Corrections_Today_May_June_2023_Vol.85_No.3

During the first two sessions, I knew it would be important to understand and get to know our participants because they would be recording with us, so I wanted to ensure they felt comfortable. Often, I heard many posi tive stories about their children, like what grade they are in, what their favorite foods are, and what kinds of books they like to read. It was rewarding to also hear about the participants and their relationships with their children Through this program, some of the participants re kindled their relationships with their significant other and their children. The interesting thing, for me at least, was realizing how reading and literacy brought them together. Many participants stated they felt closer to their children because of this literacy program we introduced. Help ing make those connections was rewarding when I heard those statements because I felt I was impacting them and their families ... I could see their progression in learning why a program like this was important but also because it shows they were trying to improve their lives. After the first few visits, the participants became more comfortable with us, started settling in, and felt free to make suggestions to improve the program further. They were excited and eager to look through the books each time we visited. Many of them asked me about differ ent authors, books, and ways they could communicate further with their children through literacy. For some, this was a huge step because I could see their progression in learning why a program like this was important but also because it shows they were trying to improve their lives. Some participants had ideas about what they would do if they could manage or create a program like this. Many stated they were interested in doing a program where they would do a video recording, and their child could see them reading to them via a recording. Although this was not something included in our program, it was interesting to hear because it showed they were interested

in expanding the program and trying to think of other ways to improve their connection with their children. I always tried to explain that even though we were doing a voice recording, their children would still love to hear their voices and follow along to the stories. They quickly learned that the voice recordings still brought joy to their children. Participating in this program was mutually beneficial for the researchers, research participants, and the educa tional staff at the prison. Not only did we gather valuable information, but we were also able to make a positive, lasting impact on the connection between families. Many participants said they wished they had more opportunities like this throughout their incarceration. Making use of quality data Prison research is not just about the numbers. Some times we need to take a more personal approach and look at the some of the qualitative data that can be analyzed through multiple perspectives, as Dylan expressed above. It is difficult enough to conduct research inside a prison without the added hurdle of administrators who do not see the value in what knowledge the research could provide. As with most research, the point is to identify a problem, study it, and use the data to develop solutions. Without access to the prisoners, collecting rich qualitative data is stifled. One participant in our study stated, “… it’s a new experience for me to feel connected to my son, in ways that I can’t feel connected.” This father was referring to using books to make that parental connection. Another participant reflects in his journal, “My daughters received their books and it feels like our bond has grown stronger. I have to admit I didn’t really think that my daughters would keep up with the book reading because they are so stuck on their tablets and phones, but they love their books, they get into the stories, and we talk about them.” Research has shown that prisoners who have a strong connection with family are less likely to recidivate and have better post-release outcomes. 2 Helping develop those connections is paramount in not only lower recidi vism rates but using literacy as the mechanism to achieve another goal, reducing the school-to-prison pipeline. Children that are not reading at grade level, especially disadvantaged boys, by the third grade are less likely to

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