Family Planning Services and Reintegration Effects: A Pilot Project at the Salt Lake County Jail

• In Event: Reintegrating Offenders Into the Community

Abstract

The rate of incarceration among women in America is on the rise. With the growing number of female inmates, comes a growing concern regarding their access to reproductive health care and family planning services while they are incarcerated. Phase One of the two-part pilot project, “Family Planning Services and Reintegration Effects” (FPS&RE) gathered information about the female inmate population at the Salt Lake County Jail. The Phase One survey identified the demographic profiles, family planning desires and needs, and reproductive histories of currently incarcerated females. Data collected during Phase One is now being utilized to design Phase Two of the FPS&RE project. The aim of Phase Two is to provide effective, long-term contraceptives to female inmates at the Salt Lake County Jail during their incarceration and follow participants for 12 months post-release to ascertain the reintegration effects associated with having family planning services in jail. The objective of this paper is to identify the appropriate methodology and theoretical framework necessary for designing and implementing Phase Two of the FPS&RE project, so that we may better understand the family planning experiences of women after incarceration.

Author

• Kyl C. Myers, University of Utah