The Child and Family Research Center (CFRC) at the College of Education & Human Development offers a beacon of hope to incarcerated individuals at the Washoe County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) Jail who are pregnant. The CFRC’s Home Visiting Program initiative has been a lifeline for expecting individuals behind bars, providing crucial prenatal support and parenting guidance in what can be a challenging and isolating environment. The home visiting program is the first in the country to offer support to pregnant individuals in the county jail system.

The CFRC received a subaward in the amount of $2.25 million from the Federal Preschool Development grant awarded to the Nevada Department of Education in 2023. This three-year grant expanded the CFRC’s Home Visiting program offered for families in the community.

The significance of this program cannot be overstated. Serving pregnant incarcerated individuals who volunteer to be in the program fills a critical gap in prenatal parenting education within correctional settings. Unlike traditional prenatal services, which may focus solely on medical checkups, this program offers comprehensive support from the moment of pregnancy discovery through delivery and beyond.

"Our primary work at the WCSO Jail is to provide prenatal support to incarcerated individuals," explains Shauna Herrick, lead home visitor, who has been with the program for the last seven years. "Many pregnant incarcerated individuals face unique challenges, from navigating the emotional journey of pregnancy behind bars to concerns about delivery and the separation from their newborns."

Herrick's role goes beyond mere support; it's about instilling confidence in these mothers, showing them that they can successfully parent despite their circumstances. "Our program provides them the opportunity to feel they could parent and be successful," she affirms.

The impact of the Home Visiting Program is best illustrated through success stories like that of a participant who prefers to remain anonymous. Her journey, marked by incarceration, substance abuse and mental health issues, took a transformative turn with the support of the Home Visiting Team.

"I was in a very dark space mentally, and my situation felt very hopeless for myself and my unborn baby," she recalls. "Shauna was my very first phone call... I finally had people in my life who genuinely wanted to see me do well."

Through Herrick’s guidance and the resources provided by the Home Visiting program, this participant overcame significant hurdles, including securing housing, addressing substance abuse issues, and completing the Adult Drug Court program. She now has custody of her child, has purchased her first car, has a job, and is receiving child care through the CFRC’s Early Head Start program. Today, she stands as a testament to the program's capacity to change lives.

The Home Visiting Team’s role extends beyond jail walls. They continue to support mothers and families even after release, ensuring a smooth transition back into the community and providing ongoing parenting guidance.

And the commitment to the families doesn't end there. Plans for expansion and growth are underway.

"As we look ahead, we envision expanding our reach to incarcerated individuals with children ranging from pregnancy to 5 years old," shares Jamie Gehrman-Selby, director of Home Visiting and Community Outreach. "Our goal is to provide a supportive environment that empowers these individuals to thrive as parents long after they've left the confines of jail."

The Home Visiting Program stands as a pioneer in its field, offering a model that could inspire similar initiatives across the nation. With its unwavering dedication to supporting incarcerated pregnant individuals and their families, it serves as a beacon of hope in an otherwise challenging journey.

“We are incredibly proud to offer and expand this groundbreaking program to our community,” Melissa Burnham, Ph.D., executive coordinator of the CFRC and chair of the human development, family science and counseling department said. “The difference it makes in the lives of families and children is immediately clear. In everything we do, the CFRC promotes our values of wholeheartedness, making a difference, and excellence. The Home Visiting collaboration with the WCSO exemplifies each of these values.”

The project described herein is supported by the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five Initiative (PDG B-5), Grant Number 90TP099 from the Office of Child Care, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Office of Child Care, the Administration for Children and Families, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.