I am standing in the yard of North Florida women's prison, talking with a group of female offenders. They are wearing blue jeans, denim shirts and heavy black shoes. Each has a laminated identification tag secured to her shirt. Everyone is trying to talk at once, desperately seeking attention with questions for which I have few answers — questions of sentencing structures, gain time, transfers, visiting lists, mail and programs.

Finally, I raise my hands to calm the group and suggest we try to find some shade where we can talk more comfortably. It is noon and there is no shade except in a small pavilion on the recreational field. An hour goes by and I have placated most of the women simply by listening to their litany of frustrations. I am exhausted. Sweat is pouring down my brow as I, too, recognize my own frustrations with many of their issues and their consistent outcries: "I haven't seen my children in two, three, five years. They won't even know who I am when I get out."

As a veteran prison administrator of 39 years, I witness the above scenario each and every time I walk onto a compound of female offenders. The Florida prison system houses an escalating female population in rural areas throughout the state. The female prison population in Florida, like many states, has increased dramatically over the last two decades. In Florida it has increased from 322 female inmates in June 1980 to 4,019 in June 2000. The profiles of the women are the same-low income, poorly educated, unskilled, unemployed/underemployed, abused, and disproportionately African-American and Hispanic. Their most common thread is the lack of visits or contact with their children. Too many complain that they have not heard from their children and do not know where they are.

The geographic isolation of prisons, insufficient public transportation and lack of financial resources of many families create another pain of imprisonment — lack of family interaction. As of June 30, 2000, 4,019 women were incarcerated in Florida's adult prisons. The four major state facilities for women are scattered throughout Florida and located some distance from the counties where female offenders were arrested. The Lowell Correctional Institution (Women's Unit) and Hernando Correctional Institution in Brooksville are located in Central Florida. Broward Correctional Institution in Pembroke Pines and Dade County Institution in Florida City are located in South Florida.

Eighty percent of the female offenders in Florida are incarcerated from counties located in the southern half of the state. Driving distance from Miami to North Florida is 10 hours and requires motel accommodations. Driving to the Central Florida location takes approximately six hours.

In the spring of 1999, Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Michael W. Moore became aware of the dilemma and launched proactive approaches to ease the pain of separation between mothers and their children. In most jurisdictions, it is estimated that two-thirds of incarcerated women are mothers of minors. Most of these women hope to return to their communities, reunite with their children and assume their roles as mothers.

In response to this need, the program entitled "Reading Family Ties: Face to Face" was implemented in February 2000. The program allows incarcerated mothers in two rural Central Florida institutions to have weekly family visits using high-speed video-conferencing technology. The following is a scenario from the program.

Connie Miller lowers her voice as she begins to read W.M. Hubbard's "All That You Are" to her four-year-old son. "Today is a day to celebrate you... You stand with courage." From a tiny room located in a pedestrian's mall in south Miami, her son, Connor, listens carefully. Although Connor can hear his mother's voice and see her face, he cannot touch her because his mother is reading to him through a Web camera from a prison in central Florida. Four-year-old Connor cannot read yet, but he repeats the words his mother is saying to him. After a few minutes, she ends the 32-page book by saying, "You live with compassion. You are a gift." As the hour is up, Connor opens his arms and gives the computer screen a big hug.

DOC wrote and received a $300,000 grant for a two-year program to purchase the necessary video equipment for two prison sites and one external civilian site. The first-year cost to establish one site with equipment, furniture, telephone/ Internet lines, maintenance, supplies and a site coordinator is approximately $31,000. Additionally, funds are used to purchase age-appropriate books that are mailed to the children and read by the mothers.

DOC also has formed a partnership with a nonprofit group in Miami - the Alliance for Media Arts. The group has donated office space for the children and caretakers to use during the one-hour visits. Families With Loved Ones in Prison and the Florida Prison Network are two nonprofit agency partners that also assist in transporting children to the reading sites and publicizing the program.

Inmate-mothers are informed of the program by flyers posted in their dormitories. The flyers explain the project and ask interested mothers to contact the institutional site coordinator. Anyone can participate, unless she is in disciplinary confinement. An inmate's behavioral record is not a consideration, as the program is for the children. Information about the caretakers and children is gathered and recorded. After an orientation session, mothers are permitted to call the caretakers and explain the program. Caretakers contact the site coordinator in south Miami to schedule an hour-long meeting. Because many children are in school, a number of visits occur during evenings or on weekends. After a time and day is determined, the Miami site coordinator confirms the visit with the institutional coordinator. Eventually, a call-out is made for the scheduled visit and the incarcerated mother goes to a small office within the prison that is equipped with a computer, camera and speakerphone.

