The Womens Prison Association: Supporting Women Offenders and Their Families

Highlights
With the dramatic increase in the number of women offenders under correctional supervision, researchers and advocates are calling for correctional strategies that are gender specific and community based. This Program Focus provides an in depth look at the Womens Prison Association (WPA , an incorporated nonprofit agency in !ew "ork #ity that offers a broad array of institution$ and community$based services to women offenders (i.e., women in prisons and %ails, women on probation and parole, and e&$offenders . Through a portfolio of four programs, WPA offers peer education, support, and transitional services to female inmates who are '()* or at risk for infection+ and emergency and transitional housing, individuali,ed case management services, skills$building workshops, child care, counseling, and other supports to released women, their children, and their families. Although WPA, like most of its counterparts around the !ation, has not been the sub%ect of rigorous, independent evaluation, its programs incorporate many features that correctional e&perts consider essential to programming for women, includingl Program models designed to address the specific needs of women. l (ndividuali,ed case management to help women offenders set and achieve goals. l .kills$development workshops and e&ercises. l /amily$focused programming. l Peer support and the development of peer networks. l 'ighly skilled staff e&perienced in working with women and their wide range of concerns. l /ormal recognition of participant achievement. l 0ngoing attention to building community support. With an annual budget of nearly 12 million from private donors and a variety of /ederal, .tate, and city health, welfare, and criminal %ustice agencies, WPA provides individual direct services to hundreds of women each year. The agency has a strong, positive reputation with its

funding agencies and clients. WPA also gets high marks from local criminal %ustice officials, who report that WPA provides clients with close supervision and individuali,ed services, and the criminal %ustice system with honest feedback on client progress. 3aintaining sufficient funding is one of the agencys greatest challenges. #uts in funding and changing governmental priorities, especially regarding welfare reform, are significant threats to the future of WPAs programs. (n addition, the categorical nature of most government funding imposes limitations on the kinds of funds that are available, effectively precluding the provision of services to some women offenders. (n response to these challenges, WPA is working to demonstrate program effectiveness by creating new mechanisms for tracking individual clients and measuring their ability to maintain liberty in the community, maintain or improve housing, and maintain or improve their family situations. The agency also continues to disseminate information on women offenders and to actively recruit the community$at$large in responding to the needs of women in the criminal %ustice system.

lise walked the winter streets, her hands and face bitterly cold; her

mind filled and distracted; her heart brittle.1 No one had prepared her for the enormity of the challenges she facedno place to live; no money; her children scattered and angry; no true friends; and that burning desire to get back to and at the same time avoid! the "people, places, and things# that had landed her in $ail in the first place. %ust when success was so important, all she could think of was failure.
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Women offenders like 4lise who return to their communities from prison or %ail must often simultaneously comply with conditions of probation or parole, achieve financial stability, access health care, locate housing, and commence the process of reuniting with their children. .etting priorities and accomplishing goals can seem overwhelming to someone who is confronted with so many tasks at once. Without strong support in the community to help them negotiate the rules and regulations of myriad public agencies, many women offenders 5uickly spiral back into a life of substance abuse, prostitution, and related crimes. /inding effective correctional strategies for women offenders is of growing importance nationwide. (ncreasingly, women have %oined the ranks of those behind bars or under criminal %ustice supervision in the community. .ince 6789, the number of women in custody in .tate and /ederal prisons has risen more than fourfold.: ;uring 677<, the number of female prisoners in /ederal and .tate prisons rose =.: percent, slightly greater than the increase in males (>.: percent . At the close of 677<, <7,=:2 women were incarcerated in .tate and /ederal prisons.? ;rug$related sanctions have fueled much of this increase in womens incarceration. /ederal @niform #rime Aeporting data show that during the 6789s, the number of women arrested for drug violations more than tripledBa rate of growth appro&imately double that for men.2 (n the same time period, women held for drug$related offenses accounted for almost half of the increase in the number of %ailed females.> According to data gathered by the @... ;epartment of Custices Dureau of Custice .tatistics, the number of women in .tate prisons who were serving sentences for drug$related offenses increased 2?: percent between 678= and 6776.= Dy 6776, one$third of the women in prison were serving terms for drug$related crimes, compared to one$fifth of their male counterparts. < (.ee E;ifferences Detween 3en and Women (nmatesF for additional comparisons of men and women offenders. Those now under criminal %ustice supervision are typically young, unmarried women of color.8 They have children, few %ob skills, little or no work e&perience,

