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Arkansas Voices
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| Arkansas Voices is a statewide coalition of organizations
and individuals dedicated to raising public awareness of the harmful
effects of parental incarceration on the children of nonviolent
offenders.
Facts compiled by Arkansas Voices:
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There are 685 women in our state's
prison in Newport.
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Approximately 80% of these women are
mothers of minor children.
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The majority of these mothers were the
primary caregivers of their children until their arrest and
incarceration.
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Between 1985 and 1996, the number of
women in jails and prisons in the United States increased by 153%,
as compared to a 96% increase in the male inmate population.
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Between 1991 and 2000, the number of
women in our state prison has increased 400%.
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The prison population is expected to
quadruple in the next ten years.
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The fastest growing inmate population is
women.
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The incarceration of a mother is more
disruptive to children since mothers are more likely than fathers to
have been primarily responsible for their children before being
arrested.
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Children of incarcerated fathers
typically remain with their mothers when the father goes to prison.
When mothers are imprisoned, it is grandparents, aunts, and uncles
who most often care for the children, not the fathers, leading to
more disruption of the family.
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An estimated 67,000 children in Arkansas
are affected by their parents' involvement in the criminal justice
system, including jail, prison, probation, or parole.
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Most women inmates are convicted of
NON-VIOLENT, NON-AGGRESSIVE crimes.
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| Most women inmates report a substance abuse problem. One-third of
women in prison have a drug-related conviction. |
THE CHILDREN OF INCARCERATED PARENTS ARE 5 TO 6 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO
GO TO PRISON THEMSELVES, AS COMPARED TO ANY OTHER GROUP OF CHILDREN.
THESE ARE OUR MOST AT-RISK YOUTH FOR INCARCERATION, DRUG PROBLEMS,
SCHOOL, AND BEHAVIORAL OR MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES.
SOLUTIONS:
Development of community-based drug treatment programs for women
and their children, using the Arkansas Cares model (with known,
outstanding outcomes) and California's Family Foundations model, (opened
in dune, 1999).
Such programs permit mothers to remain with their infant or minor
child, up to age six, thus preventing the negative impact of
mother/child separation that harms these children, while addressing the
genuine issues of the mother, including drug treatment and recovery,
education and job-training, and very importantly, the reintegration of
the mother and her children into the community.
Improve community support. At present, Arkansas provides
no supportive services for the mothers when they leave prisons and
attempt to bring their families back together, typically, a mother
leaves prison and returns to the same environment, same conditions and
people, and must use her recovery skills in a tempting environment while
she attempts to gain employment, housing, day care, and transportation.
In all likelihood, she is a drug felon, and ineligible for TEA
assistance. Even if she does not have a drug felony conviction, she is
likely to have a substance abuse problem. The prison provides treatment,
but treatment in a prison setting does not easily carry-over to the free
world with its many familiar temptations.
Improve treatment options. The community is not friendly
and supportive of ex-offenders, including the 12 Step community in some
cases. We must find better ways to help these women succeed in order to
break the inter-generational cycle of drug abuse and incarceration. We
certainly should not be setting these mothers up to fail, for we all
suffer the consequences when they fail, return to prison, and their
children become even more vulnerable, composing our next generation of
offenders.
IT IS CHEAPER TO PROVIDE DRUG TREATMENT TO THESE WOMEN THAN TO
INCARCERATE THEM AND, IN TURN, CREATE MORE PROBLEMS DUE TO THE IMPACT ON
THEIR CHILDREN, WHO WILL ULTIMATELY REPEAT THEIR MOTHERS' CYCLE AND
CONTINUE TO COST US. MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE LOSE POTENTIALLY VALUABLE
MEMBERS OF OUR SOCIETY.
ADDITIONAL SOLUTIONS:
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Provide services to the children and
families to create more family connections while the
mother/father is imprisoned.
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Provide more services to the caregiver
families who keep the children while the mother is imprisoned.
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Repeal the harsh sentencing laws that
are keeping drug offenders incarcerated for 70% of their sentences,
while more violent offenses may allow a lesser time served.
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Provide more diversions courts to direct
drug offenders to treatment rather than incarceration.
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Provide more Community Punishment
Centers with a variety of eligibility requirements, so mothers can
remain closer to their children and receive visitation with them.
More frequent contact between mothers and their children benefits
the children by sustaining the bonds and preventing further trauma
for the children due to anxiety about their mother and a sense of
over-responsibility. Mothers who have frequent contact with their
children are less likely to recidivate and their family
reunifications are more successful.
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Invest in drug treatment programs both
within the prisons and JAILS, and in the free world. Studies have
repeatedly shown that women cannot easily find drug treatment in
Arkansas, either before or after their arrests, leading to the
revolving prison door.
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Create a collaborative that includes the
women in prison and listen to their suggestions. Arkansas also has
some outstanding academicians and advocates for the women and their
children, all of who have studied the actual problems faced by these
families. Bring these individuals into the design process of
alternatives to incarceration.
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Consider a moratorium on prison building
until we have had an opportunity to explore the alternatives.
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Contact Persons:
Dee Ann Newell
5414 Edgewood Road
Little Rock, AR 72207
(501) 666-1356 (Home)
Nancy Harm, PhD.
School of Social/UALR
(501) 224-8068 (Home)
Jan Judy, State Representative
202 West Maple
Fayetteville, AR 72701
(501) 521-4194
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