Virtual Reality Gives Kids Better Chance to Bond With Parents Behind Bars

Kids and their parents behind bars are now getting a better chance to bond through virtual reality, a technology that continuously grows and expands its purpose and uses.

In a first and one of its kind collaboration, the state Department of Corrections and Wrap Technologies Inc., from Tempe, Arizona, are piloting the use of virtual reality that allows "360-degree views of an imaginary world in two or three dimensions for shared adventures" between kids and their incarcerated mothers and fathers.

The uptown-based Amachi Pittsburgh, a nonprofit organization that helps parents behind bars to have better connections and communication and build better relationships with their children made the collaboration possible.

A state grant of $680,000 is guaranteeing a 3-month trial including materials for parenting classes, which will be virtually offered in 3 prisons with SCI Fayette in Uniontown included.

'Re-establish connection' between parent and child

In a news conference last week, the executive director of Amachi Pittsburgh, Anna Hollis, stated that they are very much determined to see the project grow. Re-establishing connections between parents and children, especially those that cannot be physically together, is an important endeavor and the project will make it very much possible and easier.

"The overwhelming majority of incarcerated parents will return to their families and communities at the conclusion of their prison sentence. Practice makes perfect and we hope role playing with the assistance of virtual avatars will help parents and children see beyond the facility walls and build stronger families and safer communities," Department of Corrections Acting Secretary George Little expressed in a statement.

Hollis further shared that utilizing virtual reality in rehabilitation of criminal justice will be simpler as compared to how other companies, like Metaverse, is using the technology.

The incarcerated parents and their children will meet on a Zoom call. They will then choose an imaginary adventure that both will experience by wearing a headset that covers the eyes.

It will be a "shared, immersive experience" for both parties that will lead to improved

communication. Each virtual reality experience will have its own lesson plan as a guide and it will be managed by a staff from the state Department of Corrections, who is able to adapt and customize the circumstances in real time.

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Treatments & Preventions

According to the National Institute of Corrections, new research revealed that there are more than 5 million kids in the U.S. that have had at least one parent in prison at one time or another. Further, parents of 1 in every 50 children in the country are in prison.

Moreover, just in Allegheny County, 8,500 kids have their mom and dads away in prison bars, and at least 200,000 children from around the state have incarcerated parents.

The arrest of a parent can be very traumatic for many children. As stated in a comprehensive review of research on kids with incarcerated parents, the arrest and removal of parents from a child's life pushes the latter to encounter emotional, social and economic consequences that highly trigger behavior problems, poor school outcomes, and a disruption or severance of the parent-child relationship, that may still persist even after the release of parent from prison.

Thus, programs like this are very crucial not only for family restrengthening but also for saving the life of both parties as they heal and move forward in life together.

Penn State University researchers will evaluate the program's effectiveness. It was noted that the kids need not have to travel to the prison or jail facility to participate. Amachi Pittsburgh with the Public Health Management Corp. in Philadelphia will do the facilitation of the "virtual reality visits."

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