safety Measures
Operational and safety considerations are necessary for the successful implementation of contact visitation. Because the visitation occurs off-site and away from the secure correctional facility, all incarcerated parents currently participating in the program must have received their jail sentence. Although the Norfolk jail houses individuals who have been charged but are awaiting trial and have not yet been sentenced, these individuals have historically been unable to participate in the program or the contact visitation due to security concerns. The Norfolk Sherriff’s Office is looking to expand their programming, and in turn the contact visitation, to include this population in 2022. This expansion will come with heightened procedural and vetting regulations for program staff to ensure the security of their pre-sentence participants while off-site.
Security reviews are conducted for incarcerated parents who are members of a gang before they are granted approval for contact visitation. The security review entails an in-depth review of the individual’s mail to identify any potential concerns about their being off-site in a non-secure setting.
References
4 American Psychological Association (APA). (2017a). What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy? Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/patients-and-families/cognitive-behavioral.pdf (PDF, 1 page)
5 Dams, T. J., & Dhesi, T. S. (2021). Is individual cognitive behavioral therapy as effective as antidepressants in patients with major depressive disorder? Evidence-Based Practice, 24(5), 21-22.; American Psychological Association (APA). (2017b). How Do I Choose Between Medication and Therapy? Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/patients-and-families/medication-or-therapy.pdf (PDF, 1 page)
6 von Brachel, R., Hirschfeld, G., Berner, A., Willutzki, U., Teismann, T., Cwik, J. C., Velten, J., Schulte, D., & Margraf, J. (2019). Long-term effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy in routine outpatient care: A 5- to 20-year follow-up study. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 88(4), 225–235. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1159/000500188
7 Sevi Tok, E. S., Arkar, H., & Bildik, T. (2016). The effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy, medication, or combined treatment for childhood anxiety disorders. Turkish Journal of Psychiatry, 27(2); American Psychological Association (APA). (2017b). How Do I Choose Between Medication and Therapy? Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/patients-and-families/medication-or-therapy.pdf (PDF, 1 page)
8 Maruschak, L., Bronson, J., & Alper, M. (2021). Indicators of mental health problems reported by prisoners: Survey of prison inmates, 2016. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved from https://bjs.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh236/files/media/document/imhprpspi16st.pdf(PDF, 12 pages); Bronson, J., & Berzofsky, M. (2017). Indicators of mental health problems reported by prisoners and jail inmates, 2011 – 2012. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved from https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/imhprpji1112.pdf (PDF, 12 pages)
9 Maruschak, L., Bronson, J., & Alper, M. (2021). Indicators of mental health problems reported by prisoners: Survey of prison inmates, 2016. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved from https://bjs.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh236/files/media/document/imhprpspi16st.pdf (PDF, 12 pages); Bronson, J., & Berzofsky, M. (2017). Indicators of mental health problems reported by prisoners and jail inmates, 2011 – 2012. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved from https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/imhprpji1112.pdf (PDF, 12 pages)
10 Mears, D. P., Cochran, J. C., Siennick, S. E., & Bales, W. D. (2011). Prison visitation and recidivism. Justice Quarterly, 29(6), 888–918. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2011.583932; Jasmine, H. M. (2016). Children of incarcerated parents: The relation of contact and visitation to the parent-child relationship and internalizing and externalizing problems (Publication # 10119359) [Doctoral dissertation, Graduate School of Clemson University]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/openview/c71bd0773988d87517d084f9abb33475/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750
11 Mears, D. P., Cochran, J. C., Siennick, S. E., & Bales, W. D. (2011). Prison visitation and recidivism. Justice Quarterly, 29(6), 888–918. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2011.583932
