Women in Prison

Prison Nursery

4% of women enter prison pregnate. Thousands of babies are born in a prison every year.

Children of inmates are sometimes allowed to raise their babies in prison, until they are 18 months old.

People who are involved in violent crimes, arson or crime involving children will not be allowed to raise their children in the prison. Those who are eligible can apply for Prison Nursery, but with limited seats, some mothers are forced to give up custody of their children for the remaining of their sentence.

The babies are given monthly routine visits. Spending time with the mothers helps the babies develop, and know that they will be taken care of.

Throughout the program, mothers are able to spend several hours with their babies every day, when they have finished their chores. Every mother is also assigned a nanny, which is another inmate who will care for the babies when the mother is not present.

Program costs $24,000 a year, while the average inmate costs $33,000. With this program, the mothers get to care for there kids, and the govt does not have to pay foster care. 33% of women who were separated return to prison. Only 9% of mothers that get to keep their children return.

"She notes that children who are separated from their parents have an increased likelihood of emotional and behavioral disorders, school failure and trouble with the law if they live in temporary arrangements with relatives while their mother is in prison."

More than half of the 2.3 mill inmates have children under 18. 8.3 mill children have a parent in some form of Criminal Justice Supervision. 73% of women, 58% of men. The majority of these children live in low income communities of color. When prisoners are released, many of them are relocated to more rural, upstate communities, making visits difficult.

"The large-scale social, emotional and economic disruption of families—particularly in low-income communities of color—is one of the most devastating consequences of mass incarceration."

Splitting families as a result of incarcerating children's parents inflicts trauma on children, harms family structures, destabilizes communities, and places financial burdens on relatives who assume caretaking responsibilities and taxpayers who assume costs associated with foster care. Also, parents who are incarserated are at serious risk of loosing their children forever.