Raising Children In Prison Essay

Currently in the U.S. four percent of women prisoners enter prison pregnant, approximately 12 to 15 percent of offenders entering prison are pregnant at any given time. Over the past five years, approximately 66 babies were born to inmates. Despite the fact that nearly two-thirds of woman in U.S. prisons are mothers, there is still no national policy that dictates what should happen to the more than 2,000 children that are born behind bars in prisons across the country each year. Where do all these babies go? While prison nurseries have existed in this country for a century, the first was established in 1901 at Bedford Hill Correctional Facility north of New York City--there is renewed interest in expanding these programs today. Up until the

Studies that were completed of the prison baby program in Nebraska concluded that 33 percent of women who had been separated from their children ended up back in prison, and for every woman that returns to prison the cost is $30,000 per year. The cost to house them with their children in the child care wing the is only $24,000 per year. Versus just 9 percent of women who were allowed to raise their children who do not return to prison. Across the world many Countries seem to agree that a babies’ place is with its mother. In Sweden babies can be accommodated for up to a year (the average stay is three months). In most European countries, mothers are allowed to keep their infants through weaning. Prisons in India are required to offer nurseries and day care for mothers and their children. In Chile prison-born children begin taking state-run educational programs at six months of age. In Mexico, children are required to stay with their mothers until they are 6 years old, and have the freedom to leave on weekends and holidays. For those who balk at the thought of infants being raised behind bars, Germany represents a common sense