Draft

Seminar Plan: Women's Needs After Release from Prison to a Rural Community

Introduction

In this seminar, we will discuss the unique needs faced by women upon release from prison to a rural community. This seminar plan is based on the article "Women's Needs After Release From Prison to a Rural Community" by Lund, R., Hyde, R., Kempson, D., & Clarke, P. (2002). The article provides valuable insights into the challenges and facilitators of reintegration into a rural community for women offenders.

Objectives- Short

1. To provide an overview of the article and its key findings.

2. To examine the specific challenges faced by women upon release to a rural community.

3. To explore strategies that can be implemented to support women's reintegration into rural communities.

4. To discuss the importance of gender-responsive programming and policy in women's correctional settings.

5. Aligned all response papers provided to the seminar outline.

Seminar Outline

1. Introduction

- Brief overview of the article and its relevance

- Definition of key concepts related to women's needs after release from prison

2. 2. Challenges Faced by Women upon Release

- Barriers to employment, housing, and social support in a rural community

- Impact of past criminal records and stigmatization

- Limited access to resources and services

3. Strategies for Reintegration

- Employment support and vocational training

- Housing assistance and transitional housing programs

- Mental health and substance abuse services

- Mentoring and support groups

4. Gender-responsive Programming and Policy

- Importance of gender-specific programming and policies

- Examples of successful interventions in women's correctional settings

- The role of partnerships and collaborative initiatives

Serfes 1

Serfes 4

Andrew Serfes

Lisa Leduc

Women in Crime

February 15 2024

Lund et al Response

The article is very brief and straight to the point. It is also the first article seen in this class to include the full actual survey used for research. That is a unique and captivating display. The main observations brought forth in this essay are that rural women need legal/medical/financial counseling, tools to remain sober, insurances, and pathways to obtain education or employment. The most interesting point made in this text is that urban women have more post-release housing needs than rural women (a surprise and a fact that should be unpacked). The most bizarre thing found in the text is that felons are denied state and federal funded insurance…what? How is that going to keep women healthy and out of prison? Another interesting thing mentioned in this article is that most women inmates identified as being very healthy-and yet most also identified having (mental) illnesses. That should have been looked into further by the authors of this article as it is an outstandingly curious juxtaposition; especially considering the fact that these women are denied publicly funded insurance. Another point made this article that deserves more attention is that felons are denied food stamps and other related benefits…but also the surveyed women mostly have children that are minors. How are these women supposed to take care of themselves and their children post-release if they are denied medical insurance and SNAP? It sounds like our system is designed for people’s failure and imprisonment, and that there is no way out.

Ok here are some questions: Why do we think these surveyed women claim to be ill and healthy at the same time? Why are felons denied such vital resources like insurance and EBT and what message is the government giving to people with policies like this? If our rhetoric is for people to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps”, what about those with no boots? Imprisonment?

Works Cited Lund, Ryan, et al. “Women’s needs after release from prison to a rural community.” Journal of Correctional Health Care, vol. 9, no. 3, 1 Oct. 2002, pp. 271–288, https://doi.org/10.1177/107834580200900305.

Reagan Calvin

CRJ 378

Lund et al response

This article focused on women being released from prison and not having the tools that are necessary for a good life once released available to them. It first talks about what the life of these women looks like before they are incarcerated. Most inmates had health issues such as STDs, Tuberculosis, and other chronic diseases. Once released there are some states that don’t allow them to qualify for medicaid because of a convicted felony relating to drugs. This puts them at risk for health complications because of lack of treatment and risks not getting treated and instead being spread among other people they come in contact with. Health care isn’t seen as a universal right so even though it’s not fair these women aren’t allowed health assistance it isn’t seen as unconstitutional. A lot of the women also struggled financially which doesn’t help when they go to prison and get released and can’t qualify for cash assistance or food stamps. Singer et al decided to do a study where he asked women what he thought they would need once released from prison. The common themes were housing, drug counseling, mental health counseling, financial aid, alcohol counseling, education, medical care, family support, and help getting children back. Providing these needs helps set them up for a better future and hopefully lower recidivism rates. If they don’t struggle and aren’t constantly in survival mode then they are going to be able to make better decisions.

