The issue of custody of children is a significant issue especially with female inmates and the newborn infants (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). While the proposition for women to take care of their infants for the first six months has a moral appeal, I consider it ultimately impossible. This is due to the present economic realities of prisons that have numerous issues such as overcrowding. An infant should not be under such conditions. Furthermore, at the end of those six months, the child will still become either a ward of the state or be taken in by relatives of the prisoners begging the question of the need for a six months bonding that results in the same outcome. Therefore, I would oppose such a measure unless sufficient resources are at
33% of mothers who get separated from their babies show signs of recidivism, as compared to the 9% of women who get to participate in prison nursery programs. ⬤ b. According to Regina Cardaci, RN, mothers in prison who aren’t allowed to spend time with their babies don’t develop the necessary parenting skills they need to take care of a child. ⬤ From an article published by The American Journal of Nursing,
As the population of incarcerated women continues to rise, so too does the population of incarcerated pregnant women. The question for state governments is whether to continue the policy of removing new children from inmate mothers after birth, or to adopt a more progressive policy of allowing mothers to keep their babies while they are incarcerated. This article addresses the recent history of U.S. prison nurseries and discusses the current nursery program in the state of Nebraska, which is the second oldest operational program in the country.
Benidalys Rivera is one of seven women to give birth while in the Western Massachusetts Regional Women’s Correctional Center in 2013. In 2013, Benidalys was convicted to serve two and a half years in Chicopee jail for trafficking cocaine. She started to have contractions in her cell, late in the evening. One of the male correctional officers immediately put shackles on her hands, and he left the shackles on her in the hospital labor room. He told Benidalys that he would take the off the shackles on her ankles when she reaches active labor. However, she never entered active labor and the shackles never were taken off. The doctors had to perform a caesarean section (Berg). Benidalys walked around the hospital “she felt embarrassed as nurses and other patients looked on” (Berg) while having only her assigned nurse for comfort. Benidalys took care of her infant for only two days before they had to separate. The infant, named E.J. taken with the biological father’s family, and Benidalys taken back to the institution. Growing up for two and a half years without visiting his mother because the father’s family lived far away from the prison (Berg). The Department of Corrections of each state needs to consider the well-being of incarcerated women and their children in order to prevent the poor upbringing of the children, to prevent repeat offenders, and to create laws protecting
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Like many other Americans, I too am on the Orange is the New Black bandwagon, albeit a little late. While going through the episodes and without giving away any spoilers I began to have a lot of different thoughts about pregnant inmates, the experience of having a child while incarcerated and where said child ends up. This question ultimately led me to look into prison nurseries. There are currently only 9 states in the US that have a program that resemble a prison nursery, before the 1970’s most female prison facilities provided a form of nursery program for female inmates who gave birth while incarcerated. This topic brings about very strong emotions and firm ideals. A research paper published by William and Mary Law School titled, Jailing Black Babies, written by James G. Dwyer expresses concerns such as violating the infants 14th amendment and the lack of evidence of the benefits that prison nurseries have for the children. Kerstin Pagling notes the economical issues associated with mother and children prison programs. This essay will argue that prison nurseries are an essential human right because they allow for the essential mother-child bond to develop, as well as allow the mother to participate in her own rehabilitation for societal advancement.
Even if you and the other parent of the child have an amicable relationship, a child custody lawyer can still offer tremendous benefits. A child custody lawyer in Hoffman Estates, IL can deal with all the technicalities and can take the stress out of, what can be a tedious process.
