From first steps to first words, the early years of a baby's life require constant support and care.  For a mother, this means spending lots of time with the child, interacting and bonding during this time.   If the mother is incarcerated, however, this is more difficult, and in some facilities, it can be impossible for mother and child to be together during this critical and formative time.

“I find that on the outside, there is the belief that prisoners can't make good parents,” says Elaine Lord, Superintendent of the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in New York.  “That's apples and oranges.  When push comes to shove, the role of a parent is important.”

Bedford Hills offers a number of services for incarcerated mothers with children.  Funded by the Department of Correctional Services and administered by Catholic Charities, Diocese of Brooklyn, the facility gives inmates the chance to be an important part of their children's lives.  Bedford Hills has managed to do what few other facilities are doing - proving that the bond between newborns and their mothers is essential, no matter the situation.

Inmates whose babies are born at the facility are allowed to care for their children for one year, but the time limit can be extended to 18 months pending upcoming parole.  Infants stay with their mothers in their rooms at the nursery and it is the mother's responsibility to care for the child while maintaining her prison responsibilities.  The history of the facility's nursery goes back to 1901, and over the years the importance of keeping mothers and children together has grown stronger through new innovations and ideas.

To assist in caring for the child, the prison provides a one-of-a-kind Infant Day Care Center staffed by specially trained inmates and community volunteers.  Since February of 1990, the center has helped mothers care for their children while they are in school or at work assignments and has given other inmates the chance to work as caregivers under the supervision of a Child Development Associate.  In addition, there is a “Grandmothers' Group” of volunteers at the nursery who help care for the infants and teach mothers how to knit and crochet baby blankets and other items.

According to Lord, in some sense, the facility is able to replicate the need for responsibility on the outside by requiring mothers to keep appointments and care for their children.  She warns, however, that despite what some may think, these prison mothers do not have it easy.

“Time in prison is difficult in of itself, and lay on top of that a baby and the responsibility,” says Lord.   “For other prisoners, for example, at noon, it's lunch time and you head to the mess hall to eat.  Here, you have to pick up the baby, feed them, get the baby ready and feed yourself and get back to class or training in the same time.  For people to think that everyone must want [to come to prison pregnant] because it's ‘easy' is not getting the picture of having a baby here.  They have support, but prison can be difficult and stressful and they need to adjust to motherhood at the same time.”

Providing A Support System for Incarcerated Mothers

The prison's Day Care Center was created by Sister Elaine Roulet, who has been associated with the program for nearly 30 years. Sister Elaine helped incorporate the Child and Parent program at the prison with the nursery to provide incarcerated mothers with a strong system of inner support and teach them the values and responsibilities of motherhood.   Her dedication and tireless efforts to helping and educating mothers has been the driving force behind the one-of-a-kind of Bedford Hills program.

The facility also gives opportunities for inmates with older children to visit and interact.   Among these programs are an overnight program and the summer program, where host families from the community house the child before and after visiting their mothers at the prison.  No matter what the program, the goal is the same: to keep mother and child together and a part of each others' lives.  While maintaining that key goal, the facility is also able to involve the community in helping preserve that bond.

“We have a significant number of volunteers [from the community], that find common ground around children and babies,” says Lord, who has been superintendent since 1984.  “They come here, participate and often go back thinking that it was not what they expected.  Most people end up saying that you shouldn't punish the children [by not allowing interaction with their mothers] and come to see that these parents are not monsters.  They may have messed up, but they are not monsters.”

Members of the community and beyond have witnessed the positive experiences the program provides.  Lord notes a visit by renowned infant expert Dr. Benjamin Spock to the facility and his reaction to the supportive environment.  “He said it was the closest thing to a kibbutz outside of Israel and that these children will grow up with strong social senses because they have lots of ‘brothers and sisters,'” says Lord.  

“Many [inmate mothers] comment that this is the first time they've had to concentrate on parenting,” adds Lord.  “I want them to feel like they can be effective parents, go out and stay out of prison and be parents.”

Measuring Mother and Child Interaction In Prison

In October, research began at Bedford Hills on outcomes of the mother and child program in prison.  With significant focus on the nursery, the study will look at all of the programs at the facility and the aftereffects on both mothers and their infants.  While the nursery has been in existance for close to 100 years, this is the first such study on the true impact of the program and the physical and mental health of those involved.

“We will essentially be asking two other questions along with ‘what are the outcomes for mothers and infants,'” says Dr. Mary Byrne, a pediatric nurse practitioner and research scientist from Columbia University.  “We'll look at what resources are needed for a program like this, so if any other correctional system [wants to duplicate] this in their department and also who belongs in such a program and how the program could be expanded to include them.”

Byrne's area of interest and previous research has been in the area of healthy parenting, especially for vulnerable infants and children under three years old, such as those with HIV.  In 1997, she visited Bedford Hills, where she helped create and administer clinical placements for graduate students at Columbia.  While at the facility, she had the opportunity to observe and admire the work done there.  While the facility had turned down offers from researchers in the past, this time they felt the time was right and that they had the right person - an objective scientist from outside the prison system.

While looking closely at the experiences at the nursery and behind prison walls, the study will also, over time, be able to follow both mother and child post-release to look at their parenting experiences and goals.  For infants, their physical and mental health will be investigated further as to whether they are on target for their age and ability, including fine and motor skills and social/emotional status.

Byrne notes that while the study will hopefully look at the future of these families, many in the criminal justice field are interested on the program's effect on recidivism.  “Over time, we hope to get a sense of what that is, but the program shouldn't hold the full burden of preventing future criminal behavior,” she says.  “It will have an impact, but what makes a person turn to that is a much different question than what makes them a good parent.  You can't assume that a parent with a criminal history is not a good parent and the program enhances parental experiences for the mothers and babies.”

The first stage of the study, scheduled to be completed in one year, is being done in three parts.  First, Byrne is interviewing all but one participating mother to get first-hand perspectives on both the nursery and the mothers themselves.  She notes that the one mother who chose not to participate did so because she is working towards her GED, which along with parenting was taking a lot of her time.  Byrne notes this is an example of how the program teaches new mothers to prioritize their time.  Besides mothers, interviews are being conducted with other participants such as the 40 volunteer and six inmate staff members of the nursery and prison officials.

The next stage involves standardized research on both the mothers and their infants.  Qualities, which impact parenting, such as health, self-esteem, depression and spirituality, will be studied among the mothers, while developmental and health studies are done on the infants.  Lastly, both mother and child will be studied in their everyday interactions.  If approved, Byrne hopes to videotape some of the interaction.

According to Byrne, this time of bonding between mother and child, whether in or out of prison, is an essential component in an infant's first year.  She also notes that other factors which exist in Bedford Hills, help mold a child physically and mentally from day one.  “There is not just the issue of bonding, but more importantly the bigger societal issue of supporting the parents,” says Byrne.  “All societies should provide support to all new parents in all circumstances and prison is one such circumstance.”

Resources

Dr. Mary Byrne, Associate Professor of Nursing, Columbia University, (212) 305-3976

Elaine Lord, Superintendent, Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, (914) 241-3100