Pubdate: Mon, 16 Jan 2006 Source: Post-Crescent, The (Appleton, WI) http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=3D/20060115/APC0101/60= 1150548/1003/APC01 Copyright: 2006 The Post-Crescent Contact: http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1443 Author: Wendy Harris, Post-Crescent staff writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/women.htm (Women) Note: Eastern Wisconsin is home to the state's largest prison for women. Taycheedah Correctional Institution near Fond du Lac houses more than 700 female inmates. Nationwide, the number of women in prisons designed largely for men is growing, including mothers of young children. In a three-day series titled "Motherhood behind bars," The Post-Crescent examined the trend, how it affects particularly prison moms and how the state is responding. The series originally was published Jan. 15-17, 2006. PART 2: PRISON VISITS PROVIDE REPRIEVE FOR MOMS Taycheedah Program Helps Inmates Endure 'The Toughest Thing' FOND DU LAC - In the kitchen, Devon, 6, is making pretend chicken nugget soup. His older sister, Kayla, 9, carefully colors a sign at the kitchen table for her bedroom door listing all who can enter. "Mom" isn't on the list. Their mother, Corrina Deichsel, simultaneously compliments the soup while picking out magic markers for Kayla's project. Seven-year-old Brandon, meanwhile, clings to his mother, Tammy Armstrong, while she reads the directions on a box of cake mix and pulls a bowl and measuring cup from the cupboard. On this chilly November day, they will celebrate his last birthday that she missed. Candida Andino is in another room, snuggling with her daughter, Karina, 10, while 6-year-old Santos darts back and forth at her feet, pushing a toy truck. These three women consider themselves lucky. They are among more than a dozen prison moms at Taycheedah Correctional Institution near Fond du Lac who have earned the privilege - and have supportive family members on the outside - to have occasional six-hour visits at Doty House with children they left behind when they began serving prison time. "I'm very thankful that my parents are close because other women don't get to see their kids that much," said Deichsel, who is serving 10 years for conspiracy to commit murder. In January 2001, Deichsel and Devon waited in the car while her then husband attacked his ex-girlfriend with a hammer at the girlfriend's home. Deichsel later allegedly disposed of the evidence for her husband, and was charged for her role in planning the attack. Deichsel, 29, says her biggest regret is having stayed in that abusive relationship. Deichsel's parents, who live in Kewaskum - a 40-minute drive from the prison - faithfully bring her two children for regular visits, which last about two hours. And about once a month, Deichsel, 29, and her kids get a six-hour visit together at the small, sparsely but comfortably furnished home in the center of Taycheedah's campus. Behind its doors, prison walls and razor wire disappear. During these visits, the inmates get a brief reprieve from what they say is the most agonizing part of their sentences - being separated from their children. This program is unique to Taycheedah. About 75 percent of incarcerated women are mothers, two-thirds of whom have children under age 18. Advocates say female inmates and their children thrive when they can have contact. But more than half of women in U.S. prisons never get to see their children. Geography plays a part. Women's prisons usually are in rural areas and many caregivers can't afford the time and expense of bringing kids to see their moms. Others just won't allow it. "People think part of the punishment is to remove women from their children, but it is so shortsighted because it damages the children," said Phyllis Modley, correctional program specialist for the National Institute of Corrections in Washington, D.C. "If they stay connected to family, you get a better outcome when they come out." Armstrong's sister and brother-in-law, who take care of Brandon, moved from Ladysmith to Berlin just to be closer to the prison. But Armstrong, 27, hasn't seen her daughter in three years. She lives with her father, who won't bring her for visits, Armstrong said. So she cherishes her time with Brandon. "We look forward to this," said Armstrong, who is serving 20 years for second-degree intentional homicide. "Sometimes, we have it twice a month if we are lucky. I miss spending time with him alone. I write him every week, send him cards and crochet him blankets. I learned to crochet in here." Armstrong shot and killed her boyfriend in May 2002, and then hid his body. She told investigators she shot him only after he threatened to kill her while she clung to Brandon, who was 3. Andino is serving 35 years for attempted first-degree murder. She, too, says she was a victim of domestic abuse. "The toughest thing I deal with every day is being separated from (her children)," said Andino, formerly of Milwaukee. A couple of faith-based organizations arrange mother-child visits at Taycheedah. The Milwaukee-based St. Rose Youth & Family Center organizes parent-child prison visits, as well as a host of support programs and services for children of incarcerated parents. Family Connections, a Dane County nonprofit agency, received a grant last summer to start offering its trips again - after a three-year hiatus - for children to see their mothers at Taycheedah. "Some of the women I met with had literally not seen their children for two years or more," said Iris Christenson, a Madison-area attorney and Family Connections board president. "That is absolutely the hardest part of their sentence." When mother and child are able to connect, the benefits are apparent, Christenson said. "We see definite changes in the children who come consistently," she said. "The caregivers report they do better in school, they follow rules better and they aren't acting out." Several states have taken a more proactive approach to visitation. For at least two decades, the Minnesota Department of Corrections has allowed children to visit their mothers overnight in prison. New York, Washington state and Indiana allow babies to stay with their mothers in nursery programs. Ana Boatwright, warden of Wisconsin's women's correctional system, said she'd like to expand the extended visiting program to the state's three other minimum-security prisons for women. The agency is in the midst of restructuring and revamping all of its services and programs for female offenders. "This is something we are going to be reviewing," she said.