A father-daughter dance held inside a Colorado prison this summer offered a rare glimpse into the state's expanding effort to keep incarcerated parents connected to their families. The fathers who attended are residents of Trinidad State Prison, a minimum-security facility for men with 10 years or less left on their sentences. On Aug. 11, about half a dozen families gathered at the facility for the father-daughter dance, a rare break from the tightly controlled weekend visits, where inmates must keep their hands visible on the table and physical contact is limited.
The event is part of a state-run program designed to help offenders engage with their families and build a support network, with the goal of incentivizing positive social behavior, according to state corrections officials. Major Alex Sample, Trinidad's operations manager, said that reunification through events like a father-daughter dance has been done at the federal level but never before at the state level in Colorado. Reunification events have been part of the programming at the facility since about 2017. Trinidad offers 18 offender-led programs and educational opportunities, including classes offered by nearby Trinidad State College, where 22 offenders graduated with either college degrees or GEDs in May.
For families of incarcerated parents, the logistical and financial burdens are significant. The prison sits far east of town, reachable only by a 9-mile stretch of dirt road, and families do not end up in that corner of Las Animas County unless they are headed to the facility. One Colorado Springs family described relocating closer to the prison to make weekly visits possible, while another said financial pressures limit them to traveling to Trinidad roughly once a month. One spouse reported relying on nannies at a cost of about $2,000 a month, while also carrying responsibility for the family's rent and other expenses.
The challenges are no less acute at the Denver Women's Correctional Facility, where the state has also moved to formalize family support structures. A social work counselor at the facility noted that most women in Colorado prisons are mothers, with fewer than a dozen in the nearly 800-bed facility who are not. Women who give birth while in prison receive 28 daytime-only days with their newborns before shifting to weekend visits. In addition to providing new mothers with a dedicated space to be with their babies, the Mother Bonding Unit at the Denver Women's Correctional Facility offers parenting and mental health support, along with childbirth, pregnancy and parenting education, plus lactation and dietary assistance. The unit arose out of Senate Bill 23-039.
Some mothers have not seen their other children in months because no one in their family meets the background-check requirements to bring them to the facility. Clearing that background check requires having no active warrants or fines, according to the facility's social work counselor. Mental health support is described as critical once the 28-day newborn visitation period ends, as some women suffer from depression or anxiety, and the program encourages video visitation whenever possible to help mothers stay connected with their children.
Corrections staff at Trinidad emphasized that family engagement is central to the rehabilitation mission. "We're very driven to encourage that positive social behavior and try to really get them where they need to be. We want them to change where their thought processes are so we can get them out and be productive," said a Trinidad case manager. Staff at the women's facility tell newly arrived inmates that the best thing they can do for their children — beyond staying connected — is to serve their time well, stay focused on getting home, and that better behavior and participation in programming can lead to earlier release and faster reunification.
How effectively these programs reduce recidivism and improve long-term family outcomes for Colorado Springs-area families with relatives incarcerated at both facilities remains to be assessed by state corrections officials.