and a significant problem with substance abuse. A survey conducted by the American #orrectional Association in 6779 revealed the following details about the life histories of women inmates-7 l 3ore than half of the women reported having been victims of physical abuse+ ?= percent reported having been victims of se&ual abuse, which often occurred when the women were children or adolescents. l !early half used cocaine at least once or twice a month+ >= percent reported using mari%uana that fre5uently. l Although some had completed their General 45uivalency ;iploma (G4; , most were school dropouts. 0ne$third had dropped out due to pregnancy. l !early <> percent had some work e&perience prior to incarceration, but almost two$thirds had earned no more than 1=.>9 per hour, considerably less than they re5uired to support themselves and their children. #oncern about the dramatic growth in the number of women in correctional settings during the past decade and their need for gender$specific services has prompted researchers and advocates to call for increased attention to correctional programming for women and increased use of community$based interventions and alternatives. 69 (n a recent national survey of programming for women offenders sponsored by the !ational (nstitute of Custice (!(C , corrections administrators recommended that there be more services to address substance abuse, family relationships, vocational education and work, and prior victimi,ation and domestic violence. 66 (n addition, .tate$level administrators and program directors each saw a considerable need for more transitional housing and aftercare services to help women offenders ad%ust to living independently in the community.6: This Program Focus describes the Womens Prison Association (WPA , an incorporated nonprofit agency in !ew "ork #ity that offers a broad array of institution$ and community$based services to women offenders (i.e., women in prisons and %ails, women on probation and parole, and e&$offenders . Hike most of its counterparts around the !ation, WPA has not been the sub%ect of rigorous independent evaluation, but its program offerings

address many of the critical issues identified above.6? Through its own services and by linking women with other providers, WPA offers education, support, and transitional services to female inmates who are '()* or at risk for infection+ and emergency and transitional housing, individuali,ed case management services, skills$building workshops, child care, counseling, and other supports to released women, their children, and their families. The following sections review WPAs history and its portfolio of interrelated programs, describe promising program features, and discuss challenges for continued operation. Although the programs metropolitan setting necessarily affects its

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$ %ational &nstitute of 'ustice
(n recent years, researchers and policymakers have argued that women offenders not only need more services to put them on a par with men, but in many instances women re5uire different services as well. A 6776 survey by the Dureau of Custice .tatistics (DC. , which highlighted the following key gender differences among .tate prison inmates, clarifies why women may need different services.a l Women and men inmates differed in their patterns of drug use and drug(related crime)* Women were somewhat more likely than men to have used drugs in the month before the offense that resulted in their incarceration and to have been under the influence of drugs at the time of the offense.c They were also more likely than men to have used crack in the month before the incarceration offense. Women were considerably more likely than men to have committed crimes in order to obtain money to purchase drugs. Women were also more likely than men to be serving sentences for drug offenses. l Women inmates had important+ and often uni,ue+ health(related needs) At least :,?99 women (= percent were pregnant when they entered prison in 6776. Also, a slightly higher proportion of women (?.? percent than men (:.6 percent reported being '() positive.d l Female inmates -ere more than three times as li.el/ as incarcerated men to report ha0ing e1perienced ph/sical or se1ual a*use at some time prior to incarceration) The DC. researchers discovered that 2? percent of the women inmates they surveyed reported having been victims of se&ual or physical abuse prior to admission, with most having been victimi,ed before the age of 68.

2ifferences 3et-een !en and Women &nmates

&ncarcerated -omen -ere more li.el/ than incarcerated men to ha0e children for -hom the/ acted as careta.ers until the time of their incarceration) They were more likely than men to have children under the age of 68 who were being cared for primarily by their grandparents while their mothers were incarcerated. The data further showed that the burden on grandparents is greater when a childs mother is incarcerated than when a father is incarcerated because mothers usually care for the children of incarcerated fathers. l Female inmates -ere less li.el/ than male inmates to ha0e *een sentenced in the past) 0f the women surveyed, <: percent had been sentenced previously. Among inmates with prior records, women inmates were more likely than men to have been sentenced previously for a nonviolent offense. l Women -ere less li.el/ than men to ha0e *een incarcerated for 0iolent crimes) (n 6776, women were about as likely to be serving time for a violent offense (?: percent as for a property (:7 percent or drug offense (?? percent . (n contrast, 2< percent of male inmates were incarcerated for a violent offense. /rom 678= to 6776 the proportion of women incarcerated for drug crimes nearly tripled, while the proportions of those incarcerated both for violent and property offenses dropped significantly. l !en and -omen incarcerated for 0iolent crimes differed in their patterns of 0iolence) Women incarcerated for violent crimes were nearly twice as likely as their male counterparts to have committed homicide, more than twice as likely to have victimi,ed a relative or intimate, and more likely to have victimi,ed men.
l

