User:Wisemodestrosebushes/sandbox

Jumaanah Flowers and Sofia Rosales Juarez

Girls Gone Bad: Women in Crime

Wiki Article: Step 1

04/13/16

Programs Available for Incarcerated Women

In our attempt to hone in on a research topic, we first discussed our specific interests in regards to imprisoned women. We were particularly interested in incarcerated pregnant women and - after browsing current Wikipedia articles - noticed a general lack of information pertaining to this particular group of imprisoned women. Unfortunately, we also noticed relatively minimal research in the literature we encountered that pertains to incarcerated pregnant women. In an effort to broaden things out, we decided to focus our Wikipedia article on programming, in general, available to all incarcerated women. Programming can encompass both physical and physiological treatment, workforce training, education, substance abuse treatment, and the existence, or lack thereof, of prenatal and neonatal care.

While there is a Wiki article that discusses some aspects of the aforementioned topics, we noticed that it was a rather general article and that it did not provide much information about the programming being used in correctional facilities. As a result, we plan to delve much deeper into this subject matter by researching programming at correctional facilities on a state-by-state basis. Considering that programming could play a notably vital role in how well women readjust to society after being released from prison, it is essential to have extensive information regarding the topic. Furthermore, the kinds of programming available in prison could potentially be indicative of socioeconomic status, which is reflected in the location of the facility, as well as the available resources found within the facility.

To find sources, we first searched on Google Scholar, to point us towards journals and government-based websites known for reporting empirical and statistical data regarding correctional facility programming in women’s prisons across the nation. Some of the specific keywords included incarceration, race, postpartum women’s health, labor and birth support, correctional health, and social services.

We found several articles related to our topic in journals such as the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology (IJO), Journal of Offender Rehabilitation (JOR), and Crime and Delinquency. We are also using articles and reports published by Women in Prison Project (WIPP) and Women’s Prison Association (WPA). WIPP and WPA are organizations who work with women involved with the criminal justice system[1]  and who strive to increase the available resources, and improve the overall conditions for imprisoned women.

Many of these articles essentially discussed the health and social impacts of the type and/or lack of programs available to imprisoned women. We also found some government-based websites such as the National Institute of Corrections (NIC), and the Federal Bureau of Prisons, to be useful because they provided statistical data regarding different programs made available to incarcerated women.

The journals we have mentioned represent a wide range of disciplines, including criminological and scientific journals. Drawing on these different disciplines for evidence, we hope to illustrate a collective effort to disseminate many perspectives surrounding women imprisonment. Nonetheless, the number of sociologists discussing this topic remains low. In the grand scheme of things, this information attempts to address, and clarify, the highly problematic gender-neutral characteristics of the prison system as it stands today, and how such aspects tend to adversely impact the health of imprisoned women. http://www.correctionalassociation.org/pp/about-women-in-prison-project

http://www.wpaonline.org/about/what-we-do