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Penn State Erie center evaluates prison program By Loretta Brandon
Dr. Kim Skarupski, director of research for the Center for Organizational Research and Evaluation at Penn State Erie, is principal investigator on the evaluation for the Long-Distance Dads Program at the State Correctional Institution in Albion, Pa. The program helps men in prisons become more involved and supportive fathers. “Write from the Heart” kit Each prison inmate participating in the Long-Distance Dads Program gets a “Write from the Heart” kit, filled with writing paper, a variety of greeting cards, stickers and other materials designed to help men communicate with their children. The inmates are amazed at the gift, because many admit they never got a letter, a greeting card or any communication from their fathers. In fact, some never knew their fathers. And until they got their “Write from the Heart” kit, they did not realize that fathers, whether at home or in prison, were supposed to lovingly and openly communicate with their children.	The Long-Distance Dads (LDD) Program at the State Correctional Institution in Albion, Pa., is working effectively to meet its goal of helping men in prisons become more involved and supportive fathers, according to the process evaluation completed by the Center for Organizational Research and Evaluation (CORE) at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College.   “Support for the LDD program is solid within the Albion prison staff and inmates,” said Dr. Kim Skarupski, CORE’s director of research and principal investigator on the evaluation. “At the conclusion of the evaluation, we made a number of recommendations that will make the process run more smoothly but, basically, the program is sound.”   Long-Distance Dads is a prison-based, peer-led fathering program designed by Dr. Randell Turner of the Fathers Workshop and Martha Eichenlaub of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. The Long-Distance Dads curriculum includes fatherhood self-assessment, dealing with anger issues, an overview of child development, improvement of communication and relationship skills and goal setting for better fathering.   Six prisons in Pennsylvania currently offer the programs. Inmates are screened for participation in the 12-week program, and those who have successfully completed the course are eligible to be trained as peer leaders. Forty men participate in each session, and there are waiting lists at all locations.   The Center for Organizational Research and Evaluation has submitted the results of its 18-month process evaluation of the Long-Distance Dads Program to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. The study included four phases: interviews with prison administrators and staff, face-to-face structured interviews with inmates, direct observation of the LDD group sessions, and an inventory of Pennsylvania Correctional Institution parenting programs in 24 prisons across the state.   “We learned that more information needed to be communicated to staff and inmates alike about the program, so that everyone was aware of its availability,” said Mark Mizikowski, CORE project director, “but in interviews with participants, we found strong support for LDD. They appreciate the freedom of the peer-led discussion and the exchange of ideas.”   After observation of the groups, Mizikowski said he was impressed with the abilities of the peer leaders. The prison atmosphere is noisy and has constant interruptions, yet the leaders did well at keeping their groups focused on the weekly topics.   As a result of the evaluation, the Center for Organizational Research and Evaluation developed 23 recommendations to improve the implementation of the Long-Distance Dads Program at the Albion prison and across the state. Mizikowski and his colleagues suggested standardized training about the program for correctional officers and administrators and an LDD steering committee at each facility to ensure the implementation protocol was met. CORE also recommended many ways to increase the contact between inmates and their children, including placing prisoners in facilities closer to their families.   The Center for Organizational Research and Evaluation was created in 1998 at Penn State Erie to provide research, evaluation and grant-writing services to social service agencies, health-care organizations, educational institutions and industries in northwest Pennsylvania. As an outreach center of Penn State, CORE has the ability to draw on the expertise and experience of world-class faculty and the resources of the entire University.