a. Deck, et al., &urvey of &tate Prison 'nmates, 1((1, Washington, ;.#.- @... ;epartment of Custice, Dureau of Custice .tatistics, 3arch 677?- >, !#C 6?=727. b. #hristine Aasche notes several significant differences in the drug use patterns of women and men in the general population as well, including- women tend to be introduced to heroin and cocaine use by a man in their lives, but thereafter tend to become more heavily addicted to greater amounts of the drug in a shorter time+ women spend twice as much money per week on cocaine as do men+ nationally, heroin addiction has increased at a faster rate for women than for men+ and twice as many women as men end up in hospital emergency rooms because of drug overdoses. .ee Aasche, #hristine 4., &pecial Needs of the Female )ffender, Tallahassee, /H- /lorida ;epartment of 4ducation, ;ivision of )ocational, Adult, and #ommunity 4ducation .e& 45uity, 6779, 'andout I6<D. c. These findings parallel those from an earlier DC. survey, which showed that women inmates were more likely than men to have used heroin or cocaine in the month before the incarceration offense, and to have used those drugs on a daily basis+ see Greenfeld, Harry and .tephanie 3inor$'arper, *omen in Prison, Washington, ;.#.- @... ;epartment of Custice, Dureau of Custice .tatistics, 3arch

6776, !#C 6:<776. d. Among those tested, women inmates were more likely than their male counterparts to report test results+ see Deck, et al., p. :>. Aecent studies by the @nited !ations ;evelopment Programme and the #enters for ;isease #ontrol and Prevention show that A(;. is growing rapidly among young women in this country and around the world. Although women accounted for %ust 62 percent of all A(;. cases reported in the @nited .tates in 677:, the number of women with A(;. in that year increased four times as fast as the number of men with the disease. .ee Aensberger, Doyce, EA(;. .preads /astest Among "oung Women,F *ashington Post, Culy :7, 677?, AJ6.

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operation, the lessons from WPAs 6>9$ year e&perience will inform anyone seeking to learn more about gender$specific or community$based programs for women offenders.

A "entur/ and a Half of Ad0ocac/ and Programming

The Womens Prison Association characteri,es its mission as followsE. . . to create opportunities for change in the lives of women prisoners, e&$prisoners, and their families. WPA provides programs through which women ac5uire life skills needed to end involvement in the criminal %ustice system and to make positive, healthy choices for themselves and their families . . . We emphasi,el .elf$reliance through the development of independent living skills. l .elf$empowerment and peer support. l #lient involvement in the community. l Assistance from dedicated staff, advisers, and volunteers.F WPA has been working to fulfill this mission and Eincrease public awareness of and support for effective, communitybased responses to crimeF since its founding in 6822. @nder the leadership of Abigail 'opper Gibbons, WPA established the (saac T. 'opper 'ome to provide housing and training to women offenders of the 6899s. (n its first ? years of operation, the 'opper 'ome sheltered more than 2>9 women offenders+ and it has served more than ?<,999 women over the course of 6>9 years. Dy the turn of the century, WPA was calling for the creation of separate prison facilities for women and for a .tate mandate for female matrons in

