Maternal Incarceration

60% of women in state prisons, and 80% of women in jails or detention centers have minor children.  Most are the primary caretaker when not incarcerated, so the increasing number of women in prisons means more and more family disruption and insecurity.  Incarcerated women and their families suffer from lack of face-to-face contact; because there are fewer women’s prisons, women are more likely to be held in prisons located far from home, making visits difficult and expensive.

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