Discussion

dukeylouise

This has made big news around here.  Apparently the local regional jail is considering allowing pregnant inmates who give birth while in custody to keep their babies with them in the jail while they complete their sentence.  The inmate and baby will be moved to a segregated section for privacy. Discuss.

goheels05

That's ridiculous and a HUGE waste of taxpayer money. 

Pirata13

Ooooh, no, no, no.  So if a mother has a year on her sentence, the child is in jail for a year? No. Not a healthy environment. Yikes.

lyndausvi

I think for the first 6 months or so it's not a bad idea. It's not like the kid does much besides eats, sleeps and poops.  This way it can breastfeed and bond with the mother. Once it started moving around, I do not think it's a good idea.

J&K10910

Well, typically I don't feel that people who need to serve jail time are fit to be parents.  But a lot of people in jail are awaiting trial, and haven't been convicted of everything.  I want to say I would judge on a case by case basis, but I know in reality this isn't possible.  However, I think a jail is horrible place to raise a child, no matter for how short of a time.

Beadlz

I think the best interest of the child should be the most important, if not only, factor.

cdeshane

Yet unfit parents on the outside have their kids taken away. Perfectly logical. WTF?

dukeylouise

Since my husband is a corrections officer, I see it from his point of view as well and my own.  I think it is a ridiculous waste of taxpayer money as well, but also it is added stress for the COs.  Inmates have more rights in prison than the COs do and they are quick to sue.  There is so much that could go wrong with doing this, plus added stress on the COs.  Stupidest. Idea. Ever

salt78

That is the worst idea I've heard all day.

lyndausvi

I do agree it should be a case by case issue.  As we all know there are different degrees of crime. 

bbyckes

I've seen documentaries on this - and it has worked well.  Typically when a person is in "jail", their sentence is less than 1 year (otherwise it's prison).  It allows the mother and child to bond and it alleviates some of the anger and aggression with the inmate.  Seems like it's a win-win.  It's a way to hold the woman accountable for her actions, while being a responsible parent.  They receive parenting classes as well -- perhaps when she exits, she may be in a better position to care for her child.  Maybe not, who knows. As for the argument about it being a "huge waste of taxpayer money" - the child and themother would probably be getting assistance anyway. 

J&K10910

I get your point about the stress for the COs, but I hate to make one big lump decision.  And I'm not talking out of my asss, I was a probation officer and spent a lot of time in the detention center with my clients.  What about an otherwise cooperative detainee that is awaiting trial on fairly minor charges?  Even if they take the baby away, tax payers are still supporting the infant.  In theory, if they could get it set up to have minimal effect on the COs, there would be a few cases that I would support this.

lyndausvi

cacoffer - see that is how I look at it.  Jail is different than prison.  Those finishing out a year sentence mostly likily did something petty and stupid.  Not murder or something more serious.

bbyckes

This is not a valid argument: Yet unfit parents on the outside have their kids taken away. Perfectly logical. WTF? Just because a person is convicted of a crime, does not automatically negate their competency as a parent.  If your child is removed from your custody it is because you pose some harm to the child, whether it be abuse, neglect or you're not able to provide a safe environment for the child.

J&K10910

I want to stress the fact that not everyone is in jail because they've been CONVICTED of a crime.  Most people are there awaiting trial.  Our country has this "innocent until proven guilty" idea that gets forgotten a lot.

cashandrich

I think it would depend on the type of crime that the inmate commited and how safe/ sanitary/private this "segregated section" is.

3plus2=5

I'm a little late to this.  We have programs like this set up in Canada already and they seem to be very well received and successful.  Here's a link to a Canadian prison profile that explains it a little more.  Keep in mind that a prison in Canada is for anyone serving a sentence of two years or more, which means a more serious crime.[url]<a href="http://tinyurl.com/l3juoo" rel='nofollow'>http://tinyurl.com/l3juoo</a>[/url]