About |
As part of our harm reduction approach to ending prison birth, Ostara Initiative is offering an experiential Advanced Prison Doula Training and Certification from February 2-4, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. With integrated learning at America's Black Holocaust Museum, we will trace pathways of slavery and gender oppression to modern day pregnancy and parenting inside US prisons.
This training will give you the tools you need to successfully care for, support, and empower pregnant and parenting people who are involved in the criminal justice system. Our trainers have decades of experience combined, both as doulas and as former birthing clients, and we take our aim to center the voices and experiences of directly-impacted parents seriously. Core learning will include:
Acceptance to this Advanced Training and Certification Workshop will include a certification exam and 6 monthly mentorship meetings with other trainees and an experienced prison doula. After passing the exam and completing the mentorship, Ostara Initiative will grant a lifetime Advanced Prison Doula Certification to the doula and maintain a registry of certified prison doulas nationally to share with carceral facilities looking to provide doula care to those who are incarcerated and pregnant or postpartum. |
Who Should Apply |
Ostara Initiative is seeking to teach, mentor, and certify trained and experienced birthworkers who are already working with justice-impacted and marginalized populations and those who have a direct pathway to working within carceral settings, including juvenile detention, immigrant detention, community corrections, jails, and prisons. To ensure we are able to properly mentor each doula who completes the training workshop, we are only able to offer a limited number of spaces at this time. We will be saving every applicant's contact information and reaching out about future training opportunities, so if you are not selected to attend at this time, there may still be an opportunity to come.
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Application & Cost |
The training and certification will cost $800, not including travel or lodging costs. There will be opportunities for full and partial scholarships, as well as the option to pay slightly more on a sliding scale to support low-income birth workers hoping to attend this training and receive certification.
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Need-Based and Inclusion Scholarships |
Equity and inclusion are foundational elements of Ostara’s community. To make the Advanced Prison Doula Training and Certification more accessible, we will provide scholarships. It is important to us that we create a deep sense of belonging at this training and in the birth work community. Ostara Initiative values vast dimensions of diversity and strives to uplift all interested birth workers, especially those belonging to BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, disabled, and justice-impacted communities. We encourage everyone to apply.
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Questions |
Please reach out to [email protected] with any questions about this application or the training and certification itself. Bookmark this page for updates on our next training in Fall 2024.
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