Oklahoma Girl Scouts Beyond Bars

Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma is a community based organization that offers the Girls Scouts Beyond Bars, or GSBB program. The program coordinators work with girls, their caregivers, siblings, and incarcerated mothers to build and strengthen healthy, lasting relationships. Participation in the program helps an incarcerated mother become eligible to participate in a GSBB Girl Scout meeting at her correction center with her daughter. Through a structured program, incarcerated mothers learn strategies to interact confidently, feel competent in their role as a parent, and practice parenting skills. Children who stay in touch with their parent in prison show fewer disruptive and anxious behaviors. By creating opportunities for visiting their incarcerated mother and providing referrals to families and caregivers for support services, the GSBB program supports future reintegration. GSBB prepares girls and their siblings before visiting their incarcerated mothers. Through Girl Scouts and related support services, girls become women of courage, confidence, and character and break the chain of incarceration while giving their families another chance.