Journal of Correctional Health Care - April 2023 - 139

INDIGENOUS PARENTS AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
139
The national Mother-Child Program offered by
Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) aims to preserve
relationships between incarcerated mothers and their
children (Miller, 2017). Program participants can apply
to live with their children in three residency programs either
full-time, part-time, or occasionally (Miller, 2017).
Full-time residency involves the mother looking after
their child 24 hours a day. The mother will volunteer at
a day care service, establish emergency care plans, and
cooperate with authorities to ensure visits from family
members outside of the facility can occur. Part-time or
occasional residency occurs for children under the age
of 6 years (originally ages 5 to 12 years) in the form of
sleepover visits. Regular visits aim to foster a continuum
of normal activities but must have approvals from judges
and child protection services (Correctional Service of
Canada, 2020; Miller, 2017).
When applying to the residency program, additional
support is available to Indigenous applicants and includes
the mother-child coordinator, Elder, or Spiritual Advisor
and an Indigenous liaison officer (Correctional Service
of Canada, 2020). One of the first uses of the program
was in July 1996 at Saskatchewan's Okimaw Ohci Healing
Lodge, an institution operated by CSC. Healing
Lodges purport to assist Indigenous People who are in
the correctional system to engage with Indigenous worldviews,
values, and spirituality (Hyatt, 2013; Wesley,
2012). Healing Lodge programming allows greater
access to Elders and cultural ceremonies and acknowledges
the importance of family relationships; in some
lodges, an extra bedroom for children and on-site childcare
is provided (Falth, 1995).
CSC Indigenous programming uses a pan-Indigenous
framework, which may fall short of meeting the cultural
needs of specific First Nations, Inuit, and Me´tis (Hyatt,
2013). Aside fromHealing Lodges, the Mother-Child Program
is implemented in some federal correctional facilities
via a Mother-Child Program space/unit (Wesley, 2012).
The Mother-Child Program has been implemented
in different settings and has shown some benefits for
Indigenous family reunification and healing (Hyatt,
2013; Miller, 2017). However, in 2008, changes to program
eligibility criteria created new barriers for Indigenous
mothers (Miller, 2017). Specifically, applicantsmust (a) be
classified into minimum- or medium-security facilities, (b)
have been found guilty of a nonviolent crime, and (c) have
received approval of child protective services (Correctional
Service of Canada, 2020; Miller, 2017).
These criteria disproportionately disadvantage Indigenous
women, who are more likely to be classified into
maximum-security facilities, found guilty of violent
crimes that are often in the context of self-defense in abusive
relationships, have greater likelihood of child apprehension
due to systemic racism, and have mistrust of
government services (Gre´goire, 2022).
Reducing the age requirement for the part-time live-in
program from age 12 years to age 6 years also excludes
many young children who would benefit from more inperson
interactions with their mothers and mother figures.
Of note is that even when applications and visits are
approved, visiting family members must cover their
own costs to travel to facilities, some of which may be
out of province, thus creating additional financial burdens
(Wesley, 2012).
Although the Mother-Child Program seems to have
the potential to support Indigenous family wellness, it
is infrequently used and not offered at all facilities.
Before 2008, there were 24 participants in Canada, but
in 2011, there was only one (Miller, 2017; Wesley,
2012). Between 2008 and 2014, the number of participants
declined by 60%, which may be linked to the
barriers in eligibility and visitation processes (Zinger,
2014). Further research on the specific barriers may be
required to fully understand the potential solutions for
practice and policies.
Other barriers Indigenous mothers and mother figures
face upon release are Sections 81 and 84 of the Corrections
and Conditional Release Act (CCRA) that claim
to increase Indigenous engagement during decisionmaking
processes related to community reintegration.
Section 81 states Indigenous communities or organizations
may enter into an agreement with CSC to provide
care via a Healing Lodge for Indigenous Peoples who
are in the criminal justice system (Correctional Service
of Canada, 2021). Section 84 states Indigenous Peoples
in the criminal justice system may choose to serve the
remaining portion of their sentence in an Indigenous
community or urban area with support from an Indigenous
organization (Garnett et al., 2013).
Although these policies purport to aid community
reintegration, they do nothing to reduce the proportion
of Indigenous Peoples in the criminal justice system. In
practice, the federal government has not been sufficiently
engaging with Indigenous communities that ensure
readily available rehabilitative conditions such as housing,
employment, and mental health and addictions
resources for individuals reintegrating back into the community
(Garnett et al., 2013; National Inquiry, 2019b).
Further adding to the barriers of implementing Sections
81 and 84 is that some Indigenous communities
experience preexisting social and economic disadvantages,
so there may simply be a lack of resources and
financial capacity to provide the necessary social and
health supports to fully take advantage of these sections
of the CCRA (Bellrichard, 2018; Garnett et al., 2013).
An examination of community-based resources, CSC
programming, and the CCRA reveals substantial, systemic
barriers to culturally safe resources for Indigenous
mothers and mother figures who are involved with the
criminal justice system, especially as they work toward
Journal of Correctional Health Care - April 2023

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