Gunnar Vold Hansen

“Fathers in Prison” program may create a basis for desistance among Norwegian prisoners

ABSTRACT This article presents some of the results from an evaluation of the program Fathers in Prison, created for convicted fathers in Norway. The evaluation is based on interviews with participants at the start and end of the program, and at about six months after completion. The survey shows that participants became more concerned with their role as a father and felt that it conflicted with criminal activity. The program therefore appeared, in isolation, to change participants’ attitudes, but a lack of follow-up after conclusion appeared to weaken its effect.

Does Fatherhood Training in Prison Improve Fathering Skills and Reduce Family Challenges

ABSTRACT The Norwegian Correctional Service offers a program called “Fathers in Prison”, aimed at helping incarcerated fathers to have better contact with their children during their sentence and after release. On the basis of 38 semi-structured interviews with prisoners who have completed the program, we would argue that there is reason to believe that the program enhances the participants’ fathering skills. Feedback from the participants showed that “Fathers in Prison” helps fathers take greater responsibility for their children’s situation, their fathering skills improve and father–child contact is enhanced. However, the program appears to have little influence on the situation of the prisoner’s family while he is still imprisoned. There is no indication that participation by the father in the program implies better support for his children and family than they would otherwise receive. The conclusion is consequently that the program helps participants to function better as fathers both during and after imprisonment, but that it does not reduce challenges in prisoners’ families to any great extent.

The ‘Short Addiction Program’: experiences from an intervention by the correctional services in Norway

Abstract Do participants in a short term training program in prison find that it helps them to cope with their addiction better than before? This article explores the effects of a pilot project conducted in two Norwegian prisons. The study is based on interviews with 16 participants. The data show that the program increased inmates’ motivation and provided them with better tools to deal with their addiction. The conclusion is therefore that this kind of program could be the first step towards enabling prisoners with addictions to cope better with the challenges involved.

I hvilken grad kan gruppeveiledning være et middel til å forebygge sykefravær på et sykehjem

This article analyzes the experience of applying group supervision in a nursing home in order to reduce sick leave. Data were collected by interviewing participants from three different groups and the counseling supervisor. The study shows that group counseling may reduce some of the risk factors leading to sick leave, but this requires that both the supervision and the group, serves as a resource for employees who feel that they have a demanding job