The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has joined forces with Girl Scouts of the USA to foster self-esteem, self-confidence, and character-building for girls with incarcerated mothers through the Girl Scouts Beyond Bars (GSBB) life skills curriculum. Studies show that children with incarcerated parents are four to six times more likely than their peers to become incarcerated. They are also more likely to experience anxiety, depression, attention disorders, truancy, and teen pregnancy. Girl Scouts Beyond Bars is a national program that helps girls establish and maintain healthy relationships with their incarcerated mothers.

Girl Scouts and the Department of Justice initiated the first and only mother-daughter prison visitation program in 1992, and have helped thousands of girls re-establish parental bonds and gain skills that may reduce criminal relapses. Reports show that approximately 75% of incarcerated women are mothers with at least two children. In most cases, incarcerated mothers were the primary caregivers for their children prior to their confinement. Today, Girl Scout councils across the country work with prisons, correctional facilities, detention centers, and group homes to help Girl Scouts visit, establish, and maintain healthy relationships with their incarcerated mothers. Many of these mothers will resume their daily parenting duties upon their release and remain part of Girl Scouting with their daughters.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation seeks to improve the health and health care of all Americans, and to promote healthy communities and lifestyles.