Several reports are pointing to the blindness of the NH criminal justice system-and particularly of the corrections system-to the particular challenges of women offenders and inmates.

The most recent report, released late last year by the NH Commission on the Status of Women, pointed to the alarming fact that "the vast majority of the State's female inmates are mothers," and that startlingly enough, the NH State Prison for Women (NHSP/W)in Goffstown is "the only facility in the NHDOC [NH Dept. of Corrections] system that does not offer a state-funded parenting program - despite the fact that its population is unique by overwhelmingly having custodial responsibility of multiple children before, during and after release."

"The needs of the female inmate population are like the smallest minnow: easy to overlook and often swallowed by the demands of the much larger male offender population," the report notes.

Other findings of the Commission's report, which relies in part on findings from a report by the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) that conducted an assessment visit in 2003, include:

• allocations of Corrections Department resources show that "economies of scale" hamper the state from providing effective, gender-appropriate services and facilities to female offenders;

• no state dollars are dedicated to life skill programs for women offenders, despite the prevalence of sexual and physical trauma, substance abuse, and mental illness;

• few opportunities are available for income-producing work at the NHSP/W;

• educational and vocational training programs are severely limited, depriving the inmates and society of the opportunity to rehabilitate a population "with a great interest in services to increase their success upon release."

The Commission's report takes a positive tack in its recommendations, asserting that the relatively small female population - an obstacle in the current perspective - could be an opportunity.

"The current conditions of confinement of female offenders present an opportunity for the State to create a model program at NHSP/W on the use of gender-responsive approaches for the optimal management of state offenders," the report notes.

On another front, a three-year-old organization, the NH Task Force on Women and Addiction, has begun to increase awareness of the need to target gender-specific addiction prevention programs to women - due to the frequent association of mental health, sexual or physical trauma with these problems as well as the high likelihood that women dependent on alcohol or drugs have children who also are at risk for a variety of problems and crimes.

On July 1 from 1 to 4:00 p.m. at the NH Dept. of Health Human Services, Brown Building, the NH Task Force on Women & Addiction will present a half-day training, Breaking the Cycle, to explore the need for and present models of diversion and intervention programs for women who are not only suffering from addiction, but are likely to have mental disorders and/or histories of sexual or physical trauma.

Niki Miller, executive director of the NH Task Force on Women & Addiction, said the program is designed to be useful to professionals from a variety of fields, including corrections, law enforcement, the courts, lawyers and social workers. She said the program will provide much discussion on alternative sentencing or diversion options that have proven successful in other jurisdictions.

The speakers include Joan Gillece, PhD, director of special needs populations, Maryland Mental Hygiene Administration; Warden Steven R. Williams, of Dorchester County Detention Center; and Loel Meckel, LCSW, director of Community Forensic Services, Connecticut Dept. of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

There is no charge to register for the program. Contact jackieCDP@aol.com or call (603) 430-8570.

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