all facilities with women prisoners. WPA also protested %ail crowding and helped introduce a bill to establish a reformatory for women in Dedford, !ew "ork. ;uring the 6729s, it developed a resident aftercare program at Dedford 'ills and established group therapy programs. (n the 67=9s, WPA launched a program for pregnant offenders. .ince 677:, WPA has focused considerable attention on the needs of homeless women offenders who have A(;., are '()*, or have histories of substance abuse, and those who are striving to reunite with their children. WPA now offers four interrelated programsl The Transitional Ser0ices #nit+ which provides '() and A(;. services, peer group support, prerelease planning, and housing placement to women inmates who are '()* or at risk for infection+ and transitional and intensive case management services for '()* women released from prisons and %ails. + ,opper ,ome +-' program participant reads with her son in the playroom at ,opper ,ome. l The Hopper Home Alternati0e to &ncarceration Program+ a transitional residence and an intensive reporting program for women who would otherwise be in %ail or prison. l The Sarah Po-ell Huntington House+ a transitional residence for homeless women offenders, including those with '() or A(;., who seek to reunite with their children. l The Steps to &ndependence Program+ which provides speciali,ed services (e.g., housing and %ob placement assistance, independent living skills development, parenting training workshops, and aftercare services to homeless women in the other three WPA programs. ;epending on their circumstances, WPA clients may participate in some or all of these programs over the course of many months or years. /or e&ample, a homeless woman awaiting trial can be contacted in %ail by the Transitional .ervices @nit, receive information on '() prevention, and be counseled regarding communitybased services. .ubse5uently, she can be

Photo by 3eg 'andler

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5 %ational &nstitute of 'ustice provided with emergency housing at the 'opper 'ome. Then she can be admitted to the .arah Powell 'untington 'ouse, where she can work with a case manager, participate in community$based services (e.g., drug treatment, individual counseling, and vocational education , and reunite with her children. Defore leaving 'untington 'ouse, she can be assisted with her transition into the community (e.g., locating housing and employment by staff of the .teps to (ndependence Program. 4ach year, hundreds of women offenders and their family members participate in WPAs programs. Detween Culy 6, 677=, and Cune ?9, 677< (/" 677< , the agency provided individual, direct services to ?22 women and :8= children (under 68 years of age . ;uring the 6$year period of 677=J 7<, WPA placed 77 women in permanent housing and 82 women in transitional housing. As many as ?,999 women participated in WPAs %ail$ and prison$based workshops. (n addition, WPA staff assisted an unspecified number of other family members andKor significant others residing in clients homes. /or e&ample, T.@ staff estimate that in /" 677<, for every client served in the #ommunity /ollow$@p Program, they also served an average of five family members.

!eeting the %eeds of Women Offenders

/ollowing the fivefold e&pansion of !ew "orks female offender population in late 6779, WPAs staff launched an investigation of the needs of women in the .tates criminal %ustice system. The four interrelated programs previously highlighted are the result of this careful study. @nder the leadership of a newly hired e&ecutive director, WPA staff interviewed women offenders, summari,ed their characteristics, and gathered information on available community$based services.

"haracteristics of -omen offenders in %e- 6or.

The interviews revealed that women offenders in !ew "ork look very much like their counterparts across the !ation and that the following four issues are of particular

concernl !an/ -omen offenders are chronicall/ ill) Prolonged drug andKor alcohol use with little or no treatment, poor access to medical care, and low socioeconomic status place women offenders at considerable risk for a range of infectious diseases, including tuberculosis, hepatitis D and #, syphilis, gonorrhea, and other se&ually transmitted diseases. (ndeed, the rate of '() infection among !ew "orks criminal %ustice population, which is one of the highest in the !ation, is higher for women than for men. (n a blind serosurvey of %ail inmates conducted by the !ew "ork #ity ;epartment of 'ealth, the rate of '() infection among women was := percent, compared to only 6: percent among men.62 Although the reason for variation in rates continues to be investigated, part of the answer may lie in the fact that women offenders are more likely than men to be e&posed to a combination of '()$related risk factors, including their own intravenous (() drug use, partners who use () drugs, and the e&change of se& for drugs and income. l Women offenders -ho are H&78 or ha0e A&2S ha0e considera*le need for health care and social support) 3any women in !ew "orks criminal %ustice system learn that they are '()* through voluntary testing in %ail or prison. As a result, their release from incarceration may mark the first time they have had to face the physical and emotional challenges of living on their own with a chronic and terminal illness. 0ften they have no established network for health care and social support in the community. 3oreover, they may return to the community with inade5uate information about sources of treatment and about transmission prevention that will prolong their lives and protect the lives of others with whom they come in contact.6> l !an/ -omen offenders are homeless+ -hich impairs their a*ilit/ to li0e crime free) Dased on self$reports, it is estimated that as many as one$third of all women returning to !ew "ork #ity from prisons or %ails are homeless. (n reality, the rate of homelessness is probably much higher, since many women are thought to conceal their homelessness for fear that it will affect their chances of early release

