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American Correctional Association Corrections Today March/April 2022 Vol. 84, No. 2

Features 18

Getting the most out of parent-teacher conferences with incarcerated parents By Susan Radcliffe, Mindy Black-Kelly and Daniel Pollack

30 Reducing recidivism and helping families through child support modifications

By G. Sofia Martinez, Emily Hopkins, Jillian Stein and Marykate Zukiewicz

22

Identifying and treating alcohol use disorders Part Two By Randy Shively, Ph.D, and John Hagan, MD

Cover art: Background: istock/DCorn; Conference photo: Lovestruck Images

2 — March/April 2022 Corrections Today

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OFFICERS President Tony C. Parker, Tennessee Immediate Past President Gary C. Mohr, Ohio Vice President Tony M. Wilkes, Tennessee President-Elect Denise M. Robinson, Ohio Treasurer Harbans S. Deol, Ph.D., Nebraska Board of Governors Representatives Elizabeth F. “Beth” Arthur Derrick D. Schofield, Ph.D. Secretary James A. Gondles Jr., CAE, Virginia EDITORIAL STAFF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF James A. Gondles Jr., CAE Managing Editor Kirk Raymond GRAPHICS AND PRODUCTION STAFF Graphic Designer Carla DeCarlo ADVERTISING AND MARKETING STAFF Director, Conventions, Advertising and Corporate Relations Kelli McAfee Production Coordinator Mary Misisco ACA Executive Office and Directors Executive Director James A. Gondles Jr., CAE Deputy Executive Director Jeffrey Washington senior executive Assistant India Vargas

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Statements contained in Corrections Today are the personal views of the authors and do not constitute ACA policy unless so indicated. ACA does not assume responsibility for the content of Corrections Today as submitted by contributors, reserves the right to edit all articles and, if necessary, condense them. The publication of any advertisement by ACA is neither an endorsement of the advertiser nor of the products or services advertised. ACA is not responsible for any claims made in advertisements. Mission statement: The American Correctional Association provides a professional organization for all individuals and groups, both public and private, that share a common goal of improving the justice system. Corrections Today ( ISSN 0190-2563, USPS 019-640) is published six times a year in January/February, March/April, May/June, July/August, September/October, November/ December by the American Correctional Association, 206 N. Washington St., Suite 200, Alexandria, VA 22314; 703-224-0000. Periodicals postage paid at Alexandria, VA 22314 and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Corrections Today, Attn: Membership Department, 206 N. Washington St., Suite 200, Alexandria, VA 22314. Subscriptions are included in annual membership dues. Nonmember subscription rates are $25 per year for Corrections Today ($36 value) or $6 per issue. Send change of address notice and a recent mailing label to Membership and Customer Service Department, ACA, 60 days before the actual change of address. ACA will not replace undelivered copies resulting from an address change. Printed in USA. Vol. 84, No. 2. Copyright 2022 by the American Correctional Association.

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Corrections Today March/April 2022— 3

6 News&Views

From Jim’s Desk

6

Professional Development News

7

Guest Editorial — Tony C. Parker

8

10 Correctional Chaplain Perspectives 12 NIJ Update 37 ACA Featured Departments

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38 Welcome New Members 40 Certification List 42 2022 Winter Conference 62 2022 NCOEW Letter 66 2023 Award Forms 74 Committee News 76 Corrections Calendar 78 Index to Advertisers/ Product Index

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4 — March/April 2022 Corrections Today

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5

From Jim’s Desk nEWS&vIEWS

Are you in a funk?

we exhibit today versus two or three years ago. Many experts in the men- tal health field have weighed into this issue, many of whom believe we are, indeed, in a depressed state of mind. And why wouldn’t we be? Kids not learning as well as the classroom? The four walls of the liv- ing room or dining room or kitchen or bedroom disguised as our office, all the while those four walls clos- ing in? The lack of enjoying friends and family at a terrific and favorite Italian or Mexican or American restaurant? Continuing to put off that dream of a lifetime trip to some far away exotic land? Throw into the mix sickness and death of friends, family, co-workers and neighbors. It’s hard to imagine how life can return to what many people now refer to as the “new normal”. Nor- mal or new normal: kids, parents, grandparents, friends, neighbors, co-workers and the general public yearn for a return of that normalcy, whatever that is.

