Working With Women Offenders In The Community

Though many more women offenders are supervised in the community than in custody, much less is known about their needs and effective approaches to their supervision, support and treatment. Whilst there has been recent attention paid to responding to the needs of women in prison, negligible attention has been paid to women exiting prison, or on community based orders, and what is needed to work with them to reduce re-offending or entry into prison. Contributions to this book challenge policy-makers and corrections systems to concentrate more on community provision for women offenders and resist popular calls for more punitive responses to all offenders, women included. Contributors come from a wide range of countries including Australia, Canada, UK and USA. They argue that the criminogenic lens applied to women’s offending must be gender-responsive if systems are to be successful at addressing the disadvantage and risk associated with offending behaviour. Working With Women Offenders in the Community builds on ideas presented in the editors’ previous book, What Works With Women Offenders (2007), extending the focus particularly on women offenders in the community rather than in prison. This book concentrates on women who have committed criminal offences and who may have been placed on probation or other community based court orders or who have been released from prison on parole. It discusses the work done by professional workers including probation officers, community corrections officers and specialist case managers in areas such as drug treatment, housing, mental health or employment programmes. This book will be of interest to professional probation officers, case managers, drug treatment workers and others who work with women offenders. It will also be essential reading for students of criminology, social work, psychology, sociology and other disciplines who have an interest in women offenders.

Though many more women offenders are supervised in the community than in custody, much less is known about their needs and effective approaches to their supervision, support and treatment. Whilst there has been recent attention paid to responding to the needs of women in prison, negligible attention has been paid to women exiting prison, or on community based orders, and what is needed to work with them to reduce re-offending or entry into prison. Contributions to this book challenge policy-makers and corrections systems to concentrate more on community provision for women offenders and resist popular calls for more punitive responses to all offenders, women included. Contributors come from a wide range of countries including Australia, Canada, UK and USA. They argue that the criminogenic lens applied to women’s offending must be gender-responsive if systems are to be successful at addressing the disadvantage and risk associated with offending behaviour. Working With Women Offenders in the Community builds on ideas presented in the editors’ previous book, What Works With Women Offenders (2007), extending the focus particularly on women offenders in the community rather than in prison. This book concentrates on women who have committed criminal offences and who may have been placed on probation or other community based court orders or who have been released from prison on parole. It discusses the work done by professional workers including probation officers, community corrections officers and specialist case managers in areas such as drug treatment, housing, mental health or employment programmes. This book will be of interest to professional probation officers, case managers, drug treatment workers and others who work with women offenders. It will also be essential reading for students of criminology, social work, psychology, sociology and other disciplines who have an interest in women offenders.

Praise for Working with Female Offenders "Encyclopedic in scope and full of very relevant work drawn from the fields of biology, psychology, criminology, and corrections, this book is a must-read for those working with girl and women offenders." —Meda Chesney-Lind, Professor, Women's Studies University of Hawaii at Manoa "In this timely and thoughtful book, van Wormer provides a gender-sensitive lens through which the reader can examine pathways to female criminality, a global perspective on female crime and punishment, and innovative treatment approaches. This book is a must-have for any student or professional who wishes to truly impact and empower the lives of female offenders." —David W. Springer, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, School of Social Work The University of Texas at Austin "This book is timely in light of promising developments that are taking place at every level of the criminal justice system. It is a must-read for policymakers, practitioners, academics, and students in criminal justice, social work, and other related fields." —Barbara E. Bloom, Professor, Criminology and Criminal Justice Studies Sonoma State University, California The first book to combine elements from the social work, counseling, and crimi- nology fields to create a framework tailored to working with female offenders Taking into account the special needs of girls and women within a system designed by men for male offenders, Working with Female Offenders offers counselors, correctional officers, lawyers, probation officers—in short, anyone who works in some capacity with female offenders–an evidence-based, gentler approach for working effectively and successfully with girls and women in trouble with the law. Working with Female Offenders provides coverage devoted to the nature of female crime and to the institutional settings in which much of the female-specific programming is designed to take place. This timely volume equips professionals with proven counseling strategies tailored to fit this population. Practical guidelines are included for case management interventions, teaching skills of communication and assertiveness, and anger and stress management for female offender populations, as well as: A strengths/empowerment/restorative framework for counseling women in crisis Narratives from personal interviews with female offenders and correctional counselors Discussion of controversial topics such as prison homosexuality, AIDS in prison, girls in gangs, and women on death row Examples of successful, innovative programs for female offenders from the United States and abroad Working with Female Offenders addresses the unique challenges of female offenders and those who treat them, and provides a much needed addition to the literature on innovative programming for female offenders.

