Criminal Justice System Neglects Children of Imprisoned Mothers

[Jahness]

http://www.blackpressusa.com/News/Ar...es&NewsID=3859

Criminal Justice System Neglects Children of Imprisoned Mothers
by Makebra M. Anderson
NNPA, National Correspondent

WASHINGTON (NNPA) – For some children, it has been months since they’ve seen their mother. For others, it has been years. And for a few, they might never see their mother again. In all of the back and forth over prison, the children are often neglected. Women represent the fastest-growing prison population in the U.S., which means millions of children are left abandoned every year by incarcerated mothers. Because the justice system disproportionately affects people of color, Black and Hispanic children are at the greatest risk for loosing a parent to incarceration.

“From our research, these children have a cluster of risk factors. They're at increased risk for becoming involved with the law themselves, increased risk for drug and alcohol abuse, increased risk for behavior problems, increased risk for psychological programs, among other issues,� says Linda Baker, director of the Centre for Children and Families in the Justice System.

In 1999, more than 1.5 million children in the U.S. had a parent in prison. Only 25 percent of kids stay with their father, when their mother is incarcerated, compared to the 90 percent that stay with their mom, when their father is incarcerated, according to the BJS.

“The biggest issue for women in prison is separation from their kids—especially if they were the primary care giver. Whether it’s getting visits, keeping in touch through mail or maintaining custody and not loosing their kid to the foster care system,� Cassie Pierson, staff attorney for LSPC .

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reports that the female prisoner population has increased significantly since 1995. There were 62,362 female prisoners in 1995 compared to 86,028 in 2000. The number of male prisoners also increased. In 1995, there were 961,210 male prisoners. Five years later, that number increased to 1,219,225.

A study by the Department of Justice observes, “women were over-represented among those convicted of low-level drug-related crimes and despite having no prior criminal histories, received sentences similar to those convicted as ‘high-level’ drug offenders under the federal mandatory minimum sentencing laws.�

Before mandatory minimums for crack offenses went into effect, the number of African-Americans convicted of a drug-related crime was slightly higher than Whites. In 1986, Congress enacted mandatory drug sentencing.

Of the 246,100 state prison inmates serving time for drug offenses in 2001, 139,700 (56.7 percent) were Black, 47,000 (19 percent) were Hispanic and 57,300 (23.2 percent) were White, reports the BJS.

From 1986 to 1996, the number of women sentenced to state prison for drug crimes increased from approximately 2,370 to 23,700, according to an Amnesty International study “Not Part of My Sentence: Violation of the Human Rights of women in Custody.� Most of these women had children.

“If the child is present when mom is arrested and there is no other adult around who can take care of them the police will call in social services. Then Child Protective Services takes at least temporary custody,� explains Cassie Pierson, staff attorney for LSPC.

“What we have found is that at least in California, there is no set protocol for who should be called or what should be done if the child is present at the time of arrest. One county will do one thing and another county will do something different. Every once in awhile we get these horror stories where mom is busted, child is present and no arrangements are made. Sometimes the child lives alone for days or weeks until somebody figures out what’s happening.�

Baker, who also works with women in prison agrees and says that the justice system should think of better ways to help women and children adjust to prison life.

“Throughout the world there are pockets of promising programs where there are opportunities for visits with children, but often there are no special considerations for visits with a child. There is so much more we could be doing in terms of educating children’s mental health providers and child protection workers. We could be educating them more about what the impacts of maternal incarceration might be on a child. What some of their fears are. What some of the distortions they might have because of their age are, and how we could support them,� she said.

Some of those “alternative� facilities are in California. One program is called the Community Prisoner Mother Program (CPMP), which is a program that allows women convicted for nonviolent offenses to serve their sentences in live-in facilities with their children. Mothers receive case management, including parenting classes, vocational training and substance abuse treatment.

“There are three CPMP facilities in the state of California. Each one houses about 24 women and the women have to meet a long list of eligibility criteria before they can get in that program,� Pierson of LSPC said. “I get mixed reviews on these types of programs. On paper it looks good, but I get complaints from some women.�

The CPMP program and other facilities like it are designed to make it easier for children to cope with having a jailed parent. Not only do some people question these types of programs, they also question whether or not a child should visit his/her parent in prison at all.

“All children are not the same. It is possible that there might be a child that would be particularly distressed by visiting a parent in jail—especially if there isn’t a mother/child visiting room in the jail; however, for most children it’s very reassuring to see mom and to know that she is ok,� Baker said.

About 64 percent of women lived with their children prior to incarceration, compared to 44 percent of men, reports the BJS.

“What we found was that the impact on children when a father is incarcerated is different. There is often a mother in the home who enables the child to stay in the same residence. They still have their toys, their bedroom and mommy is still there… when many men come out of jail, they step out of jail and go back to their family home where things are still in place for them because their wife/partner has been taking care of things. When women come out of jail often it means finding a place, which is often a shelter for the first while, because they may have lost their home or apartment.�

She adds,“There are impacts for paternal incarceration and maternal incarceration, but I think the impacts are disproportionately more severe on children when it’s their mother,� she explains. “There are practical consequences in terms of change in school, change in caregiver, etc. and there are potential emotional consequences like feelings of shame, hurt, separation anxiety, sadness and confusion.�

Posted in the spirit of learning and teaching.

