Pregnancy and the Incarcerated Female (From Working With Young Women in the Juvenile Justice System, P 13-15, 1987 -- See NCJ-109539)

• NCJ Number: 109542
• Author(s): J Casteel
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 3 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: For microfiche, see NCJ-109539.

Annotation

This paper presents data on pregnant women and women with young children entering the California prison system in 1982 and describes services available to them.

Abstract

Commensurate with the increased adolescent pregnancy rate, women entering prison pregnant or with young children has increased. Such women had experienced child abuse, neglect, and abandonment as children. Many were only 13 or 14 years old when they had their first child, and they now have teenage daughters who are themselves mothers or pregnant. Young minority girls are having babies at a higher rate than young white girls in the penal system. Minorities also have a much higher rate of miscarriages and abortions. Early pregnancy precipitates dropping out of school, which in turn reduces the opportunity for skilled employment and makes dependence on public assistance likely. The percentage of young mothers in the juvenile justice system is high. Corrections services should ensure that there is opportunity for female inmates to interact with their children and develop a parent-child bond. Children's centers at prisons are attempting to meet this need.