The number of women prisoners has been growing rapidly during recent years and in many places has more than doubled in the past decade, significantly outstripping increases in the number of male prisoners and with particular consequences for minority ethnic, black and aboriginal women, who constitute disproportionate levels of prison populations in many countries including Canada, the United States, the UK and Australia. What Works with Women Offenders provides a comprehensive analysis of the issues relating to work with women offenders. Chapters are written by academics and professionals with a high degree of expertise in their specific field, and its practical focus is designed to make it relevant to those working with women offenders. Imprisoning women offenders does not solve the problems that underlie the involvement of women in the criminal justice system, and a particular concern of this book is to identify and develop alternative responses that offer appropriate support and intervention to address womens underlying problems and reduce re-offending. The increase in womens imprisonment is very much an international phenomenon, and the book also aims to share knowledge and experiences from different jurisdictions to be shared more widely, and for the lessons learnt from good practice to be more widely disseminated.

Presenting research that will underpin effective practice with women who offend, this unique and thought-provoking text aims to help professionals meet the needs of this group as well as providing a theoretical resource for policy makers and academics. The authors, coming from a variety of professional and research perspectives, discuss important issues concerning women in the criminal justice system, including: * the increase in custodial sentences for women * black women in prison * patterns of female offending * drug use and the criminal justice system * the needs of women on release from prison. Calling into question the relevance to female offenders of research conducted with men who commit crime, the contributors provide a comprehensive knowledge base on women and crime for professionals who work in this area. With a broad range of contributions, this book will be helpful to probation officers, social workers, policy makers and others who work with female offenders.

The number of women prisoners has been growing rapidly during recent years and in many places has more than doubled in the past decade, significantly outstripping increases in the number of male prisoners and with particular consequences for minority ethnic, black and aboriginal women, who constitute disproportionate levels of prison populations in many countries including Canada, the United States, the UK and Australia. What Works with Women Offenders provides a comprehensive analysis of the issues relating to work with women offenders. Chapters are written by academics and professionals with a high degree of expertise in their specific field, and its practical focus is designed to make it relevant to those working with women offenders. Imprisoning women offenders does not solve the problems that underlie the involvement of women in the criminal justice system, and a particular concern of this book is to identify and develop alternative responses that offer appropriate support and intervention to address womens underlying problems and reduce re-offending. The increase in womens imprisonment is very much an international phenomenon, and the book also aims to share knowledge and experiences from different jurisdictions to be shared more widely, and for the lessons learnt from good practice to be more widely disseminated.

Often, research concerning the female offender is scarce. This book adds to the criminological literature on the topic of reentry for women, focusing on the barriers women face as they return to society and adjust to life after incarceration. Each chapter addresses specific issues, challenges, and obstacles affiliated with the hindrance of successful reentry processes associated with female offenders, as well as data-driven empirical studies. While corrections has often misunderstood or overlooked the needs of returning offenders, the shortcomings of the institutions have a greater impact on women than on their male counterparts, particularly regarding the occurrence of social and medical problems, especially those related to mental health and substance abuse. Female Offenders and Reentry helps criminal justice students and practitioners see the full picture when considering the challenges faced by female offenders reintegrating into society.