One Love & Respect Always

[Jahness]

Greetings Family

I'm bumping this up........

If you all are asleep, then it's time to wake up.....

Female prisoners needs help in taking care of their children.

Some fathers don't take responsibility for these children, even if their moms are locked up.....

Extended families in some cases cannot afford aother mouth to feed.....

How are these children staying connect to their mothers?

Is someone taking them to visit their incarcerated mother?

Foster homes are to abusive, and not always very stable......

Some Families just don't want these children......

What are we doing with these children?

How are they being cared for?

Who keeps track of them when they are in the foster care system?

How hard is it for a mother to get her child back if she is realeased from prison, and that child or children is in the foster care system?

Talk to me family!

We need solutions, suggestions, or whatever it's gonna take for us as a community to take care of these children.

Pay close attention to detail, this child may live in the house next door. This children may be in the apartment on top of yours. This child may be the runaway teenager on the street. This child maybe the son or daughter that is being abused in the foster care system. This child may or may not have been someone like you or me. This child maybe sitting next to your child in school. This child if taken cared of by it's Afrikan family can be the one to lead us to freedom.

Posted in the spirit of Learning & Sharing

One Love & Respect Always

[nattyreb]

Worthy questions all, Sis. i know there are *some* programs for our babies whose mothers are on lockdown, but like everything else, not near enough.

One program that i am aware of and that my own mother works with is a support for grandparents program. This is due to the incredible number of grandmamas who are rearing their children's children due to the just-us system. What this program does is offer a support group that meets weekly (with childcare) for grandparents raising their grandchildren, clothes swaps (what one outgrows fits the other perfectly), a phone tree for emergency situations (gotta go to the doctor and need urgent help with childcare), and a food closet with the basic necessities to get a family from check to check.

Also, in the spirit of keeping the bonds strong between mother/child, is the ability of all of us to participate in helping with transportation to these prisons. One thing that is most mind-boggling to me is that the visiting rooms visiting the brothas is full of sistas, and the visiting rooms visiting the sistas is also full of sistas. We need brothas on these visiting lists! An organization i co-founded (now defunct) hired a schoolbus to run on Saturdays to the men's prisons that were too far in the boondocks for public transportation to handle. A small fee per family member added up to almost the complete amount needed to hire the bus, the org. fundraised the rest, and the riders would pass a hat to tip the driver. Trust me, none of us were that special or incredibly smart that this can't be duplicated en masse throughout this kkkountry to the women's prisons. Many of us may belong to churches/clubs who have 15-passenger vans and even buses that languish on certain days and can be used for travel. We made good use of just such a community van and it's driver for many, many prison visits and i'm very certain all of you can donate some portion of your time monthly or bi-monthly to arranging such trips. Car/vanpools are another blessing cuz it makes no sense for any vehicle to arrive in these rural, whitiefied boondocks with only a few passengers when it can stop to pick up others along the way.

Folks who live in the general vicinity of some of these prison can also provide "hostels" or cheap housing for family members who may need a place to stay overnight when travelling to these kkkamps, typically nearby to nowhere to rest between the visit and the trip home. Opening your church's/temple's basement to these families and providing hot meals could mean the difference between an inmate getting a visit and never getting one.

One thing we all have to keep in mind is that any prisoner who does not get regular mail/visits is more prone to all manner of abuse within that prison because the powers that be feel that no one is watching, therefore what they're doing is under cover of darkness. When it comes to our sista's on lockdown our immediate attention to them serves another very important purpose, and that's keeping the connection intact between mothers and their children. No matter how "gone" a mother may be mentally, spiritually, morally, these children know only love for their mothers, deep and to their very souls.

This is but a piece of the multi-layered problem you present, Sista, but i hope others can add on more solutions that we can all implement. Let's not forget the simple act of encouraging letter exchange between children and mothers, even if it's just a note and a drawing from their young'un, trust me that it will mean the difference between a near suicidal attitude on the part of our sistas and a light at the end of the tunnel, and receiving feedback from Mama for many of these children will be equally precious.

Asante sana for bumping this up and bringing it back to the fore, where it most certainly belongs.

Originally Posted by Jahness

Greetings Family

I'm bumping this up........

If you all are asleep, then it's time to wake up.....

Female prisoners needs help in taking care of their children.

Some fathers don't take responsibility for these children, even if their moms are locked up.....

Extended families in some cases cannot afford aother mouth to feed.....

How are these children staying connect to their mothers?

Is someone taking them to visit their incarcerated mother?

Foster homes are to abusive, and not always very stable......

Some Families just don't want these children......

What are we doing with these children?

How are they being cared for?

Who keeps track of them when they are in the foster care system?

How hard is it for a mother to get her child back if she is realeased from prison, and that child or children is in the foster care system?

Talk to me family!

