HISPANIC FAMILY REINTEGRATION This year, more than 630,000 people were released from state and federal prisons: within three years of release,an astounding 52% return to prison…(C.Shapiro, September, 2003) Approximately 62% of the admissions were African American and about 15% were Hispanic (La Bodega Familia,New Jersey)

STEREOTYPIC AL IDENTIFICATIONS OF HISPANICS  FAMILIA  GREEN CARDS  RAZA  RELIGION  TRADITIONAL  “WET BACK”  “GREASERS”  IMIGRANTS  “SPICS”  BEANERS  LATINO/LATINA  UNDOCUMENTED  CHICANO/CHICANA

FAMILY NUCLEAR FAMILY - FATHER – MOTHER – SON –DAUGHTER EXTENDED FAMILY GRANDPARENTS – UNCLES – AUNTS – COUSINS FICTIVE KIN COMPADRE/COMADRE – PADRINO - MADRINA

WHAT DOES THE HISPANIC CULTURE LOOK LIKE?  GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION IS IMPORTANT (RURAL VS METROPOLITAN)  LANGUAGE VARIES (SPANISH, PUERTO RICAN, CUBAN, SPANGLISH)  SPIRITUAL BELIEFS (NOT ALL HISPANICS ARE CATHOLICS)  TRADITIONAL (SOME HISPANICS ARE MORE TRADITIONAL THAN OTHERS)  INTUITIVE (I FEEL IT RECORDER)  PERSONAL  RELATIONAL (GROUP, FAMILY ORIENTED)  SYMBOLIC (SAINTS)  HISPANICS TEND TO OPERATE ON EXTERNAL CONTROLS (FAMILY, JOB, AUTHORITY FIGURES, OR INSTITUTIONS)  WHERE A PERSON FROM ANOTHER CULTURE MAY SAY “I MISSED THE BUS” THE HISPANIC WILL PROBABLY SAY “EL AUTOBUS ME DEJO”

HISPANIC VALUES  HUMAN INTERACTION DOMINATES  HEART  FIESTA  FAMILY – COOPERATION – GROUP WELFARE  LOVE  SONG  POETRY  TOUCH  UNITY OF FEELINGS  BIRTHRIGHT INHERITANCE  HIERARCHY/RANK/STATUS  IDEALISM  DESTINY  RELIGION (GOD)

ACCULTURATION IT IS IMPORTANT TO ASSESS THE HISPANIC CLIENT’S LEVEL OF ACCULTURATION-  DOES HE/SHE SPEAK ENGLISH IF SO HOW GOOD?  WHAT KIND OF PROGRAMS DOES HE/ SHE WATCH, (SPANISH OR ENGLISH)?  WHAT LANGUAGE DID THEY USE AS A CHILD?  WHAT LANGUAGE IS SPOKEN AT HOME AND AT FAMILY GATHERINGS?  IN WHICH LANGUAGE DOES HE/SHE THINK?  WHAT LANGUAGE IS THE MUSIC HE/SHE LISTEN TO?  DOES HE/SHE ATTEND SOCIAL GATHERINGS WHERE THE PEOPLE ARE OF DIFFERENT ETHNICITIES OR ARE THEY ALL HISPANIC, OR MORE HISPANICS THAN NON-HISPANIC?  WHO ARE THEIR CLOSE FRIENDS – HISPANIC, MOSTLY HISPANIC, ETC.  DO THEY READ/WRITE IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH OR JUST SPANISH OR JUST ENGLISH.

MI HIJITO SYNDROME THIS SYNDROME IS COMMON IN MANY HISPANIC FAMILIES!

HIERARCHY  THE WOMAN IS THE GATE WAY TO HEAVEN!  THE MAN IS IN CHARGE WHEN IN PUBLIC!  THE OLDEST SON GETS THE PROPERTY  THE YOUNGEST DAUGHTER GETS THE PARENTS  THE MIJITO LIVES AT HOME UNTIL THE PARENTS ARE GONE AND THEN THE DAUGHTER INHERITS HIM.

APPROACHES TO FAMILY REINTEGRATION  FAMILY THERAPY (THERAPIST SHOULD BE CULTURALLY COMPETENT)  GENOGRAM (IDENTIFY DYSFUNCTION AND ATTRIBUTES OF THE FAMILY  ECOMAP (RESOURCES OUTSIDE THE FAMILY)  IDENTIFY THE MATRIARCH/PATRIARCH (WHO IS IN CHARGE)OF THE FAMILY  ASSESS ACCULTURATION LEVEL  IDENTIFY RELIGIOUS AFFILIATIONS  MATCH THE OFFENDER WITH A CULTURALLY COMPETENT COUNSELOR  CASE MANAGMENT

LANDSCAPE OF REENTRY Since the mid-1980’s, the number of new admissions based on parole violations has grown. Parole violator admissions grew nearly seven-fold. The extraordinary challenges facing returning individuals are also exacerbated by generational poverty and familial involvement in the criminal justice system.

REENTRY - CONTINUED However, merely training local parole and probation officers and other community-based service providers in a family-support model will not yield long-term, pervasive change. For that, it is critical to have a systematic statewide process of identifying and engaging the leadership within the criminal justice system as well as within social service delivery system. (C. Shapiro, September, 2003)