Mothers in Prison

by Phyllis Jo Baunach

Overview

Several years ago, Terry Moore, a young first offender at the Florida Correctional Institution for Women, gave birth to a baby whose father was a prison guard. Mrs. Moore won the right to have her baby stay with her in prison until she was released a few months later. Although this incarcerated mother was reunited with her child shortly after giving birth, many inmate mothers are not able to be with or see their children on a regular basis during incarceration. Little is known about this significant and emotionally traumatic problem that confronts nearly two-thirds of incarcerated women.

Building upon previous work, this extraordinarily insightful volume offers fresh perspective on issues which surround the separation of inmate mothers and their children, using questionnaire, standardized scales, and individual taped interviews. The author examines issues such as the impact of separation by race; the child's whereabouts at the time of the crime; the child's placement and legal custody during the mother's incarceration; inmate mothers' interest in resuming the parental role after release; child-rearing attitudes of inmate mothers; and the effects of the involvement of drugs on the mothers' relationship with their children.

Through interviews with administrators, staff, and inmates, Dr. Baunach provides a detailed, descriptive analysis of the development and operations of programs to retain mother-child bonds in women's prisons in a variety of states. Dr. Baunach discusses day-long/overnight/weekend visitations, foster care placements, and similar problems of the sort that mothers in prison uniquely must face. The work also has a strong policy content, providing unique and practical recommendations for policies and programs benefiting inmate mothers and children that at the same time can be implemented within the framework of current penological practices.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781351308984
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	02/13/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

PHYLLIS JO BAUNACH

Table of Contents

1. The Separation Impacts: Common Threads from Previous Research 2. Objectives of the Study and Format of the Inquiry 3. Background Characteristics 4. Impacts of the Separation,by Mother’s Race 5. Self-Concept and Child-Rearing Attitudes 6. Inmate-Mothers and Drugs: A Schizophrenic Lifestyle 7. Programs to Strengthen Ties 8. A Unique Foster-Care Placement Program 9. Implications of the Study: Where Do We Go from Here?

Editorial Reviews

Phyllis Jo Baunach’s survey of inmate mothers, conducted in 1979, is the first in-depth study of the impact of separation from the children on female prisoners, the study also includes interview data from parents providing foster care to prisoners’ children, as well as brief analyses of several programs designed to overcome the loss of maternal-child contact when the mother is incarcerated. . . . While Baunach’s study evaluates correctional programs, it also fits into the broad tradition of research on mother-child separation and its consequences. The book is useful for those developing criminal justice programs for women, for criminologists, and for family scholars.” —Nancy Stoller Shaw, Contemporary Sociology

From the Publisher