I’ve always tried to approach life as seeing the glass half-full, not half- empty. Haven’t succeeded always. Hard sometimes to see the full side without getting over the empty side. As I have aged, I have tried to look to tomorrow if the Good Lord gives me a tomorrow, in addition to the half full glass. And while I’m not saying these rosy outlooks on life are a panacea for the funk, they help me to get through the misery of COVID-19 in our daily lives. I believe pretty strongly that our days ahead will be brighter and better. While I cannot tell anyone to do as I do, I can ask everyone to give it a try. Tomorrow try to have a half glass of good cheer, whatever you consider that cheer to be!

istock/wakila

M uch has been made about the many alleged changes we have made individu- ally and collectively as Americans since the beginning of the CO- VID-19 pandemic. No doubt there have been changes; as this is being written a significant section of the Federal Government continues to work from home, as does many large corporations and companies. In dif- ferent places throughout the nation, kids are continuing to “learn” re- motely. More people purchase carry out from their favorite restaurants than go inside, sit down and order. Fewer persons travel in airplanes than two years ago. Yes, there are major changes to our everyday lives. Another much discussed, debated, analyzed and focused upon segment of our lives is the mental attitude

James A. Gondles Jr., CAE ACA Executive Director

6 — March/April 2022 Corrections Today

nEWS&vIEWS

Professional Development News

New resource for corrections executives Updated study guide for Certified Corrections Executive Certification published T he American Correctional Association has just pub- lished an entirely updated Prerequisites

Prerequisites for Certified Corrections Executive (CCE) and Certified Corrections Executive/ Juvenile (CCE/JUV) are: – – Bachelor’s Degree plus one

study guide for the Certified Cor - rections Executive certification exam. This updated study guide contains everything a corrections executive will need to know to become a Certified Corrections Executive (CCE). “The field of corrections is changing at a rapid rate and with new challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic stretch- ing corrections executive to their limit, this new study guide will give new and veteran correction executives everything they need to know to be the best trained corrections professionals around,” said Denaye P. Prigmore Director of Professional Development at the American Correctional Association. Certification as a CCE leads to improved job performance, better outcomes for staff and populace and quicker advancement up the career ladder. The American Correctional Association’s Certified Corrections

(1) year work experience in present position at the executive level.

– – HS/GED, plus one (1) year work experience in present position at the executive level, plus seven (7) years of full-time corrections experience.

Executive certification ensures executives are up to date with the latest research and best practices of corrections. The Study Guide is designed to prepare for the examination for Certified Corrections Executive (CCE) status but is also extremely useful as a resource for certified ex - ecutives and for corrections officials in general.

“This updated study guide is the one place a corrections executive can turn to tackle virtually every problem that arises in the manage- ment of a correctional facility,” Prigmore added. “As corrections professionals if we continue to edu- cate ourselves, we not only benefit, but our facilities, agencies, and the corrections field as a whole benefit,” Prigmore concluded. u

To obtain your copy of the updated study guide or to inquire about certification process, please contact the American Corrections Association today at acaprodev@aca.org.

Corrections Today March/April 2022 — 7

nEWS&vIEWS

Guest Editorial

The Correctional Mission: What is it and why should I care?