The institutional site coordinator uses a password to establish a connection with the Miami site. Offenders are always under direct supervision during the visits. Today, security staff thoroughly embraces the long-distance visiting concept because it helps reduce the crowded conditions during weekend visits and the possibility of contraband. Many caretakers and mothers also like the idea of not exposing their children to razor wire, guard towers and possible pat-down searches. Participation in the program is forever changing due to transfers and releases. Currently, approximately 60 to 70 female offenders participate.

The program has been a great success, but has also had some glitches. Audio-technical problems have required the use of long-distance phone lines at both sites. At times, the screen freezes and a connection must be reestablished. Shyness and intimidation during the visits require counseling, role modeling and establishing verbal prompts between mothers and children.

To alleviate shyness and intimidation, a journaling class that uses verbal prompts and questions is held once a week for the mothers. This class improves literacy levels, encourages letter writing and promotes the quality of long-distance visits. A list of prompts is provided to the facilitators of the journaling classes to assist the mothers in writing. The following is a sample of prompts:

• What is your favorite childhood memory?
• What are your weaknesses?
• Who is the most important person in your life right now? Why?
• What is the main value you want to instill in your children?
• What was the most wonderful moment of your life?
• What is the best thing you ever did?

Caretakers are another challenging area. Often, caretakers do not have cars and must rely on public transportation to escort children to the Miami site. There have been occasions when elderly grandmothers, who are caretakers, cannot afford the price of bus tickets. At times, caretakers are unable to negotiate public transportation and transfers for several children. Therefore, it is critical that site coordinators be selected for their enthusiasm and creative resources. If possible, it is suggested that civic organizations, church groups and volunteers be solicited to assist with transportation.

Eventually, DOC hopes to expand the program to the two remaining female institutions as well as civilian sites in major cities located throughout the state. DOC has initiated a partnership with the local library in Tallahassee and soon will have an additional civilian site. With the anticipated success of this partnership, local libraries throughout the state will be future target sites. Use of libraries has advantages, such as no monthly overhead, easy access, parking availability, established computers and Internet lines, and a wealth of volunteers.

Children of incarcerated parents are the true victims of crime. They are at a higher risk for future encounters with the criminal justice system. The implications and costs of putting mothers in prison reach across generations and have a staggering effect on all of us and the future of our nation. The incarcerated mothers were selected as the target population for this project because of their future roles as caretakers of their children. However, as funding becomes available, it is the department's desire to provide this opportunity for incarcerated fathers as well.

Another proactive endeavor is the use of inmate welfare funds to pay facilitators to conduct family development classes. This is a two-part program consisting of Phase 1: Parenting, and Phase 2: Journaling. DOC developed a parenting component that runs for 14 weeks, six hours per week, for 30 offenders. The classes are designed to elicit discussions from participants, not to lecture, and are offered at both male and female institutions. Lessons include disciplining, goal-setting, listening, decision-making, negotiating, esteem building and communicating, with a strong emphasis on anger management.

A major principle of the course is that by learning to be more effective parents, offenders also learn to be more effective citizens - they are using these new skills in their daily lives. Once individuals complete Phase 1, a graduation ceremony is held and they move on to Phase 2, in which they learn to write in a journal in response to parenting-focused prompts and how to turn journal entries into effective letters home. During this phase, offenders also read and record children's books onto cassette tapes, which they send to their children. The entire family development program runs for 24 weeks (120 hours of programming) and serves 240 offenders per year at each institution. The program currently is offered in six institutions.

Programs such as "Reading Family Ties: Face to Face" and family development classes can assist in reducing intergeneration crime cycles by supporting the children of offenders. The toll incarcerated mothers have on their children is profound and often leads to difficulty in school, anti-social behavior, depression, promiscuity, disciplinary problems and a dramatically increased likelihood that these children, one day, will end up behind bars. Children of incarcerated mothers experience developmental difficulties regarding trust, bonding and relationships with authority. These programs help reassure children that they have not been abandoned and that their mothers love them. Clearly, it is vital to maintain the integrity of the family whenever possible. These programs are a step in the right direction.