New York City launched a new initiative at Rikers Island aimed at supporting incarcerated mothers, stepmothers and expectant mothers, with a focus on mental health, family ties and social reintegration.
The program, called the Motherhood Initiative on Rikers Island, was announced by NYC Her Future, an office within the Mayor’s Office of Racial Equity and Justice, in partnership with the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) and the Department of Correction (DOC).
Separation from children and the breakdown of family systems intensify mental health needs and destabilize already vulnerable homes. Incarceration often deepens trauma, anxiety, and depression, while weakening bonds between mothers and children and disrupting access to housing, employment, and health care, directly increasing the likelihood of recidivism and long-term family instability.
In this context, the initiative seeks to address these structural gaps through a model that prioritizes mental health, strengthening family ties, and access to essential services during and after incarceration.
The pilot program will serve 75 participants at the Rose M. Singer Center and offers a comprehensive model that combines case management, individual and group psychological counseling, peer support, family activities and weekly life skills workshops. It also includes specialized legal coordination in child welfare cases to facilitate family reunification.
“When a mother is incarcerated, her children, her family and her community feel it,” said Mayor Zohran Mamdani. “Too many women leave Rikers without stable housing or income, and without support. This initiative seeks to change that.”
The model will be implemented by Rising Ground, an organization with nearly two centuries of experience in social services, which operates more than 100 programs in the city and county of Westchester.
Municipal officials indicated that the program seeks to reduce recidivism by strengthening the emotional and economic stability of the participants from within the prison system.
