NCJ Number
138772
Date Published
1988
Length
38 pages
Annotation
The Maryland Governor's Committee to Study Sentencing and Correctional Alternatives for Women Convicted of Crime met monthly, held a public hearing, conducted a survey of correctional administrators and inmates, and worked in five subcommittees to study the status of women convicts and to examine the existing and potential opportunities for their rehabilitation within the Maryland correctional system.
Abstract
As of February 1988, most of the 11,443 adult female offenders in Maryland were under parole or probation supervision rather than in prison. The average female offender was black, unmarried, between the ages of 23 and 25, had attained more than a high school education, had a history of substance abuse, and was as likely to be employed as unemployed at the time of her offense. The bulk of the committee's report focused on alternatives to incarceration for female offenders in Maryland. Existing programs included inter alia, case management services, special offenders clinic, drug abuse detection services, citizen volunteer services, community corrections programs, young adult restitution programs, and home detention project. The committee's recommendations centered on probation, home detention, and a residential center for women. Other issues considered by the committee: health and mental health services; special programming needs including parenting programs, legal support for mothers, visiting, and religion; education and employment development; and community resources and support. 2 appendixes