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News - 2012(BACK)
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Family Services Program Thriving Across the Nation
West Caldwell, NJ May 31 -
Recent media pieces from Colorado and California have examined the CEC Family Services Program, which is an integral part of the reentry treatment services offered at CEC.
Denver Post Colorado Tooley Hall Mother's Day Event
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Littleton Independent Colorado ACRC Family Services Mother's Day Event
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NBC Los Angeles Affiliate Profile of Long Beach Reentry Center Family Program
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CBS Los Angeles Affiliate Profile of Long Beach Reentry Center Family Program
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Family Services Program reunites children and moms for Mother's Day
As Mother's Day was celebrated across the country at CEC residential reentry facilities, children had the chance to spend time and participate in activities with their mothers. Tooley Hall, in Denver, and the Arapahoe County Residential Center (ACRC) in Littleton, Colorado, held special family services celebrations designed to foster healthy interactions between female residents and their children. Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey also held special Mother's Day celebrations for its family services night.
"I want to say a special thank you to the staff at Tooley Hall, ACRC, and Delaney Hall as their efforts made Mother's Day a special event for the children and mothers involved. Incarceration is a significant stress on a family unit, and the CEC Family Services program attempts to restore lost bonds through interactive clinical programming in the hopes that a stronger family will help reduce recidivism," said Dr. Louis Barretti, Director of CEC Family Services Program.
At Tooley Hall interactive mother child activities included seed planting, a hat contest, and card making. The Denver Post took note of the special event and found it to be rewarding for both the mothers and children involved. Activities at the Arapahoe County Residential Center (ACRC) in Littleton, Colorado, included a mother daughter tea party, craft table, and female residents made moving presentations to families.
The Family Services group at Newark's Delaney Hall set the stage for a successful Mother's Day celebration that acknowledged mothers and the role they play in family life. Complete with festive colorful decorations and lots of balloons, the cafeteria was turned into an uplifting atmosphere that encouraged family interaction with approximately 65 in attendance for two evening events.
The special evenings included a therapeutic element in the form of a brief presentation on gratitude and the significance of Mother's Day in our lives and the lives of children. Residents and children were given the opportunity to handcraft a Mother's Day card and present it to those in attendance that consisted of Moms, friends, and relatives. In addition, picture frames were created and the Family Services staff took family photos. Brightly colored cupcakes and punch were served on both evenings. The celebrations successfully provided an opportunity that honored Mother's Day and enabled time for family healing and reunification.
Community Education Centers (CEC) believes that it is vital to educate and provide treatment to the families of offenders. The CEC family program addresses the multiple stressors facing families that have an incarcerated loved one. By providing treatment for the entire family, the program helps all members of the family system cope with the experience of incarceration; maintain family connections; address pre-existing family problems, as well as the issues created by incarceration; and prepare for reentry into the family and society. Upon release, families are referred to community-based agencies where they continue the work they began during the period of incarceration.
Across the country, offenders at CEC residential reentry and in-prison therapeutic communities can choose to participate in the Family Services program. Family nights are held at CEC residential reentry facilities where counselors conduct therapeutic sessions with offenders and their families and children. Services include conducting genogram assessments, providing couple and family therapy, facilitating multi-family groups, and conducting treatment for female residents who have experienced the co-occurrence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and addiction. The CEC Family Services Program Director is Louis Barretti, PhD who is a Licensed Psychologist, Marriage and Family Therapist, and Alcohol and Drug Counselor. Under Dr. Barretti's family services, staff attempt to reduce the trauma of incarceration, and establish the ritual bonds that hold offenders and their families together.
Community Education Centers, Inc. (CEC) is a leading provider of offender reentry and
in-prison treatment services in America, operating in 18 states and the Commonwealth of Bermuda, with over 30,000 individuals in its daily care. CEC provides a full range of therapeutic residential and non-residential reentry services with a documented record of reducing recidivism. |
