SPECIAL OCCASIONS
At the Washington Corrections Center for Women, the prevalent philosophy is
one determined to create opportunities for inmates and their families to build
and maintain relationships with each other. Studies correlate a lesser degree
of recidivism amongst released inmates who have stronger family bonds than
amongst inmates who are released without family support. Other reasons to
keep inmates involved in their children’s lives is to decrease the incidence
of intergenerational incarceration and to mitigate the trauma experienced
by children from the enforced separation. For these reasons, the WCCW has
formed a Children’s Advocacy Council (CAC) which meets monthly to address
the concerns of children and families of incarcerated mothers.
The CAC is currently comprised of WCCW administrators, officers, Early Head
Start educators, college professors, and community volunteers. Since the purpose
is to serve children whose lives are impacted through the felonious behavior
of their parent/s, efforts are underway to expand membership to include others
in the justice system such as personnel from jails, police, juvenile, and
judicial.
Created out of the sense that family involvement is essential to both the
inmates and their children, the WCCW has committed to regular family days
and celebrations throughout the year. These include: the Mother’s Day
Tea, the Back-to-School Event, Fall Family Fun Event, a Thanksgiving Dinner
celebration, and the Mother-Child Gift Exchange Party held in December. Residential
Parenting Program mothers and their babies/toddlers are invited to these celebrations
when appropriate so the babies/toddlers can be exposed to a larger social
environment. In addition to promoting special occasions, the family visiting
area has recently been renovated to include a child-friendly area where children
can play with toys or work on homework while visiting their mothers.
Another cause for celebrations are the graduation ceremonies held when inmates
accomplish the hard work of obtaining their GEDs, finishing the cosmetology
program, completing the TRAC (Trades Related Apprenticeship Coaching) program,
Braille Transcription, CAD certification, Master Gardener accreditation, etc.
Each graduating inmate is encouraged to invite a family member or support
person to share in the celebration.
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