To be in the study they picked women who were going to be released during the year time frame the study was happening. The women weren’t given any incentives and were informed of everything that was going to happen during the study. The goal of not providing an incentive was probably to get the raw reaction from these women, they weren’t being bribed to do it and instead would talk because they wanted to be heard. They were asked what their major concerns were when released from prison and had them do a checklist of what programs would benefit them the most when released. The common theme with these women is that most of them felt like they were going to need support whether that be financially or mentally. These women have been in jail where they have nothing and may not have had the best life before going in and now are just being released and expected to be high functioning citizens in society or the other option of not being able to do that and go back to jail.

Questions:

-Society doesn’t see prisoners as a good population and isn’t super willing to help but if we had better access to needed resources upon release that would help lower recidivism rates so why are we not investing more?

-This country is supposed to be equal for all so why do convicted felons not get access to government funded programs that are meant for EVERYONE?

-It only mentioned drug charges as being something that would deny access to government assisted programming is that the only felony that doesn’t allow help?

Haley Johnston Lisa Leduc

CRJ 378, Women and Crime 15 February 2024

Lund et al Response

Lund et al discussed Women's needs after release from prison to a rural Community. “Needs” is a very broad term to describe the necessary resources that help with reintegration.

A lot of inmates have transmittable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, other STDs, and TB. It is typically well documented when an inmate comes into a facility with such diseases. When they

are released, they resume high risk behaviors and potentially continue to spread infectious diseases. If inmates are screened for medical issues like these, the ones affected should be marked as people who should receive treatment before being released. If these inmates are left untreated, the population of people with STIs will continue to explode.

A lot of women may not even know the resources that are available to them, even if they are necessary and could be very beneficial. There should be someone who comes in to talk to

women about their needs and options in the months prior to their release. If women are released with no plan on how to better themselves, why do we expect them to get themselves out of the situation that got them incarcerated in the first place? For example, if a woman goes to jail for

stealing because she has no job and can not pay for something, releasing her with no knowledge of how to correct that action will lead to recidivism.

On the topic of employment, it was shocking to learn that under half (39%) of the women had a plan for employment after release. Why is this number so low? Is it because employers

sometimes will not hire felons? Could it be because some of these women have drug habits that a low wage job cannot support?

Besides all of the positive impact additional resources would have on the wellbeing of inmates and the rate of recidivism, putting more resources in rural areas is also a smart move financially. It would be more cost effective to create transitional programs that integrate women than to continue paying for them to be in jail.

One very concerning thing is the lives of children with mothers who offend. A lot of these children live in homes away from either parent, and many end up troubled. “Troubled” meaning low self-esteem, anxiety, low achievement, drug abuse, depression, poor social

adjustment, etc. What leads these kids to become this way? Maybe seeing their parents model problematic behaviors is the cause. There should be more resources for these children as well. In a perfect world, we could assign counselors to every child who has a parent in jail or prison, but that would be very costly. Either way, there should be some sort of reintegration method for mothers and their children. A way for them to become more connected before the mother’s release and so they can discuss what it will be like once she returns. Every woman should receive the checklist of possible needed resources prior to their release, and their children should get a

similar list too. It would be a little different, probably excluding things about employment and substituting those questions for questions about schooling needs or something of the like.

Lund et al. Response

The article, Women’s Needs After Release from Prison to a Rural Community, by Lund et al. (2002) addresses the issue of women’s multidisciplinary needs post-release from prison.

Unfortunately, resources are limited due to a lack of social services and the denial of Medicare for women discharged after drug-related felony charges. Therefore, Lund et al. (2002) attempt to shed light on the specific needs and services of women newly released from prison to aid in the transition from prison to community life. Such research can aid in improving existing resources, creating new services, and informing service providers on how to reach these clients.

