Moms and Babies Locked Up Together
Nine states:California, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Nebraska, New York, South Dakota, Washington and West Virginia have prison nurseries or expect to open them. As reported in the Cincinnati Enquirer.
On the campus of the Ohio Reformatory for Women, convicts shuffle across from one spot to the next under watchful eyes.
Takeem’s mother Takaya Patterson is exempt.
In contrast to the other buildings at the sprawling complex surrounded by razor wire and blinding lights, the nursery is colorful and dotted with Sesame Street characters.
Takeem’s mother wears a prison jumpsuit. Takeem, with cherub cheeks and long slender fingers, sleeps in her arms as she rocks.
Just 2 months old, Takeem lives in prison.
Under an unusual program, the state of Ohio lets Patterson raise him behind prison walls.
Some experts say that approach is best for both mothers and their children because the women are less likely to commit crimes when they get out, and children get to be with their moms during critical periods of their development.
One critic calls the program a waste of taxpayer money and says prison should be a place for punishment, not somewhere to raise babies.
Either way, one thing is not in dispute: the number of women in prison has skyrocketed in the last three decades, and most female prisoners are single mothers.
In Ohio, being a prison mom is a full-time job for up to 18 months.
In Kentucky, infants can bond with their mothers, but for only a few hours at time.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the number of women behind bars has increased 843 percent in the last three decades, growing from 12,279 in 1977 to 115,779 last year.
In that same time, Ohio saw a 577 percent increase in female inmates, from 577 in 1977 to 3,905 last year; Kentucky experienced a whopping 1,573 percent increase from 139 in 1977 to 2,326 last year.
With so many more women landing behind bars, who is left to take care of the children?
In a 2004 survey, 84 percent of imprisoned parents said they left their child with the child’s other parent. The rest went elsewhere – including 3 percent who went into foster care, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics report, Parent in Prison and their Minor Children.
Ohio is one of nine states with prison nurseries.
Guidelines are stringent for Ohio’s program. Since opening in 2001, 137 women have raised babies behind bars.
Still, the benefits are indisputable, said Terry Collins, director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
Bonding key issue
Establishing an early bond between the infant and mother is imperative to childhood development. And for the mothers, having that strong bond with their children tends to be the impetus to play it straight on the outside.
“It is well known that family support and family bonds are among the top factors that increase a returning citizen’s chance of having a successful re-entry,” Collins said.
Ohio set up a nursery in 2001. Indiana followed last year. Kentucky has a nursery, but children are not permitted to live with their mothers.
The Women’s Prison Association, a New York-based agency that advocates for women with criminal records, recently studied babies behind bars and urged states to allow moms to serve sentences in the community or to start nurseries similar to Ohio’s.
“I think people are realizing more and more women are going to prison and the reality is that women are mothers,” said Chandra Villanueva, of the Institute on Women and Criminal Justice, part of the Women’s Prison Association. “It makes sense to keep mothers and children together and give them the foundation to build a healthy relationship with their child.”
Earlier this year, Villanueva released a report that found that women who participate in prison nursery programs are less likely to commit another crime, and their babies get to be with their mom during critical development months.
Much more on the the Cincinnati Enquirer.
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