Adult Prisons Mental Health Services :: New Mexico Corrections Department




	A Woman-Centered Approach for Female Offenders in New Mexico by Helen Carr Female Offender Services Mission Statement: Female Offender Services, are committed to providing a balanced system to female offenders in assisting them in their transition from incarceration to community based services by providing POWER = Programming Opportunities which are Women-centered for Effective Re-entry & Reducing Re-offending. Vision: Female Offender Services envision women centered programs for habilitation and rehabilitation of female offenders and their families by promoting a healthy, safe environment for families to reunify. Services will be provided to female offenders to promote community engagement and the opportunity to return as productive members of society. New Mexico Female Offender services strategic plan is as follows: “Desired Outcome of Strategic Plan: To implement women - centered programming in our female facilities. Strategies: • Provide agency awareness of gender responsive needs through expanded training in facilities and with Probation and Parole Officers. • Strengthen existing programs to be more gender specific and female oriented via policies, procedures, and practices. NEW MEXICO has been promoting a NEW attitude toward female offenders and becoming more gender responsive particularly in the last four years. What is gender responsive or gender specific? ”Taking account of the differences in experience that men and women bring to the criminal justice and corrections systems and adjusting our strategies and practices in ways that are appropriately responsive to those differences." (Bloom, Owen, and Covington, 2003). New Mexico Women's Correctional Facility (NMWCF) houses level I to VI female adult offenders. NMWCF provides gender-specific and trauma sensitive programming, services, guidance, and training with an emphasis on family reunification and the community. These services are designed to ensure a seamless transition as they prepare for re-entry into the community. Examples of gender specific programming include, but are not limited to: • Parenting • Corrective Thinking • Overnight Family Visitation • MRT (Moral Reconation Therapy) • Project ImPACT • Barriers & Breaking Barriers • Therapeutic Community Program • Dog Cell Program (NMWCF only) • Family Televisits (NMWCF only) • P.S. I Love You • Co-occurring Disorder Therapy • Therapeutic Communities • SOAR • Outpatient Psycho educational Substance • Relapse Prevention • Suicide Prevention • GED Preparation • Trauma/Gender Specific Training • Alcoholics Anonymous • Narcotics Anonymous • Hep C Addictions Screening • Domestic Violence Awareness • College for Associates & BA Degree • Community Work Release (CNCC only) Here are the 6 Gender-Responsive Principles that guide both female facilities: • Acknowledge that gender makes a difference. • Create an environment based on safety, respect, and dignity. • Develop policies, practices, and programs that are relational and promote healthy connections to children, family significant others, and the community. • Address substance abuse, trauma, and mental health issues through comprehensive, integrated, and culturally relevant services and appropriate supervision. • Provide women with opportunities to improve their socioeconomic conditions. • Establish a system of community supervision and reentry with comprehensive, collaborative services.

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