Number of imprisoned moms soaring
Incarcerated mothers represent the nation's fastest-growing prison population, increasing 122 percent from 1991 to midyear 2007, according to a new study.
"Childhood Disrupted: Understanding the Effects of Maternal Incarceration," sponsored by Volunteers of America, said two-thirds of incarcerated females are mothers of dependent children.
More than 150,000 American children today have mothers who are in federal and state prisons.
In the outside world, 40 percent of caregivers taking care of the children of inmates said their income was not sufficient to care for an incarcerated mother's child; 41 percent said they had transportation needs.
In Illinois, the number of incarcerated mothers has more than doubled from 29,500 in 1991 to 65,600 in 2007, according to Volunteers of America Illinois, which operates Look Up and Hope, one of only five prisoner re-entry programs in the United States specifically designed to support incarcerated mothers and their families.
The program offers prisoners, their children and the children's caregivers support services including vocational training, mental health and substance-abuse treatment and parenting classes.
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