By Tony C. Parker, ACA 107 th President

I am confident the average citi - zen does not consider the true mission of corrections. Those who have contemplated the topic, probably felt the issue was some- thing they had very little interest in exploring. I get it! Most people have never been involved with the correctional systems in their state. It’s a topic that best fits the big screen or some reality show that provides little truth about correc- tional work and more importantly, provides no clarity regarding the true mission of corrections. For most citizens, having an interest in prisons or jail operations and the programs used inside their walls and fences, is reserved for those who know someone involved in the correction system or those who work in this setting. I’ve always said, “It is not personal with people, until it is personal.” Many citizens have no interest in the recidivism rate. The

average family never considers the taxpayer costs or the social costs of housing a state inmate. Many believe sending someone to prison or jail, satisfies the pain and empti - ness a victim feels after the loss of a loved one resulting from a violent crime. Remember, it is not person- al, until it’s personal. As a 38-year veteran of correc- tions work, I have often considered what a more efficient correctional system we could have if every citizen and every legislator truly un- derstood the mission of corrections, and most importantly, why complet- ing this mission directly affects each of us as members of society. I would argue the correctional mission is personal to all of us as members of a community and directly affects us whether we realize it or not. The true mission of corrections is to enhance public safety. Enhancing public safety can be accomplished in many ways but for corrections,

our primary goal is to take people at what is often their lowest period in life, determine their risk to reoffend, and most importantly, provide them the opportunity to engage in life- changing programing and treatment designed to reduce their risk to reof- fend once released. It is critical to remember, 95%of those sent to a prison or jail will return to our communities. One of the most misunderstood concepts in correctional work is the belief people are sent to prison to experience harsh punishment for the crime they committed. This inaccurate narrative prevents people from understanding the true mission of corrections. Individuals are sentenced to prison as punish- ment for a crime; not to be punished! When we consider that 95%of the individuals who walk through the front door of a correctional facility will one day walk out the exit door and return to our communities, we

8 — March/April 2022 Corrections Today

Guest Editorial

should appreciate the importance of a strong focus on successfully reentry to society beginning on day one of the sentence. As a former Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Cor- rection (TDOC), I had the privilege to witness the passage of the Public Safety Act of 2016 under the Haslam Administration, as well as the Reentry and Success Act under the leadership of Governor Bill Lee. These laws pro- vided the tools necessary to deliver evidenced-based programs prescribed by a validated risk and needs assess- ment targeting the individual factors that promote illegal behavior.

By providing very specific pro - grams and services, we have been able to take a scientific approach to reducing the number of individuals returning to prison by placing an emphasis on programing and reentry. When recidivism is reduced, we re- duce crime, which means we reduce the number of victims. We reduce the number of broken families and chil- dren without a parent in their lives. We reduce the costs associated with incarceration. We enhance public safety and yes, we complete the mis- sion of corrections! If I took a poll of every citizen in our communities today, I am

confident the majority would take a personal interest in what makes our communities safer and healthier. Without question, most would desire to see reduced crime, fewer victims, reduced drug addiction and new approaches to serving those with mental illness. Never forget the im- portance of the correctional mission because public safety is personal to everyone!

Tony C. Parker ACA 107 th President

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Corrections Today March/April 2022 — 9

nEWS&vIEWS

Correctional Chaplain Perspectives

Connecting the incarcerated with mentors Crossroads Ministry’s mission reaches thousands By Joe Pryor

Crossroads Prison Ministries has a pure and simple mission: to con- nect incarcerated men and women with mentors from the Church through the study of God’s Word. By serving people behind bars, Cross- roads answers the biblical call to “remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering” (He- brews 13:3). Crossroads was founded in West Michigan in 1984 by Tom de Vries, a car salesman and real estate agent

with a passion for prison ministry. He began by regularly visiting men in Kent County Jail, offering encour- agement and spiritual guidance as they studied the Bible together. But Tom soon grew discouraged as he learned incarcerated people get trans- ferred frequently. He would return to the jail to meet with the men he was mentoring only to discover they were gone. In response, Tom came up with an innovative solution. He began creating Bible studies he could send to his students through the mail. He built a team of volunteers to review

