Promises of Parenting Program

Incarcerated mothers represent a rapidly growing inmate population in the United States. The number of incarcerated women has increased by more than 700% in the last forty years. Most of these women are mothers and primary caregivers for their families, causing a traumatic separation for the child when the mother becomes incarcerated.

Learn more on the incarceration of women in the United States from the American Civil Liberties Union.

A consistent and responsive caregiver is critical to an infant’s development of secure attachment and sense of safety in the world. When a caregiver-child separation occurs due to incarceration, the development of secure attachment is disrupted, causing trauma and an increased risk for both short-term and long-term adverse outcomes for both the child and caregiver.

Prison nurseries allow the mother to retain physical custody of her baby after delivering in the hospital. A mother and her baby will leave the hospital and live together in a prison nursery unit. This allows the mother to provide the critical safe, comforting and consistent care that infants need most in the earliest days of life.

The Promises of Parenting Program provides weekly evidence-based parenting education to mothers residing in the Leath Unit, enhanced by the distribution of foundational toys and learning materials to the mothers and babies.