What Supports Do Incarcerated Mothers and Their Families Need? The Views of Incarcerated Mothers and Service Providers

Abstract

Maternal incarceration causes complex and diverse outcomes, affecting the mother, her family, and her community. Despite this, there are few evidence-based models of support. This paper aims to identify participant’s perspectives in developing a model of support by identifying needs, preferred services, and current barriers. Incarcerated mothers (n = 75) and service providers (n = 24) in Queensland, Australia contributed through workshops. Participants identified three support areas: (i) children’s wellbeing and mother-child relationships; (ii) while mothers are incarcerated; and (iii) when mothers return to the community. Mothers prioritized relational and self-development goals whereas service providers prioritized material needs and service delivery methods. Barriers reflected mothers’ multifaceted needs and the complex service delivery area. Preferred programs incorporated individualized, multi-modal, long-term, culturally-informed, and trauma-informed care, while system-level barriers included administrative burdens and navigating complex systems. Overall, models of support must incorporate optimal program-level and system-level characteristics to improve the outcomes of mothers and their children.