Fostering Family Relationships and Women’s Employment

Abstract

Although people in prison share some commonalities, they also face distinct issues based on who they are and where they are incarcerated. In this article, I offer suggestions regarding re-entry programs and policies for women. I frame these policies through a broader lens of intersectionality and the importance of context. People are embedded in interlocking systems of power, and experiences and positionality are shaped along multiple dimensions. Additionally, to understand criminal justice responses, we must understand the local social, political and economic contexts, as these programs may not translate across jurisdictions if local considerations are not taken into account. Just as crime and criminal justice policies are embedded in larger social worlds, so too are re-entry programs. Three policy areas are considered within this larger framework: drug courts, family reunification and employment.

Out of prison, out of crime? The complex interplay between the process of desistance and severe resource disadvantages in women‘s post-release lives

“…As a result of these inconsistencies, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions on the effect of these life-events. Moreover, it can be argued that to fully understand the desistance process of formerly incarcerated women, it is important to consider that process in light of the difficult circumstances they often face (Leverentz, 2020; Sered and Norton-Hawk, 2020). As indicated by Sered and Norton-Hawk (2020), the focus on individual, internal factors brings with it the risk of ‘attributing unrealistically high levels of agency to individuals whose agency is limited by structural inequalities, discriminatory laws, poverty, homelessness, outstanding warrants, parole supervision, criminal records, poor health, and substance abuse (p. 4).…”

A First Step in Understanding Influences on System-Involved Women’s Changes in Financial Need

“…The present study uses a qualitative exploratory approach to identify system-involved women’s accounts of their circumstances and characteristics that might explain either extreme increases or extreme decreases in financial need. The processes that affect financial need likely differ depending on what Leverentz (2020) calls “positionality,” which is a person’s social standing and related access to power and resources. Recognizing the importance of examining intersectional differences between subgroups of women with differing positionality (Burgess-Proctor, 2006; Crenshaw, 1989; 1991; Potter, 2013; Ropes Berry et al, 2020), the research also compares possible reasons for change in financial need for White and racially minoritized women and for women varying in age.…”

“…Research shows that poverty is often intertwined with these other needs and that it influences lawbreaking (Bertram & Sawyer, 2022;Lindquist et al, 2010;Van Voorhis et al, 2008;Wright et al, 2008). Feminist theorists have emphasized that these adversities in system-involved women's lives contribute to their unique pathways into illegal activity, and thus they are relevant to the process of desistance (Belknap, 2021;Leverentz, 2020).…”

Incarceration and Re-entry for Provincial Prisoners: Is there Hope?

“…Females potentially have a vastly different experience and very different life stressors which may impact their levels of hope and goals in a different way (e.g. Comack, 2018;Kruttschnitt & Gartner, 2003;Leverentz, 2020).…”