A case study: Family-Protected Homes for mothers and children in Italian prisons

Abstract

Children with their imprisoned mothers in the Italian prison system is a phenomenon that raises many questions starting with the rule of law and the psycho-social well-being of the mother-child couple. Law No. 62 of 2011 has created alternative forms to prison such as Family-Protected Homes. In this article we investigate the case study of the CFP in Milan created by the association ‘C.I.A.O. Carcere, Famiglia, Territorio’. We have studied this different penal experience starting from the experience of the women who live there and interweaving this perspective with the experiences and knowledge of those who direct and work within this structure. We used a qualitative methodological framework and analysed semi-structured interviews using NVivo software. Through the observations obtained from the results of the field research we tried to acquire indications regarding the effectiveness, in terms of social reintegration and reduction of the risk of reoffending, of these non-custodial alternative forms.