Food Security in the Context of Paternal Incarceration: Family Impact Perspectives

Overview of a Pilot Health-focused Reentry Program for Racial/Ethnic Minority Probationers ages 18 to 26 in Southern California

There is a significant gap in reentry programming that is tailored to the needs of young adults ages 18 to 26 who are in a unique developmental life stage that involves ongoing maturity in their neurobiology, cognitive development, and social and financial transitions to adulthood and independence. This article describes the structure and approach of a 6-month health-focused reentry program designed for racial/ethnic minority young adult (YA) probationers in Southern California. The UCSD RELINK program includes service navigation and an optional psychoeducation health coaching program to build health literacy, problem-solving, and executive functioning skills relevant across multiple life domains. We describe participant characteristics and service needs at intake. Between 2017 and 2019, 122 YA probationers ages 18 to 26 responded to interviewer-administered baseline surveys. Participants needed basic services including housing, nutrition assistance, employment, and educational/vocational training. Depression and anxiety symptoms, Adverse Childhood Events, trauma, and unmet physical and mental health care needs were pervasive. Given the dearth of research on reentry programming for YA, this article documents the approaches taken in this multi-pronged health-focused reentry program to ensure that the program was tailored to YA reentrants' comprehensive needs. These data serve to concretely illustrate the range of needs and how YA reentrants view their own health and social needs in the context of multiple competing demands; such data may be useful for program planners and policymakers seeking to advance service delivery for YA minority reentrants.

Family implications during deprivation of liberty and Attachment Theory: a qualitative metasynthesis

OBJECTIVES

to synthesize evidence from qualitative studies about the implications that the deprivation of liberty process has on incarcerated adults' family relationships.

METHODS

a qualitative meta-synthesis, carried out in January 2021, by searching for publications indexed in six databases. The sample consisted of 10 studies, which were analyzed by MaxQDA®, and an interpretative synthesis was performed based on Attachment Theory.

RESULTS

based on first-order concepts, it was possible to synthesize second- and third-order concepts and present them in two interpretive context units: Strategies for strengthening family ties; Relationships that contribute to breaking down family ties. It was evidenced that visits, phone calls and letters favor the strengthening of secure attachment.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

incarceration causes consequences in tie formation, reflecting on the attachment process between family members.

Implicações familiares durante a privação de liberdade e a Teoria do Apego: uma metassíntese qualitativa

RESUMO Objetivos: sintetizar as evidências de estudos qualitativos acerca das implicações que o processo de privação de liberdade apresenta nas relações familiares de adultos apenados. Métodos: metassíntese qualitativa, realizada em janeiro de 2021, por meio da busca de publicações indexadas em seis bases de dados. A amostra foi composta por 10 estudos, que foram analisados pelo software MaxQDA®, e realizada a síntese interpretativa com base na Teoria do Apego. Resultados: com base nos conceitos de primeira ordem, foi possível sintetizar os conceitos de segunda e terceira ordem e apresentá-los em duas unidades de contexto interpretativo: Estratégias de fortalecimento de vínculos familiares; Relações que contribuem para a ruptura de vínculos familiares. Foi evidenciado que as visitas, telefonemas e cartas favorecem o fortalecimento do apego seguro. Considerações Finais: o encarceramento provoca consequências na formação de vínculos, refletindo no processo de apego entre os familiares.

Food Insecurity and Collateral Consequences of Punishment Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

Bipartisan governmental representatives and the public support investment in health care, housing, education, and nutrition programs, plus resources for people leaving prison and jail (Halpin, 2018; Johnson & Beletsky, 2020; USCCR, 2019). The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 banned people with felony drug convictions from receiving food stamps or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Food insecurity, recidivism, and poor mental and physical health outcomes are associated with such bans. Several states have overturned SNAP benefit bans, yet individuals with criminal convictions are still denied benefits due to eligibility criteria modifications. COVID-19 has impaired lower-income, food-insecure communities, which disproportionately absorb people released from prison and jail. Reentry support is sorely lacking. Meanwhile, COVID-19 introduces immediate novel health risks, economic insecurity, and jail and prison population reductions and early release. Thirty to 50 percent of people in prisons and jails, which are COVID-19 hotspots, have been released early (Flagg & Neff, 2020; New York Times, 2020; Vera, 2020). The Families First Coronavirus Response Act increases flexibility in providing emergency SNAP supplements and easing program administration during the pandemic. Meanwhile, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights recommends eliminating SNAP benefit restrictions based on criminal convictions, which fail to prevent recidivism, promote public safety, or relate to underlying crimes. Policy improvements, administrative flexibility, and cross-sector collaboration can facilitate SNAP benefit access, plus safer, healthier transitioning from jail or prison to the community.