NCJ Number
159431
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 57 Issue: 7 Dated: (December 1995) Pages: 128,130
Date Published
1995
Length
2 pages
Annotation
Of the approximately 8,600 female offenders in California, more than 5,000 are serving sentences for property or drug offenses and 2,500 have young children; in response to the problem of drug abuse by mothers and its effect on children, California has implemented a program known as Family Foundations.
Abstract
A 1992 study in California measured the overall rate of alcohol and drug abuse by mothers in the hours and days preceding delivery. The study found an overall prevalence rate of 11.35 percent of drug-exposed infants and determined that costs for out-of-home care for children and babies born addicted to drugs are high. In response, California's Pregnant and Parenting Women's Alternative Sentencing Program Act has authorized the Family Foundations program to serve pregnant or parenting women who have children 6 years of age or younger, who have an established history of drug abuse, and who meet other criteria specified under the law. The program is intended to offer female offenders a structured drug abuse prevention program while allowing them to care for their children during incarceration. Mothers work in the nursery under the supervision of a child development specialist and qualified child care workers. Goals are to teach parenting skills, to offer academic classes, and to encourage participation by mothers in supervised activities with their children. Regularly scheduled programs for children include routine health screening, immunizations, primary health care services, and age-appropriate child development activities. To break the intergenerational cycle of criminality, Family Foundations also addresses root causes of domestic violence and focuses on interpersonal relationships. 2 references