NCJ Number
219025
Date Published
February 2005
Length
34 pages
Annotation
In this second phase of the Oklahoma Study of Incarcerated Mothers and Their Children, 54 female inmates were administered a survey with questions on demographics; criminal record; and information about families, such as contact with children, placement of children, and problems with children.
Abstract
The mean age of the women was 36.8. More than half were White (57.4 percent) and 14.8 percent was African-American. There were seven Native-Americans and three Hispanics. Fourteen women had not completed high school. Fourteen reported having a high diploma or a GED. Thirteen women reported having vocation or technical training, and 12 had some college courses. Thirty-seven women reported that they supported themselves and their children at least in part through their own employment prior to arrest. An additional 19 women reported their spouses or partners worked. More than half (57.4 percent) of the women reported being incarcerated for drug offenses; 5.6 percent were incarcerated for murder or manslaughter, 5.6 percent for assault, and 1.8 percent for motor vehicle theft. Most of the other women were incarcerated for some type of theft or fraud. More than half of the women reported parental violence in their homes while they were children, and 77.8 percent of the women reported both physical and sexual abuse as children. A total of 77 children were living with the 54 women at their arrests. Forty-one children were placed with relatives of either the mother or father of the children, and two were living with friends. Three were in foster care, and one was under the care of a State agency. The women reported depression as the most frequent problem faced by their children. Other problems were school maladjustment and alcohol and drug problems. Nineteen women reported receiving visits from their children less than once a month, and 14 reported they had never received visits from their children. 13 tables, 12 references