the completed Bible study lessons and return them with encouraging letters. Because it was done through the mail, the program could follow people no matter where they were transferred. Over the years, Crossroads has grown into an international ministry, bringing the hope of the Gospel to incarcerated people in more than 20countries. By creating life-changing Bible study materi- als relevant to those in prison and training the church to correspond compassionately with incarcerated people around the world, Crossroads continues to lead the way in long- term discipleship. Today, more than 2,500 volunteer mentors are journeying alongside tens of thousands of incarcerated students as they pursue a deeper understanding of the Christian faith through biblically based mail corre- spondence courses. In a typical year, Crossroads enrolls more than 20,000 new students. Crossroads believes every person has been created in the image of a loving God with tremendous potential to bless the world. This includes men and women who are incarcerated. In fact, God has a special place in His heart for people in prison (Matthew 25:31–40). When the Church partners

istock/Sakorn Sukkasemsakorn

10 — March/April 2022 Corrections Today

Correctional Chaplain Perspectives

with what God is doing behind bars, there is real hope for change in prisons and churches. Unlikely friend- ships develop through the Crossroads mentorship program, and God transforms the hearts of students and mentors alike as they encourage each other, study God’s Word together and apply biblical truths to their lives. Over the years, Crossroads has grown into an international ministry, bringing the hope of the Gospel to incarcerated people in more than 20countries. Crossroads adding new material In response to the ever-evolving needs of people in prison, Crossroads has recently added new Bible study courses to its curriculum. In 2018, Crossroads launched an introductory course called Who Are You? Writ- ten at a third-grade reading level, the course encourages self-reflection and reminds students they are more than their prison ID numbers; they are children of God. The course has improved student participation and retention. Crossroads created

officials to find acceptable solutions, and the ministry remains open to adapting its materials for digital use in the future. For thirty-eight years, Crossroads has been committed to sending the good news of the Gospel into prisons and bringing hope by connecting incarcerated men and women with caring people from churches outside the prison walls. As the ministry has expanded around the world, Crossroads continues to witness the transformational power of the Bible in the lives of countless individuals. While working to find new ways to connect with incarcerated people through digital technology, Cross- roads continues to pursue its mission to spread God’s redemptive Word. Crossroads values its partnerships with chaplains across the country and is pleased to provide resources to assist chaplains in their ministry. To find out how your facility can imple - ment the Crossroads mentorship program, please call (800) 668-2450, extension 2258, or email chaplain@ cpministries.org.

two additional courses through a partnership with the organization Bi- bleProject: Who Is Jesus? , released in spring 2021, and What Is the Bible? , released in summer 2021. A Bible is an essential tool for participation in the mentorship program, and Crossroads wants to ensure that all its students have ac- cess to the powerful Word of God. Every student who requests a Bible from Crossroads receives one, as long as their facility allows it. For some men and women in prison, this is the first Bible they have ever owned. These Bibles are treasured by students and provide enduring access to God’s truth. Requests for Bibles have increased significantly in recent years. Last fiscal year, Crossroads shipped 11,948 Bibles to students across the country. Uniquely positioned during pandemic The advent of the COVID-19 virus, though not without its chal- lenges, has not slowed the growth of the ministry. Although volunteers were prohibited from entering most facilities during pandemic-related lockdowns, Crossroads was uniquely positioned to continue its ministry, and the faithful volunteer mentors continued to correspond with their students through the mail. More chal- lenging to the Crossroads program is the system of scanning incoming mail many corrections departments have now adopted. Crossroads’ Bible stud- ies, which are formatted as booklets, are not easily scanned. Making every effort to ensure incarcerated men and women retain access to these life- changing studies, the Crossroads staff is working closely with corrections

Joe Pryor is the President and CEO of Crossroads Prison Ministries. With thirty years of experience in corrections, Joe has dedicated much of his professional career to

prison ministry, including time spent as chief chaplain for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, senior director of reentry services, warden and assistant warden. Before taking his first chaplain position, Joe earned his master of divinity degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He earned his bachelor of arts degree from Marshall University. Along with his chaplaincy career, Joe has served as the senior pastor of three churches.

