All research and evidence on NICCO is reviewed using a Quality Assessment Tool (QAT) developed by the University of Huddersfield and Barnardo's.
Research and evidence is assessed in four key areas: Methodological Quality, Child-Centredness, Relevance to Policy and Strategy, and Relevance to Practice with offender's children. This ensures that items on the NICCO website are as useful as possible to academics, practitioners, commissioners and other professionals. For more information about the development of the QAT or to review research in order to list it on NICCO, please see the QAT webpage where you can download the Tool, Guidebook and a short step-by-step 'How To' document. Please contact us to submit quality assessed research on to NICCO.
Click on the icons to see a full list of items which have been awarded a standard icon or icon+ (for items which have scored particularly highly) in each key area:
Results 37 - 42 of 42
This open-access article is based on the experiences of imprisoned fathers in the US but can be learned from by readers anywhere.
The article from a leading researcher in the field presents a qualitative study of 51 fathers one month before the end of their sentences at low security correctional facilities. The findings demonstrate the types of challenges involved in maintaining a relationship with children whilst in prison, including "being a good father" and wanting to "start over". Furthermore, contact was often dictated by the mother on the outside leaving men feeling further powerlessness in their roles as fathers.
Read "It's been hard to be a father" below:
Click here
You will need a subscription to Probation Journal to access this article in full.
This article is focused on the Irish criminal justice system but the analysis and conclusions are relevant to a wider context. Taking a children's rights perspective throughout, the researchers explore case law from South Africa and England and Wales which demonstrates how courts have taken the impact on children into account when sentencing offenders with parenting responsibilities. It looks at how child impact statements could be incorporated into the Irish sentencing process and explores the barriers to this being done through exisiting pre-sanction reports completed by Probation. The article concludes that Probation services, with their offender-focused practice, are not the best party to gather child impact information for courts, however the preference for an independent advocate role to do so is also problematic in the current Irish context.
Read more about introducing child impact statements into the Irish sentencing process below:
Click here
This article is an exploratory study of the impact of maternal imprisonment on children and adolescents.
Using a comprehensive literature review and preliminary data collection the authors construct a developmental framework to examine the diverse impact of maternal imprisonment on children at differing stages of development. The article presents a number of observations relating to the impact of maternal imprisonment, outlining the implications of these findings and proposing a number of recommendations for improved policy and practice, and further research. Whilst the article is focused on Canada, the findings and implications remain relevant for the U.K.
See Waiting for Mommy below:
Click here
You will need to become a member of Sage Publications to access the full article.
This article relates to data collected in the USA but is relevant to academics and criminal justice system (CJS) service developers anywhere. This academic article reports on a quantitative logistic regression analysis which compares the effects of maternal and paternal imprisonment on adult daughters and sons CJS involvement. It uses data from the American National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) to examine differences by parent and offspring sex in the effect of parental imprisonment on arrest, conviction, and incarceration after age 18. After applying controls variables, both maternal and paternal incarceration significantly increase the likelihood of adult offspring CJS involvement. This effect is especially pronounced for same-sex parenta and children, suggesting that the importance of parental imprisonment for adult offending outcomes is gendered. In addition, the study finds that intimate partner abuse and running away are significant predictors of adult CJS involvement for women, but not for men. The results suggest the importance of examining parental imprisonment using a gendered, developmental framework such as gendered pathways. The recommendations also point to the need for gender-responsive programes in prisons.
Log in to SAGE journals to read the Pathways Analysis via the link below:
Click here
This paper contributes new insights into the ways in which prison is experienced as an emotional space by mothers. It highlights the way in which the maternal experience for mothers in prison is often at best disrupted, at worst destroyed, by the location.
Consideration is given to how maternal emotions and role are assembled and challenged through imprisonment and how mothers understand this experience whilst navigating motherhood post incarceration. The data presented is based on twenty recorded in-depth individual interviews with released mothers across England and Wales. The research findings highlight the significant emotional harm and turmoil felt by mothers themselves and on mother-child relationships, experienced during incarceration and long after their release. The voices of the mothers are widely shared throughout this clearly written, well structured article. The findings in this paper provide insights into the nuanced and complex experience of the prison space for mothers, and shows the reader the harms which accompany custodial sentences. Findings emphasise the significance and value of compassionate and thoughtful management of prisons in relation to mothering emotions. The paper concludes with reflections on the findings of the study and recommendations for future research and practice. This piece of work should absolutely be read and disseminated by anyone interested in maternal imprisonment.
Motherhood disrupted is available as open access via Research Gate see below:
Click here
