By Lindsey Coulter

A study published in the Journal ofHealth and Social Behavior in Septem-ber 2014 has reignited discussionabout how parental incarceration im-pacts children. The study, “Stress Pro-liferation across Generations?Examining the Relationship betweenParental Incarceration and ChildhoodHealth,” authored by researchers fromUniversity of California, Irvine, addedto a wealth of previous research thatsuggests parental incarceration hassignificant intergenerational healthconsequences. This most recent studylinked parental incarceration withlearning disabilities, behavioral disor-ders, developmental delays and evenspeech and language challenges.

Though methods such as video visi-tation can help make visits more accessi-ble to an inmate’s family, contactvisitation areas still largely take place inspaces designed for security and dura-bility, with neutral colors, hard surfaces,institutional finishes and tables affixed tothe floor. However, more and more facil-ities are starting to recognize the impor-tance of a family-friendly environment,including the the California Departmentof Corrections' new Health Care Facilityin Stockton, Calif.

Correctional News asked several de-sign professionals and one child advocatehow smart, sensitive correctional designmight help mitigate the negative impactsof parental incarceration and facilitate bet-ter visitation. Meg Bower, LEED AP,AICP, a facilities planner with Dewberry;Jeff Goodale, ACA, global justice directorat HOK; and Paul Nagashima, AIA, LEEDAP, senior project designer with HDR,

were eager to speak about the increasinginterest in providing more comfortable,family-friendly visitation areas and therole designers can play in promotinghealthy parent-child interaction in cor-rectional settings.

Shellie Solomon, managing directorfor the Service Network for Children of

Inmates and president of Children of In-mates Inc., a Florida-based nonprofit thatprovides prison bonding trips for childrenof inmates to build long-term relation-ships with their incarcerated parents, alsoshared her unique perspective.

Q: How can well-designed, less intimi-

dating family visitation areas benefit in-mates and families?

Bower: At a minimum, less intimi-dating visitation areas can reduce achild’s stress at visiting their parent in

CORRECTIONAL NEWS / november - december 2014 37

DESIGNER TALK

Creating Family-Friendly Correctional Spaces

See Designer Talk, page 39 ‡

The kitchen and dining area of the Family Visit Unit at the Stockton facilityhelps to create a more comfortable andapproachable environment.

Photo Credit: H

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alifornia Departm

ent of Corrections

Circle #127 on reader service card.

prison — an inherently stressful experi-ence. It may also lead to more frequentvisits if the benefits to the child can beseen to outweigh the negatives. Studieshave shown that improving themother�child bond has a positive effecton mothers post�incarceration, especiallywhen coupled with parenting classes,and that it serves as a strong motivatorto succeed after release. Preliminary re-search also suggests it leads to more sta-ble families immediately following themother’s return.

Solomon: Less intimidating visita-tion areas can put children at ease andallow them to disconnect from trying tounderstand the realities of their parentsor caregivers being held in prison. Onour first visit to a correctional facility,we learned the importance of environ-mental factors the hard way. Grandpar-ents had taken their grandchildren tosee their incarcerated parents, but did-n’t tell the children where they weregoing. While waiting outside the facil-ity, a 10-year-old boy asked our staf fmembers, “Where are we? They mustkeep mean animals in there.” Secondslater, he saw his parent behind thefence walking into the visitation centerto wait for him to enter.

Q: Do most facility owners value estab-lishing visitation areas that are conduciveto building/maintaining family bonds?

Goodale: More and more facilityowners are embracing family-orientedvisitation because they recognize the ben-efits of introducing normalized interac-tion on the inside of the facility, whichmakes this environment more effectiveon the outside. These are not expensivefacilities, but do require a different kindof staffing and operations.

Bower: Most state systems under-stand the benefits of encouraging a familybond, but whether or not they have thepolicies in place and a budget to constructa new space for this purpose are separateissues. Many of the prisons around thecountry were designed before this was apriority, and state policies on family/childvisits vary widely.