The introduction included commentary on the prevalence of infectious diseases,

including sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis, and tuberculosis, in prisons. Additional common health concerns include pregnancy, chronic disease, and respiratory conditions. Upon

release, women may not have access to health care, like Medicaid, and do not have the resources to pay out of pocket for medical care. This begs the macro-policy question: why are federally funded medical insurance companies allowed to discriminate against otherwise eligible

customers? Therefore, these women may avoid going to the doctor, thus perpetuation these health concerns. Affordable housing is another concern for newly released women. Due to the

lack of social support from friends and family and the inhibition of people with criminal records to find jobs, many women cannot find housing upon release from prison. Finally, a majority of

incarcerated women are mothers. Often, the children of incarcerated mothers are faced with significant challenges, like poor peer support and anxiety. Due to the lack of programming

support to help women transition back into the community, the women are faced with the same – if not greater – challenges as they did before prison. This results in high recidivism rates and

worsening conditions for ex-convicts. While some states have recognized the need for increased reentry support, the demand has been ignored nationally.

The present study seeks to pinpoint the discharge needs of imprisoned women prior to their release and to recommend the improvement of specific services in a rural community.

Twenty-three participants were collected from a rural women’s prison, all of whom qualified for parole, probation, or release within the following 12 months. A 26-question survey with open- ended and checklist questions was administered to each participant. Five specific categories of questions were asked: demographics, concerns upon release, economics, women’s and children’s issues, and health care.

The first category discussed was the demographics which indicated that a majority of the women were imprisoned for crimes related to drugs. This indicates that drug-related treatment and resources should be a priority in this prison and the surrounding community. Additionally,

the average level of education was 11.9 years. Understanding the question – how does this

statistic compare to that of the surrounding community? – might provide evidence of educational gaps between offenders and non-offenders. Additionally, this might emphasize the importance of educational resources as both a prevention and rehabilitation service. Second, were the concerns of the women upon release. The most prevalent concerns were employment, drug use, family, and medical/counseling treatment. While services like Alcoholics Anonymous, family

counseling, therapy, and financial aid in advanced schooling were all selected as beneficial services, the most common service (at 90% response) was that of counseling. Furthermore, only 39% of the women intended to work after being released from prison. A more in-depth analysis of why the participants either felt like they could not work or opted out of working should be considered. Such research could indicate a need for vocational training and job-specific

counseling during and after incarceration. Third, of the participants who had children, most planned on taking care of their children upon being released. Fortunately, most of the women indicated that their children did have health insurance and were currently under the care of a

relative. Fourth, most of the participants described their health status as good, but a majority also reported at least one health concern. Therefore, the question that arises from these self-reported accounts is, what misconceptions do people, especially those in prison, have about what “good” health is? Further, how could these misconceptions be corrected by education? Then, how can adequate health-related education and health care be provided to women in prison and post-

release?

Through personal accounts, the study was able to access data regarding the imprisoned women’s concerns and perception of their needs to transition out of prison and into the community. Notably, vocational assistance could ease many of the concerns listed, such as acquiring medical insurance and taking care of one’s children. However, based on the accounts of the women in the study, it would seem as though their expectations for preparedness upon release are high and potentially unrealistic. Therefore, it is imperative that the prisons have programs in place to prepare the prisoners for how to acquire healthcare, childcare, and a job.

The prison could provide these programs by collaborating with community resources and making referrals upon the women’s releases. However, something that was never addressed in the article is: how does the rural location of this prison affect the prisoners’ abilities to find adequate community resources following their release?

References

Lund, R., Hyde, R., Kempson, D., & Clarke, P. N. (2002). Women’s needs after release from prison to a rural community. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 9(3), 271–288. https://doi.org/10.1177/107834580200900305