Ask any mother, and she’ll tell you mothering is the most challenging task she’s ever faced. This life-altering role, however, can be nearly impossible for incarcerated mothers. Jail and prison policies, long distances, and concerns about the effect of seeing her mother in jail on a child can all affect the frequency and quality of a mother’s contact with her child.
It’s easy to rush to judge incarcerated mothers, which is part of the reason jails receive so little pressure to change policies. But the truth is that the overwhelming majority of incarcerated women are nonviolent offenders convicted of petty drug offenses and similar crimes. Many are in jail on probation violations as minor as having forgotten to show up for a meeting with a probation officer.
You don’t have to believe that incarcerated mothers don’t deserve to be in jail, or even that they’re good people, to support their rights to see their children, though. The children of incarcerated mothers suffer penalties for crimes they didn’t commit when they’re deprived of meaningful relationships with their parents.
The damage can extend even further. Children deprived of their parents are more likely to experience drug dependency, mental health problems, and academic difficulties, all of which can exact a heavy social cost.
Prison Visitation Schedules
Most jails and prisons have very strict visitation schedules that only permit one or two visits per week. These visits may be even further limited by, for example, decreeing that inmates may only have one visitor per visitation period. This can effectively exclude children, who almost by definition cannot get to a jail without the assistance of an adult.
Visitation times often occur during school hours or are limited to a very brief slot during the weekend. Late visitors or visitors who can’t miss school or work don’t get to see their mothers. Moreover, weekly visits are simply insufficient to sustain meaningful parent-child relationships.
Telephone Problems
While most jails and prisons allow inmates to use the telephone, its use is often severely restricted. Inmates may, for example, have to pay in advance for phone calls that frequently disconnect due to poor telephone service. They then must pay again to redial. I
nmates’ families may have to establish contracts with telephone companies serving jails. The costs of these phone calls can run as high as $5 per minute even for local calls, a prohibitive cost for all but the wealthiest families. Thus women may not even be able to have phone calls with their children.
No Contact Visits
Most jail visits occur with thick Plexiglas between the inmate and visitor. Discussions are via phone only. Children visiting their parents, then, don’t get to have any physical contact. For very young children, being deprived of a hug for months or even years can be devastating.
Jail Mail Policies
When mothers can’t regularly see their children, they frequently turn to letters to express love, learn about their children’s lives, and maintain open communication. But jail policies can also interfere with this.
Several jails and prisons around the country have instituted policies prohibiting incarcerated people from sending or receiving any mail whatsoever except for postcards. This limits mothers’ communication with their children to three or four lines at best, further damaging the relationship.
Pregnant Women
Pregnancy can pose unique obstacles to incarcerated women. Prenatal care is frequently substandard, and women may have few choices about their childbirth experience. Many jails and prisons require that women labor with their ankles and wrists handcuffed to the bed — a position that can make labor substantially more painful and increases the risks of childbirth complications. This degrading practice has received significant public attention in recent years, but many detention centers continue to restrain laboring women.
Long Distances From Home
Women sentenced to prison terms can end up at any prison — not just the one closest to their home. Courts are under no obligation to put women close to their families, so women can easily end up hundreds of miles away in a different part of the state. This virtually eliminates the possibility of in-person visits, particularly in impoverished families that cannot afford road trips or airplane flights.
References:
Enos, S. (2001). Mothering from the inside: Parenting in a women's prison. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Herivel, T., Wright, P. (2003). Prison nation: The warehousing of America's poor. New York, NY: Routledge.
Smith, L. (n.d.). PLN suit noted in Michigan jail "postcard only" article. Prison Legal News. Retrieved from
https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/(S(pvtqm13m4kh1fomvyp5sva45))/displayNews.aspx?newsid=407
Edited by Jody Smith