A nursery in prison allows a mother to raise and keep her child with her up to eighteen months. Many people may question if it’s the safest thing for a child to spend his or her’s first year of life behind bars. In Schiavocampo’s article entitled Moms Behind Bars she interviews several inmates asking their opinions on the program. She notes that about two thirds of women prisoners are mothers. Therefore there is a huge need for this program around the United States. One of the inmates she talks to says, “Babies belong with their mothers, whether it’s in prison or not.” While another inmate she talks to states, “Who wants to have a baby in prison and not be able to stay with the baby?" she asks. "I'm grateful I kept her. She's the laughingest, smilingest, giggling-about-nothing baby. The fact that she's here keeps me out of trouble.” Keeping their children with them is having nothing but a positive affect on these women. It’s giving them a reason to behave and serve their sentence as quickly as possible. Several studies in this article have shown that women who have been part of the nursery program are less likely to return back to prison. The author demonstrates how keeping children with their mothers saves the child and the mother at the same
Mother Behind Bars examines a lot of inadequate policies and procedures that these states have in place for federal and state correctional facilities. This report card bring up the issue on prenatal care, shackling, prison nurseries, and family based treatment as an alternative to incarceration however in this paper I will focus on the restraints on these pregnant inmates. New Jersey received a grade of D for shackling policies. Besides New Jersey thirty-seven other states obtain a D/F for their failure to comprehensively limit, or limit at all, the use of restraints on pregnant women transportation, labor, delivery, and postpartum recuperation (National Women’s Law Center, 2010). The use of restraints can compromise the health and safety of the women and the unborn child. Shackling pregnant women is dangerous and inhumane; women prisoners are still routinely shackled during pregnancy and childbirth. The reason these women are shackled is for safety and security, despite the fact that shackling pregnant women is degrading, unnecessary and a violation of human rights some state still condone this practice.
Some of the challenges in the perinatal care in the correctional setting include lack of prenatal care prior to incarceration, drug or alcohol dependency, psychosocial problems or lack of outside family support, victim or transgressor of past abuse or violence and the psychological challenges of being incarcerated. For many women, the reality of being in the prison system can be devastating; the separation from family, which often includes their own children, and friends can cause depression, anxiety and fear. Personal physical safety is also a concern, as prison is often described as having its own “culture”, structure and hierarchy,
Women entering prison during the first trimester verses the third trimester have different outcome in terms infant birth weight. Women who become incarcerated during their first trimester are likely to have infants born of normal birth weight. This is because prison systems are required to provide healthcare, which would include prenatal care, and three meals a day (Howard, Strobino, Sherman, & Crum, 2011). This
After reading about the population of females in correction facilities, I came across the issue of incarcerating mothers. “Approximately 7 in 10 women under correctional sanction have minor children” (women offenders pg.7). Before reading this chapter, I have never put any importance to the challenge of sending mothers to prison. For the most part, I believe that judges and juries should consider the “motherhood” as a mitigating circumstance during a sentence. However, the age of the child and the crime should also play a role in the type of sentence given to a woman.
Approximately 80% of incarcerated women are mothers (Mapson, 2013). On average, the adult female offender is between the ages of 25 and 29. Historically, incarcerated women live with their children prior to incarceration and are the sole financial support for those children. When a mother is incarcerated over 80% live with relatives (mostly maternal grandparents) and about 20% live in foster care. Due to mothers being placed far from populated centers, more than half of mothers will not see their children while they are imprisoned. Women rarely see their children due to the child being in foster care or with family members that do not have the financial resources to travel for visits.
Prison nurseries are a separate facility inside of a prison where mothers and infants are housed together, and insulated from the general population. The mother is responsible for the care of the child during the day, and the child sleeps in a crib in the mother’s cell at night. Most prison nurseries are only available to mothers who give birth to their babies while they are serving their sentence, while women who give birth before they go to prison are not qualified. Prison nurseries are very uncommon in the US, and typically when babies are born to mothers in prison and they can not be placed with family members, they will be placed in the care of the state and the foster care system.
The rate of women being incarcerated in prisons has dramatically risen over the last decade. While these women are being locked up for crimes ranging from drug possession to murder, they often come into the prison system with children or pregnant. Nationwide, nearly 2 million children have parents in prison. The number of those with incarcerated mothers is growing rapidly. A recent report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that the number of minors with mothers in prison increased by more than 100 percent in the last 15 years [ (Schwartzapfel, 2008) ]. While some women must give up their children before or after they enter prison, a handful of women get to keep their children. These women serve their sentences at one of nine
This poem by Floyd Skloot has a setting that I believe is in their personal home.. It is a poem written to address the beauty of music and how it makes everything it is around glow. Firstly, Skloot describes in great detail what he believed the woman he is writing about is expressing as she dances around while listening to a Chopin Etude. He portrays the woman as a graceful being. Skloot uses personification when he explains the stillness of the night..