Corrections Today March/April 2022 — 11

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NIJ Update

Results from the National Institute of Justice recidivism forecasting challenge Improving recidivism forecasts through data sharing and open competition By Caleb Hudgins, Veronica White, D. Michael Applegarth and Joel Hunt

The opinions, findings, conclusions and recommendations expressed in this publi- cation are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Introduction Recidivism is a major concern for our criminal justice system. Although our ability to predict recidivism through risk and needs assessments has improved, many tools used for prediction and forecasting are insensitive to gender-specific needs and suffer from racial bias. 1 In addressing these issues, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) recently hosted the Recidivism Forecasting Challenge. The primary aim of this research competition was to understand the factors that drive recidivism, which was measured by an arrest for a new offense. Challenge entrants were asked to develop and train software models to forecast recidivism for individuals released on parole from the state of Georgia. Entrants were given a dataset that allowed them to train their forecasting models by

exploring gender, racial and age dif- ferences for individuals on parole, in addition to a host of other infor- mation. Submissions showed how

data sharing and open competition can improve recidivism forecast- ing accuracy compared to simple forecasting models.

Image courtesy nij.ojp.gov

Read more details about NIJ’s Recidivism Forecasting Challenge on their webpage at https://nij.ojp.gov/funding/recidivism-forecasting-challenge.

12 — March/April 2022 Corrections Today

NIJ Update

Data sharing and open competition NIJ science staff, along with colleagues from the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Bureau of Justice Statistics, worked closely with the Georgia Department of Community Supervision for this Challenge. The Georgia Depart- ment of Community Supervision initially was identified as a partner on the strength of prior state-funded investments that improved the breadth of their data collection and sharing capabilities. Capitalizing on these improvements, the Chal- lenge provided the public with open data access, making it possible for a diverse pool of entrants to compete in the Challenge. The Challenge attracted over 70 teams with a wide variety of expertise and access to resources. Traditionally, data about in- dividuals in custody and under supervision are held in silos where access is limited to internal institu- tional and community corrections administration, or formal research partnerships and agreements. This can be problematic because institutional and community correc- tions institutions may not have the resources to look at this data, and formal research partnerships limit the potential diversity of expertise and individuals evaluating the data. To help expand access to data and expertise, the Challenge both assist- ed in making data widely available and gave the Georgia Department of Community Supervision the op- portunity to benefit from a greater number and variety of research insights.

Challenge design and judging criteria Three rounds of competition were administered, with entrants asked to forecast the probability of recidivism for male and female individuals with- in their first, second and third years on parole. For each round, forecasts were judged by two criteria: accuracy and fairness. Accuracy of recidivism forecasts for each submission was scored for male individuals, female individuals and the average of those two scores. Forecast accuracy was measured by comparing the forecast- ed probability of recidivism for each individual in the dataset to their actual outcome. An error measurement was calculated for each forecast to com- pare model accuracies. For this score, the lower the value — or the less error — the more accurate the model. The second judging criterion, the fairness of a recidivism forecast, took into account racial differences in false-positive rates between Black and white individuals, and fairness was scored separately for males and females. (The dataset used in the Challenge included only Black and white individuals because there were so few individuals of other races that including them would have run the risk of disclosing their identities). In evaluating the fairness and accuracy of forecasts, NIJ penalized their accuracy scores to reflect racial dif - ferences in false-positive rates. For these forecasts, a false positive oc- curs when an individual is forecasted to recidivate (with a probability greater than or equal to 50%), when in fact they do not recidivate. This measurement of fair- ness was selected because being

incorrectly identified as at high risk for recidivism can lead to excessive supervision (for example, additional supervision or service requirements), which has been linked to negative outcomes for those under supervision. 2 Assigning excessive supervision requirements may also result in more time-consuming case- loads for case managers and fewer supervision resources for those who may actually benefit from additional supervision services. The winners and their individual scores can be found on NIJ’s Recidivism Forecasting Challenge webpage along with a more detailed overview of the Challenge, the variables in the dataset, and the methods used to judge the entries. The winners and their individual scores can be found on NIJ’s Recidi- vism Forecasting Challenge webpage along with a more detailed overview of the Challenge, the variables in the dataset, and the methods used to judge the entries. 3

