2016 Year In Review

The WIRE continued our work increasing awareness about the need for gender-responsive programs, services and policy changes to empower formerly incarcerated women to successfully reintegrate. In total, The WIRE participated or coordinated eight discussions between January to December 2016. Specific details about each event are as follows:

• January 2016: The WIRE participated in a panel discussion for DC’s Safer Stronger Advisory Committee on Strategies to engage youth.
• March 2016: The WIRE moderated a panel discussion about parenting behind bars sponsored by DC’s Mayor’s Office on Returning Citizen Affairs (MORCA).
• April 2016: The WIRE spoke at The National Press Club Press Release for the National Council of Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls at the National Press Club (Presented on DC – A model for the nation)
• April 2016: The WIRE facilitated a break-out session about parenting after incarceration at Maryland Correctional Institute for Women’s (MCIW) Women Moving Forward Conference.
• April 2016: The WIRE participated in a panel discussion for the U.S. Department of Education on the impact of incarceration on children with incarcerated parents.
• August 2016: The WIRE led a public-speaking workshop at the Third Annual Female Reentry Leadership Conference, hosted by DC’s Mayor’s Office on Returning Citizen Affairs (MORCA).
• November 2016: The WIRE participated in a roundtable discussion entitled, “Rethinking Violence,” hosted by DC’s Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA).
• December 2016: The WIRE participated in a panel discussion after a film screening of “Returning Citizens,” which focuses on a group of returning citizens from Southeast DC that show change is possible when the right opportunities are presented. The event was hosted by CSOSA. More information about the film can be found here.

​The WIRE was also invited to be interviewed in March 2016 with The Daily Drum – WHUR and Carolyn Corwin, of Covington & Burling, to discuss a report released by the Washington Lawyers’ Committee about incarcerated DC women. The report can be found online here.

And, for our reunification initiative, The WIRE was proud to see that two of the children with currently and formerly incarcerated mothers who are members of The WIRE were presented with the Right Direction Award in August 2016 by DC’s Office of Attorney General (OAG). The award is presented to DC youth who show significant self-improvement, serve as role models to other youth, or otherwise effect positive change in the DC community.