or parole. .afe housing is at a premium. ;rug use and other criminal activities abound in shelters+ and many women who return to their former homes face the substance abuse, se&ual abuse, and domestic violence that preceded their incarcerations. (n some cases, regulations regarding kinship and foster care, which preclude a womans living with her children upon release, also keep her from living with the trusted relatives who are her childrens caretakers. l Reuniting -ith children is of crucial importance for most -omen offenders+ *ut it is usuall/ a comple1 issue) 4ighty percent of the women in !ew "orks prisons and %ails are mothers, and many are highly motivated to reunite with their children. Dut in many cases, incarceration Program Focus 9

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has followed a period of turmoil for mothers and their children in which family attachments have been severely strained. Although women leave correctional institutions hoping to live with their children, years of separation make women uncertain about how they will be received or whether they will be able to reconnect. Their children often feel an&ious, angry, and resentful. #aretakers may resist reunification and feel wary of the mothers ability to provide ade5uate support and guidance. 3oreover, in situations involving kinship and foster care, child welfare and housing regulations may make it difficult for women to regain custody of their children. Although permanence and family reunification are important goals, they are not always easily reconciled, especially in situations where there has been abuse and neglect. ;elays in reunification can affect housing decisions as well. (n !ew "ork #ity, mothers must provide ade5uate housing in order to regain custody of their children+ yet, to 5ualify for subsidi,ed housing that can accommodate a family, applicants must be able to show proof that they have custody of their children.

A0aila*ilit/ of ser0ices
When assessing services, staff discovered that women offenders and their families

were effectively precluded from being well served by agencies mandated to deal with the issues that women offenders present (e.g., homelessness, '(), and A(;. . .ometimes women offenders were e&plicitly e&cluded because of their criminal histories+ but, more fre5uently, some aspect of 5ualifying for service was unrealistic given the womens circumstances (e.g., re5uiring custody of children to 5ualify for housing . WPA carefully studied funding opportunities that would support the creation of programs to address the diverse concerns of women offenders and provide opportunities for women tol Hearn and adopt independent living skills. l 0btain more permanent living arrangements. l Aeceive appropriate preventive and medical care. l Gain financial independence or support. l Achieve and maintain sobriety. l ;evelop relationships that support the changes they want to make. l Aeunite with their children and families. 0ver the past several years, by assembling an annual budget of almost 12 million from private donors and a variety of /ederal, .tate, and city health, welfare, and criminal %ustice agencies (see EWPA /undingF and by initiating formal agreements with more than 22 community$based organi,ations that serve women andKor criminal %ustice populations, WPA created its four programs for women offenders. (n addition, WPA continues to advocate with .tate and city social service systems to ensure that those systems programs and policies include provisions for women offenders.

#sing :no-ledge and &nno0ation to O*tain Funding

To address the multiple needs of women offenders, WPA has combined funding from a variety of sources, including many noncriminal$%ustice initiatives (e.g., to aid persons who are homeless and who have '() or A(;. . 4ach funding stream addresses a specific need or set of needs (e.g., housing, employment services, health care, and family support , and in combination, the different funding streams

help to establish a continuum of care for WPAs clients. Dy continuously gathering information on women offenders and e&isting service delivery mechanisms, WPA is able to craft funding proposals that demonstrate a clear understanding of women offenders and that outline gender$specific approaches for meeting clients service needs. (n turn, funders value WPAs insights and innovative approaches. EWPA has a good handle on this population Lwomen offendersM. Theyve studied what their needs are and they know how to meet them. "ou can see that in the work they do,F observed .amantha Hope,, a representative from 3edical and 'ealth Aesearch, (nc., which provides funding for the WPA Transitional .ervices @nit. .ally Perryman, a former contract monitor at the .tate of !ew "orks A(;. (nstitute, concurs. EWPA collects information that makes their programs strong and allows them to be visionary,F says Perryman. E(t is the only organi,ation ( know of that provides a peer education and empowerment program. 3any organi,ations provide A(;. education, but WPA provides inmates with operational assignments in the program, so it really is an