Seven million children! And 90% of the women in prison are single mothers with 54% of them women of color. An increase of 138% convictions in the past 10 years. The majority of their crimes are property related, forged checks and credit cards, victims of the war on drugs and domestic violence. These are poverty stricken families and the justice system metes out hefty prison sentences to them.
It's no wonder why we have a high drop-out rate in Georgia.
I've been watching a case in Gwinnett County, north of Atlanta, and was shocked, shocked I tell you, at what little regard law enforcement, prosecutors and the courts had for a mother who was clearly innocent of the idiotic charges leveled against her.
Thanks to BuzzFlash.com linking this story on their website, I see the problem is widespread.
So much for getting tough on crime. We're only making it worse.
Having a parent locked up in prison can be devastating for a child, particularly if it’s the mother, who most often is the primary caretaker, says task force member Gail Smith, executive director of Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated Mothers.
[...]
Typically, women have shorter sentences, “but it can have a huge impact on their child.” Smith says. “It’s hard [for them] to concentrate in school. Most children grieve by getting angry. A teacher may read that as something else.”
[...]
Worse yet, Smith notes, are instances when teachers and other school staff know that a child is dealing with a parent’s incarceration but stigmatize rather than support them.
“We have had situations where a caretaker has shared [information about a parent in prison] and really regretted it,” Smith says. “If something is missing, everybody looks at that child first.”
[...]
“Of course it’s a big deal,” says Jackson, noting the impact of Jordan’s mother and father being in prison. Teenaged boys, like Jordan and his younger brother, often assume an I-don’t-care attitude about their parents, but it’s just a cover, she adds.
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