→

Corrections Today March/April 2022 — 13

nEWS&vIEWS

Models and methods used for contextualizing and comparison To put the winning forecasts into context, we compared their accuracy to a set of simple prediction models. The simplest model for determining who is likely to recidivate within the next year is to assign everyone a 50% (random chance) probability. This likelihood is equivalent to flipping a coin for every person: heads they recidivate in the next year; tails they do not. In addition to comparing forecasts to the random chance model, NIJ used the dataset to create several simple demographic models to forecast recidivism. Those models considered probability of recidivism based on someone’s race, age,

The fairness and accuracy prize incorporated a penalty based

on the racial difference in false positive rates.

gender, or a combination of the three. These simple, “naive” models provided a standard beyond random chance for comparing how well the winning forecasts performed. For more details on contextualizing the findings, descriptions of error scores, and how they are calculated, and the probabilities for each of the naïve models, see the full report. 4 Results Accuracy winning models Overall, winning models were more accurate than random chance and the best naïve models. The accuracy of models improved as the years progressed, as shown in Exhibit 1 . This trend is consistent across naïve models and winning models for both females and males. Fairness and accuracy prize winners The fairness and accuracy prize incorporated a penalty based on the racial difference in false positive

istock/zoranm

Exhibit 1: Naïve vs. Winning Models. Top winning scores are presented to display the range of scores across years and specifically how top winner’s scores compare to simple demographic and chance models. Both naïve and winning models performed substantially better (error is lower) than the random chance model (dotted line).

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NIJ Update

the accuracies of models improved, so did model fairness. Interestingly, although most models received fairness penalties, race alone was not identified as a significant indicator of recidivism. This result, as well as the increase in penalty size for females across years, will be evaluated in future research. Further exploration is needed to better understand how this fairness was reflected in the Challenge and what implications these fairness results have for the field. The successful completion and initial review of the results from the Challenge demonstrate the value of open data and open competition approaches for facilitating research within departments of corrections or community supervision. Further examination is needed to: –– Identify and understand gender differences in risk assessments and the support provided for these individuals while under community supervision. –– Unpack penalty scores and understand the proper balance between fair and accurate forecasts. NIJ intends to address these research questions along with practical implications of the Challenge, discussing the balance between improved precision and practical improvement, and a meta- analysis of the relevant variables and modeling techniques identified by winners in future reports and articles. With the Challenge concluded, NIJ is seeking to encourage discussion on reentry, bias, fairness, measurement and algorithm advancement.

Exhibit 2: Penalty Size. Average penalty for winning submissions compared to all submissions for females and males across years. Averages are calculated only to include submissions that receive a penalty.

Conclusion and potential next steps The winning forecasts performed substantially better than random chance and naïve demographic models. The differences in accuracy between the winning and naïve models are likely attributed to the utilization of more advanced statistical techniques (for example, regression, random forest, neural networks) and incorporation of additional data from the Georgia Department of Community Supervision beyond the demographics used in the naïve models. Fairness and accuracy scores were also compared based on the frequency and magnitude of the fairness penalty. Penalties were observed across the winning submissions, although they were considerably smaller than the average penalty size. This suggests as

rates. That means fairness and accuracy scores were reduced when submissions incorrectly forecasted Black or white individuals to recidivate at a higher rate. Exhibit 2 presents the average penalty of submissions that received a fairness penalty for their forecasts of males and females, across years. Across all entries that received a fairness penalty, the penalty increased for females as the years progressed, but the opposite was true for males. This suggests factors that contribute to racial bias in predicting recidivism do not affect males and females in the same way. The winning submissions had lower or no penalties when predicting recidivism for females across the years, but there was no clear trend for winners’ penalties when predicting recidivism among males.

