THE EXPERIENCES OF WOMEN IN PRISON - IMPLICATIONS FOR SERVICES AND PREVENTION

Women in prison represent a neglected population. The facilities and t he services offered to female inmates are based primarily on models de rived from male inmates. The need for this approach to change is incre asingly recognized because the number of women in the correctional sys tem is increasing at an alarming rate, the criminal profile of female inmates is distinct, and independently because the racial and ethnic c omposition of the female prisoners is shifting. In the present study, the needs of women prisoners were studied from a variety of theoretica l perspectives: relational, diversity, and developmental. Focus groups and questionnaires were conducted with 54 women incarcerated in a min imum security correctional facility for men and women in a Northeaster n state. The women's developmental histories reflected high-risk condi tions and early trauma. From the ease with which these women responded to questions about their main relationships (i.e., closeness and mutu ality) with visitors and other inmates, it is clear that they are stru ggling maintaining a relational context in their lives despite being i ncarcerated. Most women had children, and retained custody of their ch ildren, which has strong implications for their children's development . The findings suggested a number of important policy and service impl ications which differed for ethnic/racial groups.