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Orange County Corrections Addresses Needs of Women Offenders

NCJ Number
141491
Journal
Large Jail Network Bulletin Volume: 2 Issue: 5 Dated: (September 1991) Pages: 2-4
Author(s)
G Thornton
Date Published
1991
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article describes the specialized programs developed for female inmates in the Orange County (Florida) women's facility.
Abstract
Women offenders in Orange County are typically young, unmarried, responsible for dependent children, unemployed at the time of their arrest, undereducated and lacking in job skills, and low in self-esteem. Objectives for the design of habilitative programs for female offenders are to delve deeper into the psychological factors of female offenders and women in general so as to address the problems that women regularly encounter, to provide the basic literacy and academic skills necessary for female offenders to live independently, and to develop the same number of education and vocational programs for women as are offered to men. Based on these objectives, the two most important areas being addressed for female inmates are literacy/vocational education and life skills training. One of the distinctive programs offered to female inmates is HELP (Health Education for Life Planning) Program. This is a re-entry program for pregnant women with a history of substance abuse. The program includes both instruction in the institution and support after release. In conjunction with HELP, shepherding homes have been established to care for newborn infants whose mothers are incarcerated. The personality of the birth mother is matched to the shepherding mother so that a cooperative relationship between the two can be formed. The program also provides HELP House, which offers an appropriate environment for reuniting a mother and child upon the mother's release from jail.