Imagine being a single mother convicted of possession of a controlled substance. Once you go before a judge, you receive a two and a half-year sentence, forcing you to focus on rehabilitation and reflection – but also taking you away from your family and loved ones.

But for women in Idaho, there is a new option. With the construction of a new addition at South Boise Women's Correctional Center (WCC), women aren't simply being incarcerated – they are being offered the chance to undergo six months of intensive treatment and training instead. Corrections officials believe this programming change will make a big difference in success rates for these women.

“Many women are under-educated, under-skilled – they are not working in high-paying jobs or they are suffering from substance abuse problems and self-medication,” says Johanna Smith, Warden of the WCC. “If we don't give them the skills they need, the vocational assistance and the education, they are not going to be any better off when we send them back to the community. We feel very strongly about providing these skills to female offenders.”

While Idaho provides programming to address these issues for male offenders, the new WCC program is the first of its kind offered to women in the state. Currently, the Idaho Department of Corrections manages 790 female inmates, and continues to remain at capacity. The female offenders eligible for housing at the WCC program are under Idaho's new retained jurisdiction program for women, also known as the rider program.

“This is a facility for female offenders that a judge retains jurisdiction over for 120 days,” explains Smith. “[The riders] work towards getting their GED, they go through substance abuse programs, they learn about women's issues. When they come in, we identify their needs and then we direct them towards those programs. Our missions, visions and values statement says that our goal is to protect the public and safely manage offenders – but we also need to assist them in returning to the community. If we act as a warehouse, they return to the community with nothing.”

Brand New Programs

To help female offenders focus on their rehabilitation and re-entry into society, Smith says the riders have access to a strictly research-based curriculum that is proven to work – for women.

“You don't want to put women into an anger management class that was designed for men,” Smith says. “When we design this for women, we are entirely looking at gender-specific programs for women. We assess them as soon as they enter the door and we give them access to the programs that meet their needs. Females have completely different needs – they are emotional beings, they are relationship-oriented, they interact differently with staff and they tend to let you know more about themselves.”

The programs offered at WCC – ranging from substance abuse treatment, domestic violence programs, parenting programs and even drug and alcohol education – have all been implemented after careful research.

“We have a standards committee that looks at these programs based on research,” says Smith. “Are they research-based? Do we have evidence that they are effective? Will they work? Unless they have been proven, they will not be used here – we are trying to take a look at programs that work in other areas and then we see how they can work here.”

More than just meeting the program needs of these females, Idaho officials are also focusing on the type of sentences that these women should receive – and participating in the new program can help the female offenders return to their families sooner.

“If a woman successfully completes these programs, and interacts well with other offenders, our case managers write letters to the judge recommending probation,” explains Smith. “Then the offender goes back to court and the judge decides whether or not they should be paroled.”

Dedication to Results

The timing was right for Idaho officials to make a change toward evidence-based practices. Like other corrections departments, Idaho facilities have seen a rush of overcrowding – and state officials cite that the female population is growing at 14.5 percent, nearly double the rate of male offenders. In order to curtail this trend, officials decided to put research and rehabilitation hand-in-hand to create WCC.

“Research has shown time and time again that if you don't have a decent education, the chances of success are very poor,” explains Smith. “Moreover, the female population is very different from the male population – when women are released, society looks down on them [and says] they are ‘unfit mothers' for example. I think they certainly have additional challenges to face; they are released and they have to take care of themselves and their children.”

The new addition not only addresses the types of programs women need, it's also constructed differently from a prison facility. In a dorm-type setting, and with plenty of room for program meetings, WCC hopes the new setting will inspire success.

“Everything is done inside of the units,” says Smith. “They are fed here, they have time in the open day room, and they have programming time.”

Smith also maintains that WCC stands out because of its dedicated staff.

“I have to say that all of my staff are more than dedicated to working with these women,” Smith says. “We know these women have potential – and our staff is open and receptive to speaking with them about anything. At this point, our staff is positive and our offenders are positive – and we're looking forward to seeing results.”

With this new chance to rehabilitate women in an intense way, and with female offenders already moving in, officials hope the facility will not only reduce overcrowding, but do a better job of rehabilitating those who participate in the program.

“That old warehouse mentality, where you work people hard and hold them in cells – we know that doesn't work,” Smith says. “You have to incorporate treatment or you don't see any change – and we're preparing to see change at this facility.”