Corrie Williams

Most incarcerated women have histories of trauma, victimisation, poor mental health, and disadvantage, and most also have mothering roles. Their support needs differ markedly from those of incarcerated men, yet most correctional settings are designed for men. This paper sets out how we co‐created a new model of service combining a systems change focus (Transforming Corrections) with holistic, individualised support for incarcerated mothers and their children (Transforming Lives). The process drew on Ghate's approach to implementing services that meet the specific needs of families and the Design Council's Systemic Design Framework to developing social services. Input by imprisoned mothers and service stakeholders was central throughout. This paper contributes to the limited research on co‐creation within correctional settings and sets out a comprehensive transformational service delivery model for imprisoned mothers and their children that aims to break intergenerational disadvantage and support improved life outcomes.

No single conceptual framework currently captures the overall well-being of children experiencing maternal incarceration. To address this gap, we examined whether an existing, population-based child well-being framework, developed by the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth’s (ARACY), is able to account for factors known to influence the well-being of children in the context of maternal incarceration. Using a meta-narrative method, our synthesis of 97 documents revealed that the domains in the ARACY framework account for the overall well-being of children experiencing maternal incarceration; contextual factors specific to these children were not well represented. These factors include those that shape what well-being looks like for children experiencing maternal incarceration, those that are common to these children but not directly related to maternal incarceration, and those directly related to maternal incarceration itself. Therefore, while population-based frameworks like ARACY’s can serve as a useful tool to improve understanding of the well-being outcomes of children experiencing maternal incarceration, such frameworks should not be used for policy and practice translation without consideration of these unique contextual factors. Failure to do so may lead to inadequate support targets and indicators that poorly measure meaningful change for this population. Based on our findings, we suggest policy and practice efforts prioritise understanding well-being from different cultural perspectives, address pre-existing disadvantage, and implement multisystemic interventions tailored to individual children’s needs. Future research should develop robust prevention and intervention strategies that account for implementation challenges while deepening the theoretical and empirical understanding of these children’s unique well-being needs.

Objective: The goal was to explore service providers' perspectives on coordinating support for children experiencing maternal incarceration in Australia. Background: Children with incarcerated mothers face significant challenges in accessing support services. Existing research lacks comprehensive insights into service providers' understanding of systemic barriers and potential solutions. Method: We conducted focus groups with 21 service providers experienced in supporting children affected by maternal incarceration. A reflexive and iterative thematic analysis approach was used, employing inductive and deductive coding methods to analyze focus group transcripts. Results: Analysis revealed that existing services play a role in supporting children experiencing maternal incarceration, but barriers exist due to insufficient information sharing and system fragmentation. Service providers identified the need for a “system navigator” to help families navigate the complex support landscape. Conclusion: The current support system for children experiencing maternal incarceration is fragmented and lacks effective coordination mechanisms. Implications: This study proposes a system navigation model to provide a more coordinated approach to supporting these children, with potential applications for policymakers and practitioners.

While conduct problem behaviour initiated in early childhood often escalates in frequency and seriousness through adolescence, a notable deceleration is typically seen by mid-adolescence. It has been hypothesised that prosocial behaviour, characterised by acts like sharing and comforting, may play a role in this deceleration. However, there is a distinct gap in the current literature when it comes to understanding the temporal dynamics between the acceleration of prosocial behaviours and the deceleration of conduct problem behaviour. This study seeks to bridge this gap. Using a General Cross-Lagged Panel Model (GCLM) and data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), we investigated temporal dynamics and sequence of how the acceleration of prosocial behaviour influences the deceleration of conduct problem behaviour between ages 4 and 15. Results indicate that increases in prosocial behaviour facilitate the deceleration of conduct problem behaviour, with increases in prosocial behaviour preceding decreases in conduct problem behaviour. Further, we show a cumulative effect of increases in prosocial behaviour on decreases in conduct problem behaviour over time. This knowledge provides a foundation for understanding how timely prevention and intervention strategies that include the mechanisms for increasing prosocial behaviour may interrupt the conduct problem behaviour trajectories of children and adolescents.

Background: Maternal imprisonment negatively impacts mothers and their children and is likely to have lifelong and intergenerational sequelae. In many jurisdictions nationally and internationally, young children (usually those less than 5 years) can reside with their mothers in prison. However, there is considerable debate regarding the impact of prison environments on incarcerated mothers and their children who are born, and/or raised in prison. Research to date on the pregnancy and mothering experiences of imprisoned mothers and their preferences for care arrangements for their babies and young children is limited. Methods: This study was part of the Transforming Corrections to Transform Lives project, in which workshops were conducted with imprisoned mothers to understand their needs while in custody and post-release, and the kind of supports and system changes that are required to meet those needs. Incarcerated mothers (n = 75) participated in seven workshops conducted across four Queensland prisons. Themes were generated through reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Three themes characterised mothers’ experiences of being pregnant and undertaking a mothering role of a young child while in prison. First, for most mothers, imprisonment adds vulnerability and isolation during pregnancy and childbirth. Second, although mothers felt that residing together with their children in prison motivated them to change for a better future, they were concerned about the potential negative impact of the prison environment on the child’s development. Lastly, most mothers voiced losing autonomy and agency to practice motherhood independently within custodial settings. Mothers expressed a need for the correctional system to be adapted, so it is better equipped to address the unique and additional needs of mothers with young children. Conclusion: Mothers’ experiences indicated that the correctional system and policies, which were predominantly designed for men, do not adequately address the varied and complex needs of pregnant women, mothers, and their young children. Imprisonment of pregnant women and mothers with young children should be the last resort, and they should be provided with holistic, individually tailored support, most preferably in community settings, to address their multiple intersecting needs.