The American criminal and correctional authorities have designed and implemented programs aiming rehabilitation of male prisoners alone, for many years,neglecting women prisoners and the correctional works for their problems.1However, due to the increasing number of female prisoners in United Statesprisons, the state and federal correctional authorities have faced the fact thatthey focus on women-oriented problems and their solution.2 The awareness thathas emerged over time has opened the door to the paradigm shift of Americancorrectional authorities towards women. This awareness has led to the initiationof family protection programs in some states to address the needs of womenprisoners and their families more respectfully. Moreover, it has led to the launchof several new programs: inmate mothers should be included in educationalprograms in order to respond to the physical, emotional and psychological needsof their children; those mothers should meet with their minor children and adolescents with games and various activities in special and child-friendly roomsoutside the normal visiting room; it should be given additional visitation rightsfor those mothers who participate in parenting trainings; a new mother shouldbe allowed to live with her infant in a private section for up to 18 months.3 Inthis article, parallel to this paradigm shift especially in the late 90s and early2000s, some national and local correctional works and projects focused on theneeds of female prisoners that was initially neglected but then taken into consideration due to the increasing number of women convicts and needs peculiar tothem, will be examined. The treatments, medical processes, physical and mentaltreatment methods required by the clinical psychology offered to the prisonersbased on prisoners’ needs are out of our scope. This study, rather, focuses onpractices -their effects and efficiency- carried on successfully with combined efforts of criminal correctional authorities, psychologists, municipal and church officials, social service experts and volunteers that aim to support female prisoners,especially those with children.
