Mothers in Prison

 

 

 

2011, Mothers in Prison, Colored Pencil on Paper, 8x10"

 

A Look At Prison Programs That Allow Mothers To Keep Babies While Incarcerated

 

A Canadian investigative news program, published a story in October 2014 that took a critical and thorough look at prison programs that allow mothers to raise their babies behind bars. If you've never heard of programs such as these, the notion of a baby in prison might be downright terrifying, but don't be too quick to judge. The term 'prison' may conjure up images of cold, dark cells, but the babies being raised inside prison walls are growing up in very different circumstances than the actual prisoners.

 

The first is Decatur Correctional Facility in Illinois, which has been home to 64 babies since 2007. As one of the officials from Decatur states in the video, prison is not the best place for a baby to be raised; however, when a woman is pregnant while incarcerated, the best place for the baby to be is with its mother. The point of programs that allow mothers to keep their babies with them is to rehabilitate the mothers first and foremost. These women receive training and support that will help them be positive, compassionate, and prepared parents once they are out of jail. Further, these women are kept under very close observation and are held to a very strict set of rules. At Decatur, mothers have a camera in their room at all times, they are not allowed to sleep in the same bed as their baby, there is a zero tolerance policy for spanking, and security guards are stationed all throughout the ward. Programs like the one at Decatur are doing everything possible to give mothers and infants the ability to bond in their earliest years together despite the mother's incarceration.