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NIJ Update

Caleb Hudgins, Ph.D., is an AAAS Science & Technology Policy fellow at the National Institute of Justice.

NIJ is seeking to encourage discussion on reentry, bias, fairness, measurement and algorithm advancement.

Veronica White, M.S., is a research assistant with the National Institute of Justice.

Acknowledgments NIJ would like to acknowledge its partners at the Georgia Depart- ment of Community Supervision for providing the dataset; NIJ staff that assisted with the Challenge who are not authors of this paper; our colleagues at the Bureau of Justice Statistics and Bureau of Justice Assistance for their assistance in developing the Challenge; Dr. Tammy Meredith, who was brought on as a contracted subject matter expert; and to all those who submit- ted entries to the Challenge for their participation.

Endnotes 1 Desmarais, S., K. Johnson, & J. Singh (2016). “Performance of Recidivism Risk Assessment Instruments in U.S. Correctional Settings.” Psychological Services 13: 206-222. https://doi. org/10.1037/ser0000075. 2 Christopher T. Lowenkamp, Edward J. Latessa, and Alexander M. Holsinger (2006). “The Risk Principle in Action: What Have We Learned From 13,676 Offenders and 97 Correctional Programs?” Crime & Delinquency 52 no. 1: 77-93. https://doi. org/10.1177/0011128705281747. 3 “Recidivism Forecasting Challenge,” National Institute of Justice, https://nij.ojp.gov/funding/ recidivism-forecasting-challenge. 4 Veronica White, D. Michael Applegarth, Joel Hunt, Caleb Hudgins, “The NIJ Recidivism Forecasting Challenge: Contextualizing the Results.” NIJ Journal , February 2022. National Institute of Justice.

D. Michael Applegarth, M.S.W., is a research assistant with the National Institute of Justice.

Joel Hunt, Ph.D., is a senior computer scientist at the National Institute of Justice.

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17

n Child Welfare

Getting the most out of parent-teacher conferences with incarcerated parents

By Susan Radcliffe, Mindy Black-Kelly and Daniel Pollack

18 — March/April 2022 Corrections Today

A s of July 2021, there were 2.1 million people in U.S. prisons. According to a 2016 U.S. Department of Justice survey of inmates, 47% of state prisoners and 57% of federal prisoners reported having at least one minor child, with the average number being two children. The average age of those minor children in state prisons was 9 years old; in federal prisons it was 10 years old. With 2.7 million children in the United States impacted by incarceration, this yields an extraordinary number of school aged children who are lacking a parental figure as they navigate through the school system. Parental incarceration is one of the “top 10” Adverse Childhood Experiences which, according to Kristin Turney (2019), “can produce isolation and shame that impedes social support systems, interactions with peers and teachers, and children’s educational opportunities and outcomes.” In looking at supporting children who have an incarcerated parent, is an obvious untapped resource being overlooked when it comes to school support? It is well established that “[v]isitation with a noncusto- dial parent, even one who is incarcerated, is presumed to be in the best interests of the child” (Matter of Tamara T. v Brandon U., 180 AD3d 1286, 1286, 118 N.Y.S.3d 321 [2020]). Not surprisingly, parents have long been noted as a key figure in a child’s academic success. Active paren - tal involvement can help improve a student’s attitude, morale, academic achievement and social adjustment. Additionally, parental involvement helps children grow to be responsible members of the community. Kristin Turney (2021) notes there is a positive relationship between poor mental health and having an incarcerated family member. Davis and Shlafer (2017) found “adolescents with incarcerated parents are at elevated risk for mental health problems …” Research conducted by Rosa M. Cho (2011) revealed “adolescents are indeed at greater risk of school dropout during the year(s) their mothers are incar- cerated.” A study of children of incarcerated mothers aged 13-20 years found “... adolescents were more than four times as likely to be out of school than a sample of their best friends; four times more likely to be suspended; three times more likely to be significantly absent from school and nearly four times as likely to be failing classes. More than half of these children required school visits for disci- plinary reasons during the previous 12 months, and more than a quarter of them had been arrested.”