We need solutions, suggestions, or whatever it's gonna take for us as a community to take care of these children.

Pay close attention to detail, this child may live in the house next door. This children may be in the apartment on top of yours. This child may be the runaway teenager on the street. This child maybe the son or daughter that is being abused in the foster care system. This child may or may not have been someone like you or me. This child maybe sitting next to your child in school. This child if taken cared of by it's Afrikan family can be the one to lead us to freedom.

Posted in the spirit of Learning & Sharing

One Love & Respect Always

[Jahness]

Greetings nattyreb!

Thanks so much for responding to this thread sis, I guess it's you and me on this one. I post this a while back and you are the first to respond after about maybe two weeks. I know the topics in the forums rotate quickly because of the constant response tothreads, and then some posts rotates too quickly before everyone gets a chance to view them. With thats said I decided to bump this post up again because to me it is too important an issue to let sslide away.

Thank you for all the work that you do on these issues because the need is great in our community. As a matter of fact I posted a thread in reference to the issue of grandmothers helping to take care of some of these children and what burdens it is putting on these sometimes elderly men and women. I got two responses so far. see thread:
http://www.assatashakur.org/forums/u...ead.php?t=4455

I agree with you, it seems as if the world forgets that we also have female prisoners who needs their family support as well. Like you said the visiting rooms for the brothers are always full of sister, but the visiting rooms for the incarcerated sisters hardly have people who take the time out to check on these women.

Do you think that it is a neglect for women in society as a whole or do you believe that we just assume women can manage no matter what? It is so unfair to these sisters to have to go through their incarceration by themselves sometimes with no support from anyone. And the worst part is their children misses out on that nuturing aspect that a mother can give to their child. Granted that the prison environment is not the idea place for parenting, but lie you said, all that child knows is the love from their mother.

So many of these women are kept awa from their children, and the downfall of this a lot of these children end up believing that their moms don't love them. Some want to commit suicide and all manner of self destructive behavior.

I agre with you that more can be done and more has to be done to help these womne. For all those out there who are taking the time to help these families in need, thank you. And many you stay continually blessed for your efforts, bcause what you do today can help save a family tomorrow.

Even letter writing is important, because some of thse sisters have no contact with anyone on the outside. A letter makes such a difference to these sisters, that we on the outside take for granted. I hope all in this forum do what they can to help out in whatever way they can. They ned to check out churches, and other community organizations to see what help they can provide in their community.

Thanks sister for giving some of the solutions to help us deal with this major problem. Every little thought and kind jesture helps.

Much, much respect to you sister for all that you do.

One Love & Respect Always

[Jahness]

Greetings Everyone!




Bump! Bump! Bump!

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[Jahness]

Greetings Everyone!




Bump! Bump! Bump!

<^>^<^>^<^>^<^>^<^><^>

[MyBrother'sKeeper]

We also have to think about how many of these women who get out of jail have very little or no support at all. For example we know that many of these women may have felonies, abused drugs etc. when they are relesed from prison and treatment facilities they are suspended or barred from applying for welfare, foodstamps and even public housing. You are trying to tell me that When we have paid our debt to society as women, mothers and wives, and change our lives that we are unablt to function normally in society? Now we see what our African men go through but when we as women are alone with children and unable to provide for them we are still turned away. This is the part Amerikkka does not want to understand. this is what create homelessness in families with children. Help me out here what do you think about this.

[Jahness]

Originally Posted by MyBrother'sKeeper

We also have to think about how many of these women who get out of jail have very little or no support at all. For example we know that many of these women may have felonies, abused drugs etc. when they are relesed from prison and treatment facilities they are suspended or barred from applying for welfare, foodstamps and even public housing. You are trying to tell me that When we have paid our debt to society as women, mothers and wives, and change our lives that we are unablt to function normally in society? Now we see what our African men go through but when we as women are alone with children and unable to provide for them we are still turned away. This is the part Amerikkka does not want to understand. this is what create homelessness in families with children. Help me out here what do you think about this.

Greetings MyBrother'sKeeper!

Welcome to the discussion. The points you are making are very valid ones. Few people have any idea just how hard it is for these women to get back on their feet, much less to get some type of normalcy to their lives.

The system says it wants to help, but it does nothing more than further put other obstacles in these women paths, so they will not be able to succeed.

Again you are correct, there are so many women and children that are homeless. What does that say about us as a society? Why is it the jews can have all the public assistance they want for all their 5+ child per household. The system does not make them go out an work for it. They are not made to go on long lines at the welfare office and wait all day for the staff and others to look down on them, or insult them further when all they need is some help to be able to survive, but this is what happens to Afrikan women. A lot of times they are even being rejected and not given the assistance.

The jew can have 20 businesses, own all types of assets and no one tells him and his family they cannot get help from the government. As a matter of fact they are given extra money to put towards their food bill because they are on a kosher diet. Let an Afrikan try to get just even the basics as far as public assistance, they have to give up everything, to be able to just survive .

Much appreciation to you MyBrother'sKeeper for your valued input in the discussion.

Peace & Blessings!