Women In

Running head: WOMEN IN PRISON

Women in Prison
James Graziadei
TESST College Towson

Criminal Justice CJ242

11/17/2014
Felicea R. Thomas, M.S.

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Abstract
Discussing who is responsible for a child when the main caregiver is the sole guardian and
incarcerated. The generational gap that can cause issues in the development of a child. Who and
how money can be an issue and cause problems. Is it okay to have a pregnant woman be put
behind bars for the crime she committed? And is it okay for mothers to keep their babies
imprisoned with them, while serving time.

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Women in Prison
Approximately 7 in 10 women under correctional sanction have minor children, more than
1,300.000 children (Leonard A. Sipes, 2012).
Imprisonment rate are skyrocketing for females in todays world. There has been nearly a
600% increase in female offenders in the past 30 years. Black females had an imprisonment rate
nearly three times that of white females (Leonard A, 2012).With this in thought many women
obtain sub-standard care while pregnant in prison. According to a 2006 report by the Department
of Justice, only 44% percent of pregnant women received a medical examination upon arrival
and, of those women, only 35% received any type of pregnancy care including child care,
prenatal exercise instructions, special diets, medications or special testing. Many women are also
forced to give birth while wearing shackles, due to them being a flight risk.
With women being the primary caretaker of their child/children, according to Austin &
Irwin, children are left without a parent and coordinated system of care (Irwin, 2012). That leaves
the popular question, who is responsible for the children left behind when mothers go to prison?
One can just imagine the degree of disruption in these children's lives upon the arrest of their
mothers, which depends in large part on where they go and who takes care of them while she is
incarcerated. Is the father around? Can a family member take them in like the grandparents, such
as an aunt or an uncle? Luckily small percentages go to fosters homes, as little as 11% (Justice,
2012).
Grandmothers are the largest caregiver group, and the many difficulties they face have been
well-documented. This can affect the child by being raised by different generational standards,
causing the child to rebel. Just think, how many senior citizens can keep up with a child with
high energy and a child is a sponge and needs to be fed information and taught, love and

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nurturing can only go so far. Little or no financial assistance is available to family members, who
are willing to take on the responsibilities involved in raising these children. It also becomes a
burden to the state having to fund such expenditures through fostering or supplementing families
through social structure programs, I.E. welfare, food stamps, public housing. Such financial
hardships may contribute to the complex nature of the child/caregiver relationship, by the
caregiver lashing out in negative ways due to the new burden put on them.
Prison is not a good place for pregnant women. That does not mean that pregnancy
provides immunity against wrongdoing and incarceration, but it does mean that there should be a
strong public policy interest in promoting healthy pregnancies and good birth outcomes for
incarcerated women who choose to continue their pregnancies. Being pregnant is not a physical
ailment; women are typically pregnant for nine months and then return to regular form. Even
though most women are incarcerated for no-violent crimes there is no excuse for the wrong that
has been committed. Hence, if you do the crime you do the time, there should be no way around
it.
Mothers in prison should be able to keep their babies with them, for about three months.
This would allow for mom and baby to get that important bonding time and develop a
relationship. After the three months, pending the time the mother has to serve the baby should be
removed and ample visitation time should be allotted along with parenting classes. Maybe this
shock of not having the baby anymore would help aid in the want to rehabilitate and change her
delinquent ways. With the recidivism rate so high for all inmates male/female, women are likely
to return to prison within a three year period. A child with only one parent in prison is five to
six times more likely to be incarcerated at some point in their lives than a child without a parent
in jail. This means that by being a mom behind bars, you greatly increase your child's likelihood

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of life as an inmate (Wolfe, 2012). Therefore, with pregnant women giving birth in prisons and
being able to keep their child there, does this just turn into a problem coming to full circle and
not helping either side involved? By both creating new and future inmates and just pacifying the
mother so she does not feel the full effects of her wrong doings. So I end with this last question,
can you really have your cake and eat it too? If so, at what cost? And whom does it really affect?

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References

Irwin, J. A. (2012). It's about time , Americas Imprisonment Binge . In J. A. Irwin, Its About
Time Americas Imprisonment Binge (p. 62). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Justice, U. D. (2012). U.S. Dept of Justice Statistics . Washington D.C. : U.S. Dept. Of Justice .
Leonard A, S. (2012, 02 06). Corrections.com Where criminal justice never sleeps. Retrieved 11
17, 2014, from Corrections.com: http://www.corrections.com/news/article/30166statistics-on-women-offenders
Leonard A. Sipes, J. (2012, 02 06). Corrections where criminal justice never sleeps. Retrieved 11
17, 2014, from Corrections.com: http://www.corrections.com/news/article/30166statistics-on-women-offenders
Wolfe, J. (2012). Pregant Behind Bars. Portland : Discover Health.

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Appendix
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