Children of incarcerated parents struggle. They don’t have the extra support at home because the caregiving parent is often trying to compensate financially for the loss of the incarcerated parent. Additionally, children often struggle with the stigma of incarceration and grieve in silence. Orchestrating a conference Incarcerated parents have a lot of “time” on their hands to think about their lives and the impact their absence is having on their children. Like most parents, they also want their children to have better lives than what they have. Incarcerated parents want to be involved and are willing to participate in academic activities if given the opportu- nity and felt of value. Schools can help with this. Indeed, some states are implementing policy changes to make sure incarcerated parents are involved in their children’s educa- tion. Washington State legislators have implemented laws and policies to support children of incarcerated parents. An incarcerated parent in the State of Washington is offered two parent conferences a year with their child(ren)’s edu- cators. Correctional facilities post flyers for parents to sign up, and facility staff coordinate the visits with the educa- tional systems. Even in states where such laws do not yet exist, advocates can facilitate parent/teacher conferences from inside the facility. It just takes a bit of planning. Here are a few tips for orchestrating a conference: –– Plan with the school system. Each school district has a counselor or social worker who can help inform you of the designated parent-teacher conference day, or a specific time to talk with the incarcerated parent. Starting with a phone call to the school and explain- ing you would like to organize a phone call between the teacher and parent is the best place to start. –– Ask the teacher to send the incarcerated parents any educational work, progress reports, and/or photos. Please note, most school staff may need educa- tion on the facility mail rules for those who are incarcerated. –– Ask teachers to explain the educational school pro- grams. Most schools are using some form of online technology and the terms may be new to the parent. –– Encourage the teacher to start thinking about ways the parent could help support schoolwork from a phone call.

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n Child Welfare

–– Prepare the parent. These conferences may be new to some parents. Discussions about what will be discussed and suggestions of potential questions they can ask the teacher may help the conference go smoother. –– Afterwards, encourage the incarcerated parent to send a thank-you note to the teacher for their time. It never hurts to share some gratitude. Barbara Ross, an elementary educator in Maryland with 34 years of experience, notes: “It was one of the best parent-teacher conferences I have ever had,” referring to her first conference with an incarcerated father. “He came to the conference with prepared questions about his son’s status in my class. He asked about his son’s strengths, areas needing improvement and if I had any ideas to help his son academically. He took notes and wanted to know how he could help support me and his son through the educational process. He was fully engaged in the conference.” Incarcerated parents can help support teachers by providing reminders of expected behaviors in class, reinforcing homework and study habit expectations, and having conversations with their child(ren) about the value of education.

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discovered that as a child, he read the same books as his son was reading now. A plan was devised to send those books to the father in prison so he and his son could read together during visits/calls. Here are a few tips incarcerated parents can use during phone calls to supplement their child’s academics: –– Practice arithmetic problems. –– Read a book. Since books can be sent to most pris- ons via third party, the parent and child can have the same book. Parents can help their child with sound- ing out words. –– Take an interest in school academic programs by asking about tests, concepts and what skills their child is working on. Ask children “what was the most interesting thing you learned today?” or “what is one new fact that you learned this week?” Even better, ask children to teach something to the parent. –– Adapt learning games to the telephone, such as storytelling with vocabulary words or creating categories of words that follow the alphabet, i.e. “A is for Apple” “B is for Banana”. Race the clock to make it more fun, –– Discuss how to handle “sticky situations” with peers. Talk about being teased or left out and feelings associated with these situations. Talk about what happened, the child’s reaction, how others responded and what can be done differently in the future.

Expectations for incarcerated parents Incarcerated parents can help support teachers by providing reminders of expected behaviors in class, reinforcing homework and study habit expectations, and having conversations with their child(ren) about the value of education. The particular father mentioned above,

20 — March/April 2022 Corrections Today