Transforming Corrections to Transform Lives (TCTL) commenced in 2020 with the aim to develop a transformative system of practice that breaks the damaging cycles of disadvantage, trauma, and offending, and empowers mothers who are incarcerated, and their children, to have safe, dignified and fulfilling lives. We embarked on a co-creation process with mothers in prison and service providers to develop a comprehensive and shared understanding of mother’s and children’s needs. We also examined correctional and programmatic practices and identified system barriers and gaps in services across the sector. Our preliminary research with both mothers in prison and system stakeholders revealed problems with the availability, accessibility, comprehensiveness and co-ordination of support and intervention programs. In response, we developed a transformative model for individual- and system-level change with mothers and children’s wellbeing at the core, that was subsequently validated through further engagement with mothers in prison. The key features of the model, which is currently being trialled in Queensland, will be described. We also discuss how our role as researchers became one of knowledge brokers throughout the co-creation processes, as we shared the concerns and needs of mothers in prison directly with senior correctional administrators to promote rapid change. We conclude by describing how the research team will continue to work side by side with mothers in prison and their families, and the program team of clinicians, to ensure mothers and children’s lived experiences are shared and can drive system-level change.
Presenters
Professor Susan Dennison
– Director, Transforming Corrections to Transform Lives Centre, Griffith Criminology Institute, Griffith University
Susan Dennison is a Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice and the Griffith Criminology Institute at Griffith University. She holds a PhD in forensic psychology and focuses on understanding the developmental and life course experiences of people who interact with the criminal justice system. Her goal is to contribute to the prevention of offending and incarceration and the empowerment of people to have safe, dignified and fulfilling lives. Susan is a former ARC Future Fellow, and through successive ARC grants has investigated how childhood adversity, particularly maltreatment and parental incarceration, affects young people’s outcomes. She has published more than 70 peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters, as well as a co-edited book (Evidence Based Policy and Practice in Youth Justice). She is now Director of the Transforming Corrections to Transform Lives Centre, leading a multi-year, statewide, transformative system of practice to better support mothers who are incarcerated, and their children. Together with her team, they are working to break down intergenerational cycles of disadvantage and incarceration and generate new knowledge for evidence-based programs. Susan is also working to transform whole-of-government policies and systems to reduce the intergenerational transmission of offending and disadvantage and improve access to services and programs in custody and the community for mothers and children.
