Abstract:
Incarceration of men causes many children to lose their fathers to
imprisonment temporarily. Parenting programs often ignore or exclude
incarcerated fathers. The involvement in criminal activities and the resulting
incarceration does not exempt the fathers of their roles and responsibilities. The
human element of rehabilitation and family relationships cannot be ignored. For
many children of incarcerated parents, the best permanency plan is one in which
the parent continues to play a significant role in the child’s life. The preservation
of families, even in a prison setting, is a priority.
The aim of this article is to describe the nature of a fatherhood-skills project with
group work as the main method of intervention in a prison setting and the
influence in alleviating the impact of incarceration on family members. The
specific aim of the project was to strengthen family ties between incarcerated
fathers and their children. Group work with the aim to improve fatherhood skills
was done after a thorough situation analysis of inmates’ needs. Fathers had to
show motivation to be better fathers to be involved in the group work. The result
of the project was an extended day visit for fathers and children and an ongoing
effort in the specific prison to improve the skills of the fathers.
