Turning Pages Family Literacy Program, Baltimore County, Maryland

About the Program

Category: Children and Youth (Best in Category)

Year: 2015

The Turning Pages Family Reading Program at the Baltimore County Department of Corrections (BCDC) is a family literacy initiative designed to strengthen family bonds while improving literacy skills of inmate-parents and their children, and the children’s caregivers. Turning Pages provides explicit read-aloud instruction and multiple opportunities for male offenders to read with their children during special contact visits. For inmates with poor literacy skills, this is an authentic reason to read easy text of children’s books, often resulting in their own reading skills being strengthened and a renewed interest in reading for pleasure. Participation requires an outside adult family member to accompany the children and to participate fully in the caregivers’ activities. BCDC staff and program volunteers collaborate to arrange facility resources for each eight-week session. Program highlights include a fathers-only workshop for family literacy instruction, contact visitations, family literacy instruction for caregivers, and approximately 25 books gifted to each child. The men keep the book during each workshop to practice reading aloud over the next week. With increased confidence they can fully enjoy reading to their children and completing follow-up activities with their children in the Contact Visitation Room. During the visit, the children’s caregivers meet with a discussion facilitator to learn about the importance of reading with their children and other ways to strengthen their own and their family’s literacy skills. As expected, the Turning Pages program renews and improves family bonds and increases all family members’ interest in reading. Caregivers and children report that the contact visits bring comfort and develop a love of reading. Over the eight-week program, inmates are empowered as their children’s literacy coaches. Months after the program, inmates and their children remain in contact, and literacy skills continue to strengthen as most parents continue to read aloud to their children and independently for their own enjoyment.