2008 Annual Report - Families First Parenting Programs

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Families First partners with Girl Scouts Beyond Bars and supports families during particularly challenging times Girl Scouts Beyond Bars (GSBB) was created over 14 years ago through a partnership between the Girl Scout Council of Central Maryland and the national Institute of Justice. While decreasing the negative impact of parental separation is the primary goal of GSBB, the program also aims to nurture, and in some cases reestablish, mother-daughter relationships. according to the Bureau of Justice, 2.1 million people are incarcerated in the united States, and 6% are women. approximately 75% of female inmates report having had primary care of their children prior to incarceration. roughly 1.5 million children have a parent or parents who are incarcerated within the united States. Incarceration has extensive impact on both the incarcerated mothers and their children. Children with incarcerated parents tend to either internalize or externalize feelings of depression, anxiety, and fear of abandonment. Younger children tend to display signs of developmental regression. When children externalize these feelings, they can act out behaviors of delinquency, truancy, teen pregnancy, and drug abuse. an alarming concern is that children with incarcerated parents are six times more likely to end up incarcerated themselves. as Melanie pereira, the Maryland Deputy Commissioner of Corrections, states, “I have been in corrections for 18 years and have seen three generations of people in facilities – grandmother, mother, and daughter at the same time. I have seen where the mother was here, gave birth to a child, and the child is now here.” these statistics, as well as others, support the need for providing parenting education and support to these families. Families First parenting programs, in partnership with the Girl Scouts of eastern Massachusetts’ Girl Scouts Beyond Bars program, is dedicated to providing parenting education and support to incarcerated mothers. last year, Families First began facilitating workshops that correlated with monthly themes established by the Girls Scouts. During the monthly mothers’ meetings, the mothers also actively engaged in the planning process of the monthly Saturday visits with their daughters. the two hour meetings for the girls and their mothers include troop activities that provide an opportunity to practice positive communication between the mothers and daughters and encourage the families to discuss and learn the skills needed to build and sustain healthy relationships. as one participant stated, “Girl Scouts has been very helpful to me and to my daughter. We have a very good connection. two-and-a-half years of not being able to be there when she’s growing up is hard and painful. But the way I see it, I’m a mother everyday. I cannot put myself down; my daughter gives me the strength every day to do this.” (Metro West Daily news) In fiscal year 2009, the Girl Scouts Beyond Bars program asked Families First to expand our programming model to South Middlesex Correctional Center as well as to the caregivers of these families. Due to this potential increase in programming with incarcerated parents, Families First oriented a select group of parenting educators to this population through a full day training on working with incarcerated mothers and a walking tour of MCI-Framingham. at this time, we have scheduled 18 parent workshops at both MCI-Framingham and South Middlesex Correctional Center throughout the course of this fiscal year. Families First is also working closely with the Girl Scouts of eastern Massachusetts to develop a sustainable program model inclusive of parenting education and support for all family members impacted by incarceration. this is truly an example of a partnership in action!
Dear Friends of Families First, Happy New Year! We hope 2008 was filled with many meaningful moments and time with friends and family. At Families First Parenting Programs, we just celebrated a major milestone in our organization’s history – our 20th Anniversary! As we reflect on the last 20 years of providing parenting education, we are very much reminded of those who have helped us along the way. Over the years, our parenting educators, staff, board members, donors, partner sites, and Friends Council have all contributed to Families First in countless ways. You are the reason we continue to thrive each day and reach more and more parents each year. Throughout the pages of our 2008 Annual Report, we have highlighted many of these wonderful relationships and partnerships. 2008 was an incredible year for Families First. We provided 70% more workshops than the previous year, reaching nearly 4,500 parents and professionals. As evidenced by the increase in our programs, there is clearly a high demand for support for parents. While families continue to feel the ups and downs of the economy, longer work days, and parenting in stressful circumstances, we continue to devote our resources to reaching as many parents, caregivers, and professionals as possible. We could not do this critical work without you. Cheers to another 20 years of supporting families to come... Best wishes for 2009, Crista Martinez Padua Melora Balson Executive Director Chair, Board of Directors
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2008 Annual Report - Families First Parenting Programs

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