![]() Not only did we want to examine the impact of the Dad HERO program specifically, but men also make up the vast majority of the adult prison population - 92 per cent of those in federal custody and 85 per cent of those in provincial or territorial facilities. So far, 385 men from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds have taken the program since it was launched in 2018.Īlthough there are also moms behind bars who need support to maintain ties to their families, for this project CBC Radio is focussed exclusively on incarcerated dads. They have nightmares and might regress in their behaviour because they just don’t really know how to handle it all.”įrimpong is a recent graduate of a newly expanded parenting program, called Dad HERO, that’s been recognized as a best practice by Canada’s Office of the Correctional Investigator.Ĭreated by CFCN in partnership with CSC, Dad HERO was designed specifically to help incarcerated fathers deepen their understanding of childrearing and make the most of their connection to their children despite the walls between them. They might be bullied and teased at school. There’s a great deal of shame around the fact that your parent’s inside. “ often very, very lonely, and they just miss the parent who has been incarcerated. ![]() But that’s far from the only reason to be concerned about the disruption to the parenting relationship, said Leonardi. ![]() While research findings on this vary, children of incarcerated parents are estimated to be two to four times more likely to follow their parents’ footsteps into crime compared to the general population. “When you see someone who’s arrested on TV, or you hear about it on the news, not many people’s minds go to the fact that there’s a partner or a mom and dad or children who are left behind,” said Louise Leonardi, executive director of Canadian Families and Corrections Network (CFCN), a non-profit that helps families affected by incarceration. That’s a missed opportunity, they say, because research shows strong family ties not only help people reintegrate into society and lower their chances of landing back in prison, but also decrease the risk their kids will get in trouble with the law. But over the years, advocates say very little has been done to help them with parenting. It’s estimated that more than half of the men in Canadian prisons and jails are fathers. “It’s very, very hard not seeing your son every day, picking them up from school, and bringing him to school, seeing him and holding him like I just did this weekend,” said Frimpong. Although Frimpong is full of smiles as he recounts the pleasures of the visit they’ve just had, the family’s everyday circumstances aren’t as rosy.
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