The Effectiveness of Prison Nursery Programs in Reducing Recidivism: A Systematic Review

Abstract

There has been steady increase of females entering prison over the last few decades, with this increase comes the increase of mothers who are entering prison and being forced to give up their children to either other family members, adoption agencies or the foster care system. Prison nursery programs were designed to keep the mother and her baby together and bonding during the duration of the mother's prison sentence. These nursery programs have been found to increase beneficial attachments between the mothers and the children. They also have been promoted as a source of reducing recidivism rates. Recidivism is a critical component when describing the successfulness of a prison program. This systematic review identifies studies conducted on prison nursery programs within the United States and how their results exemplify their successfulness when it comes to recidivism. All of the studies included within this one showed a reduction in recidivism rates for mothers who participated in nursery programs, however, limitations within conducting this research were experienced. Implications for the limitations and recommendations for future research are included in the discussion.