Family Service Association: Families In Transition Program

Families in Transition gives incarcerated parents and their children time together. Parenting and life skills education, contact visits with their children, and support services to families constitute FSA's Families in Transition (FIT) Program. Supported by a Kids First grant, FIT has worked with over 90 inmates and their children and families. FIT views the family as an important resource for constructive change and its among a growing number of like programs across the country. The program model is drawn from research demonstrating a positive relationship between parole success and the maintenance of strong family ties while incarcerated.

Family contact visits are the centerpiece of the FIT program. The visits give inmates an opportunity to apply concepts from their classes. More importantly, children are given an opportunity to have contact with their parents. Contact that is more natural and nurturing than visits behind class. They can feel the emotional and physical warmth of their parents' presence, if only for a short time every two weeks. Visits allow a child to sit on their daddy's lap and draw, or to get tickled and hugged by their mom.

Families report that the contact visits are a favorite outing for their children. The excited and happy cohort of babies, toddlers, and older children seen in the lobby of the jail every other Thursday and Sunday speaks to the importance of these contact visits, even under trying circumstances. The inmates report more bonding with their families and renewed confidence that they can succeed after their release.

FIT uses H. Stephen Glenn's "Developing Capable People" (DCP) program. DCP shows people how to foster in their children (and themselves) assets that strengthen important human qualities such as resiliency and self-sufficiency. Family night visits include structured activities designed to build family bonds and promote communication. Strengthening these arrests helps people successfully meet the challenges of life, learning, relationships, and work.

We would like to give special thanks to the Commander of the Monroe County Correctional Center, Bill Wilson, who was instrumental in establishing the program. Additional thanks are extended to Captain Judy Johnson, who assists with the program, even on her days off. Finally, thank-you's are in order for all of the guards at the Correctional Center. Without their support and patience, we could not accomplish all that we have so far. We are grateful for their time and effort, and for insuring the safety and security of our staff, the families, and the inmates.

For more information, Kid's First Trust Fund You can also purchase a Kid's First License Plate to help support the the Kid's First Trust Fund.

or visit :
Child-Abuse.org.
Family and Corrections Network (FCN)


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