Prison Ministries

Prison Ministries focuses on the relationships between families and incarcerated individuals to help connect them in difficult situations. LSS believes that maintaining and strengthening the connection between incarcerated adults and their families or other caring individuals makes it more likely that they will have a successful return to the community and a responsible and productive life.

LSS focuses especially on incarcerated mothers and fathers to strengthen their parenting skills and establish connections with their children. Research has shown that when these connections exist and are strengthened, outcomes for both the children and incarcerated parents improve.

LSS sees an urgent need to begin working with incarcerated parents and the families they leave behind long before the re-entry time is realized. Our goal is to create environments where families experiencing incarceration are supported so they can realize a new and more positive future.

With 45,000 adults incarcerated in Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, and more than 50,000 children with a parent in jail or prison, LSS feels a pressing urgency for Prison Ministries to make a difference.

Eau Claire County Jail Program

LSS provides parenting education classes inside the county jail for both men and women. The classes are designed to help participants remain connected with their children during incarceration, to increase their parenting skills and to help them be successful upon their release from Jail. Classes include parenting styles, positive discipline, anger management, understanding the effects of incarceration on children, strengthening family bonds, and an audio file of the parent reading a book to their children which children receive, along with the book itself.

Manitowoc Jail Program

Similar to the Eau Claire County Jail Program, the Manitowoc Jail Program helps relieve overcrowding at the jail by providing a variety of classes to incarcerated men and women designed to increase the likelihood that they will not return to jail upon their release. LSS staff provide classes in anger and stress management, addiction, cognitive interventions, accountability, parenting, and release planning. The classes run for of 3-4 months. Upon completion, clients receive a certificate of recognition from the county and the Department of Corrections.

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