DOI: 10.58809/ztyu3356 ISSN:

Bonding through books behind bars: Reconnecting incarcerated mothers/grandmothers with children

April Terry, April Terry, null null, null null, null null, null null
  • General Medicine
  • Pharmacology (medical)
  • Complementary and alternative medicine
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  • Materials Chemistry
  • Economics and Econometrics
  • Media Technology
  • Forestry
  • General Medicine
  • General Medicine
  • General Engineering
  • General Medicine
  • Applied Mathematics
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  • Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
  • Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
  • General Medicine
  • General Chemistry
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Bonding through books is a piloted project that sought to engage incarcerated mothers/grandmothers through furthering their literacy skills to promote prosocial relationships with their children/grandchildren. Literacy measurements often consider fourth-grade literacy as the measure for future achievement. Approximately 68% of children in the U.S. do not meet this standard with most youth coming from rural, low-income or at-risk homes—an almost exact match for incarcerated mothers and children in Kansas. We sought to help reduce prison disciplinary issues, ease the reintegration process, and increase success upon release. This was accomplished through both live (on-site) and recorded read aloud sessions and measured through pre/post-test data analysis and the review of disciplinary reports. Pre and post-test surveys included the Rhody Secondary Reading Attitude Assessment, Parenting Sense of Competency Scale, and National Assessment of Adult Literacy. At the culmination of the project, the mothers/grandmothers would be assisted with recording themselves reading a children’s book to be sent home to their children/grandchildren. Due to unforeseen travel restrictions, post-test data is not available and all reported data is based on pre-test data. Most participants were already interested in reading and felt competent parenting behind bars.

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