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Imprisoned Moms Are Keeping Kids

More states allow convicted mothers to raise their children

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff

Posted May 10, 2008 7:23 PM CDT

(Newser) – More states are imprisoning babies, and moms couldn't be happier: Prisons nationwide are allowing incarcerated mothers to keep their little ones, the AP reports. Opponents of the practice say the kids may be traumatized, but one researcher found that “the outcomes are promising, if the prison nursery programs have the appropriate resources.”

Purported benefits aren’t just for kids: One Ohio prison’s program has seen participants’ recidivism rates fall to 11%, 21% below the prison's average. And the plans are multiplying as more women are imprisoned, largely due to mandatory sentences with drug convictions. “Out there it's a little bit more chaotic," one mom in prison said. “We're enjoying this time right now, we really are."

Serena Garduza, 31, holds her son Ramerio in her cell.
Serena Garduza, 31, holds her son Ramerio in her cell.   (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Garduza as she walks the hall in her unit.
Garduza as she walks the hall in her unit.   (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Melissa Lankey, 31, of Columbus, Ind., kisses her son Kevin Cadin Michael DuLong, 3 weeks, in the Wee Ones Nursery unit.
Melissa Lankey, 31, of Columbus, Ind., kisses her son Kevin Cadin Michael DuLong, 3 weeks, in the Wee Ones Nursery unit.   (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Ramerio Garduza, 2 weeks, sleeps in the day room in the Wee Ones Nursery unit at the Indiana Women's Prison in Indianapolis.
Ramerio Garduza, 2 weeks, sleeps in the day room in the Wee Ones Nursery unit at the Indiana Women's Prison in Indianapolis.   (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
A crib sits in the cell of an inmate.
A crib sits in the cell of an inmate.   (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
An inmate from San Salvador's women jail pushes her baby into an area of the prison.
An inmate from San Salvador's women jail pushes her baby into an area of the prison.   (AP Photo/Luis Romero)
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