Solomon: We work with a stateagency struggling to support basic cor-rectional requirements. Under this con-straint, we’ve been impressed with theirattempts to make the best situation pos-sible for our child-focused visitation. How-ever, correctional operations holdsecurity paramount, as appropriate.Within this framework, they sometimesstruggle with how to creatively establish

these visitations areas.

Q: What design elements and materi-als are generally included in family�specificvisitation spaces?

Bower: A “good” plan or design forfamily visitation should strive to reducestress on the child and offer a chance fornormalized interaction so that the par-ent�child bond is strengthened throughthe visit. We always try to keep visitation

as close as possible to the facility en-trance and public lobby, so children areminimally exposed to the “institutional”feel of the facility.

We make the room feel like a typicalplace a child would spend time with a par-ent, such as a living room, and use ap-propriate scale of space, lighting,furnishings and colors.

We limit the bleed of institutional noisethrough sound dampening and use con-

cealed cameras and one�way windows withblinds so visits can be monitored discreetly.

We encourage healthy interaction be-tween the parent and child by givingthem something to do. A bookshelf andtoys with a varying range of interest is atypical detail we specify.

We also give the parent the opportu-

CORRECTIONAL NEWS / november - december 2014 39

DESIGNER TALK

Designer Talk, from page 37

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nity to provide for the child’s needs dur-ing the visit, often planning space for amini�fridge (stocked by the facility), dia-per change area and toilet room.

Goodale: The concept of facilitiesthat promote family visitation or reunifi-cation is gaining traction because of theirdemonstrated benefits for inmates andfamilies. The best of these strive to havea normalized environment, where secu-rity measures are either hidden or notovert and include color variety, naturaldaylight, comfortable furnishings and fin-ishes, and perhaps toys and even a nurs-ery-like environment that accommodatesmothers and small children. We use col-orful and softer though durable materialsto make these facilities more warm andfriendly: wood doors as opposed to steel,carpet and resilient base as opposed tosealed floors, and commercial ceilingsand furniture as opposed to harder insti-tutional varieties.

Nagashima: As designers, we canprovide less institutional finishes, addcolor and incorporate good acoustics thatare appropriate for visiting and conversa-tion without impacting safety/security.Other things, such as bringing in naturallight, and providing outdoor and playareas, can be effective, but take morecare to incorporate without impactingsafety/security. Our charge is to strike abalance between creating as normal anenvironment as possible, while maintain-ing a safe, secure space.

Solomon:Despite a limited ability tochange the visitation area, our programpartners bring in temporary decorationsand change the room layouts to makethe environment more welcoming. Ouruse of colorful baby mats, inexpensivetable clothes and other portable decora-tions helps reframe the prison environ-ment. Further, we worked with thecorrectional facilities to allow families tosit on the floor, walk around and recon-figure their seating arrangements,which have improved family bondingand removed the starkness of correc-tional facilities.

Q: Can you speak about some innova-tion and effective family visitation spacesthat you have worked on?

Bower: I’m currently working withthe Manitoba Infrastructure and Trans-portation group planning a new facility inCanada. Their family visitation area iscoupled with spiritual care for First Na-tions and aboriginal inmates. This spacewill allow families to hold simple cere-

monies with up to eight people. The re-sult is an opportunity for inmates to con-tinue to participate in major life eventswith a bigger group of extended family,which is considered very important inthat system.

The “mother and baby” unit at thewomen’s prison in York, Neb., will alwaysbe one of my favorites. This program in-cludes a special unit where mothers canlive with their infants for a period of time

to allow them to bond. There are otherunits around the country and even awhole prison in California that do this,but this one is intimate and has a won-derful atmosphere.

Goodale: Projects we’re designingin California’s San Mateo and StanislausCounties have a lot of promise. They in-clude contact visitation and family re-unification areas, with mother-childbonding opportunities and group set-

tings that will promote healing and fam-ilies coming together.

Nagashima: The California Depart-ment of Corrections' and Rehabilitationproject, the California Health Care Fa-cility in Stockton, is a good example asit offers two distinct visitation spaces;one general visitation area with a raisedofficer station and non-contact booths,and one Family Visiting Unit with akitchen and dining area.

CORRECTIONAL NEWS / november - december 2014 41

DESIGNER TALK

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