A recent father-daughter dance in Miami was held at an unusual location — Miami's Federal Detention Center. The Miami Herald reports that 13 inmates and 20 daughters gathered in a prison meeting room that was transformed into a ballroom for two hours. The girls ranged in age from 4 to 18 years old. Xzavion Steadman checks his tie before seeing his daughter at the Federal Detention Center Miami . Pedro Bello adjusts his tie in the mirror before a daddy daughter dance at the Federal Detention Center Miami . Pedro Bello dances with his daughter at the Federal Detention Center Miami . Prison officials support the dance as a way to help inmates engage with their families and to prepare the inmates for the eventual release from prison. The Miami dance was the first such event held in a federal prison. Officials hope to hold similar dances in other federal prisons around the nation. Among the inmates who joined in the dance was Ernest Williams, 35. Williams is serving a 41-month drug sentence. He danced with his 9-year-old twin girls and his 13-year-old daughter. Omar Outten straightens the cuffs on his pants as he waits to see his daughter at the Federal Detention Center Miami . In this Nov. 4, 2014 photo, Anthony Martin and Xzavion Steadman check each others ties before visiting with their daughters in the receiving and discharging room at the Federal Detention Center Miami. The federal prison system hosted the first Daddy Daughter dance, a social for inmates and their daughters. Prison officials support the dance as a way to help inmates engage with their families and to prepare the inmates for the eventual release from prison. (AP Photo/The Miami Herald, Al Diaz) Ayoung girl waits to see her father at the Federal Detention Center Miami . "I haven't seen my girls in months, I could not believe how much they have grown," said Williams, 37, convicted of intent to sell crack cocaine. 'I was so happy to see them but so sad that I will not be able to leave with them. I am here instead of being outside with my family because of the choices I made.' Fathers and daughter participate thin the Daddy Daughter Dance at the Federal Detention Center Miami . Pedro Bello, right, checks himself in a small mirror as Santeli Martinez looks on at the Federal Detention Center Miami . The dance was attended by national law enforcement officials including the BOP director and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. 'You hope this will be transformational, that this dance gives these fathers something to look forward to,' said Walter T. Richardson, the Miami-Dade Police Department chaplain who delivered the keynote address. 'We want the focus not so much on what happened, what brought them here, but what kind of future they can have. Their daughters are their future.'
13 inmates and 20 daughters gathered in a prison meeting room that was transformed into a ballroom for two hours .
The dance was attended by national law enforcement officials including the BOP director and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida .
Officials hope to hold similar dances in other federal prisons around the nation .
A recent father-daughter dance in Miami was held at an unusual location — Miami's Federal Detention Center. The Miami Herald reports that 13 inmates and 20 daughters gathered in a prison meeting room that was transformed into a ballroom for two hours. The girls ranged in age from 4 to 18 years old. Xzavion Steadman checks his tie before seeing his daughter at the Federal Detention Center Miami . Pedro Bello adjusts his tie in the mirror before a daddy daughter dance at the Federal Detention Center Miami . Pedro Bello dances with his daughter at the Federal Detention Center Miami . Prison officials support the dance as a way to help inmates engage with their families and to prepare the inmates for the eventual release from prison. The Miami dance was the first such event held in a federal prison. Officials hope to hold similar dances in other federal prisons around the nation. Among the inmates who joined in the dance was Ernest Williams, 35. Williams is serving a 41-month drug sentence. He danced with his 9-year-old twin girls and his 13-year-old daughter. Omar Outten straightens the cuffs on his pants as he waits to see his daughter at the Federal Detention Center Miami . In this Nov. 4, 2014 photo, Anthony Martin and Xzavion Steadman check each others ties before visiting with their daughters in the receiving and discharging room at the Federal Detention Center Miami. The federal prison system hosted the first Daddy Daughter dance, a social for inmates and their daughters. Prison officials support the dance as a way to help inmates engage with their families and to prepare the inmates for the eventual release from prison. (AP Photo/The Miami Herald, Al Diaz) Ayoung girl waits to see her father at the Federal Detention Center Miami . "I haven't seen my girls in months, I could not believe how much they have grown," said Williams, 37, convicted of intent to sell crack cocaine. 'I was so happy to see them but so sad that I will not be able to leave with them. I am here instead of being outside with my family because of the choices I made.' Fathers and daughter participate thin the Daddy Daughter Dance at the Federal Detention Center Miami . Pedro Bello, right, checks himself in a small mirror as Santeli Martinez looks on at the Federal Detention Center Miami . The dance was attended by national law enforcement officials including the BOP director and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. 'You hope this will be transformational, that this dance gives these fathers something to look forward to,' said Walter T. Richardson, the Miami-Dade Police Department chaplain who delivered the keynote address. 'We want the focus not so much on what happened, what brought them here, but what kind of future they can have. Their daughters are their future.'
13 inmates and 20 daughters gathered in a prison meeting room that was transformed into a ballroom Officials hope to hold similar dances in other federal prisons around the nation. Among the attended by national law enforcement officials including the BOP director and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. 'You hope