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Girl Scouting Beyond Bars

"I'm really grateful to be in this (GSBB) program. I went 2 ½ years without seeing my daughter. Now, I can see my daughter once a month. It has been very stressful for the both of us and I know this program will help in many ways." (Mother, MCI Framingham)

The Program

The most devastating effect of parental incarceration is the lack of contact that children and parents have with each other. Experts argue that it is critical to maintain contact between mothers in prison and their children. Girl Scouting Beyond Bars (GSBB) helps to relieve the stress, sadness, and isolation that can accompany a mother's incarceration by providing opportunities for girls and their moms to build connections, peer support networks, self-esteem and more importantly to have fun together. Through structured meetings or visits, girls, ages 7-18, with their moms, participate in group discussions, team building, one-to-one time, and activity projects allowing more natural family interaction than regular facility visits.

Girl Scouting Beyond Bars is a collaborative program between Girl Scouts, Patriots' Trail Council, Spar and Spindle Council, Pioneer Valley Council and Western Mass Council and the Mass Correctional Institute (MCI) for Women in Framingham, South Middlesex Correctional Center (SMCC) and the Mass Dept. of Corrections. We are finalizing a new partnership with Big Sister Association of Greater Boston to offer more consistent mentoring and individual support to girls and families.

How the Program Works

The program meets one or two Saturdays a month, for a two-hour enhanced visit in the form of a Girl Scout troop meeting. The meetings for girls and moms include troop activities such as crafts, games, badge work, and team building, and use a series of age appropriate booklets Girl Scout program curriculum. We encourage the girls and mothers to take the lead as they prepare to discuss and learn coping skills relative to healthy relationships, becoming a teen, conflict resolution, dating and boys, stress management, and discovering one's unique qualities and strengths. Girls participate in field trips to council-sponsored events, educational facilities, and conduct community service projects. A monthly mother's meeting is held at the facility to provide in-service training for the moms in the areas of Girl Scouting, parenting, leadership, and program curriculum. Mothers provide support for each other and plan for upcoming visits by planning topics for discussion and activities.

Patriots' Trail and the Alliance Members provide all of the supplies and materials needed, curriculum, flyers and informational materials as well as volunteers and/or paid staff members. Transportation for girls within Alliance jurisdiction and for those in need is also provided by the Councils. Participants receive membership in Patriots' Trail or their appropriate council and Girl Scouts of the USA.

The Objectives of the Program

• Provide fun, accessible and affordable learning experiences in safe supportive girls-only environments.
• Recruit and mobilize volunteers/paid staff from diverse backgrounds to offer consistent and relevant role models to girl and women participants.
• Develop strategic partnerships to strengthen GSBB program and community resources for participants.
• Expand staff and volunteer development opportunities focusing on girls' issues, cultural competency, incarcerated women and the evaluation/outcomes process.

Please Contact Program Coordinator, Courtney Ackerman at 1-800-882-1662 x 218, for more information.