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The Durham Morning Herald
Feb 15, 2008
Our Children's Place
Last fall I was holding criminal court in a nearby county. A woman
named Mary [not her real name] was brought into court. She had been
charged with five drug charges. The DA had agreed to dismiss two of
the charges on condition she plead guilty to three of them. Her
attorney agreed to this, The case was before me to decide on
punishment. (Facts of case have been altered to protect privacy.)
Here is what the DA said: "Judge, prison is the only answer in this
case. She has been convicted of five crimes in the past, including 1
drunk and disorderly case and 2 minor drug charges. She is an addict.
If you let her go, she will be using drugs or drinking before the sun
goes down! Probation has been tried. It did not work. She will not get
the message! Give our citizens some relief from this woman. Sentence
her to the maximum, which in this case is 7 months!!" (Spoken with
emotion.)
Mary's attorney responded with this statement: "Judge, none of her
prior cases were serious. Her probation officer will tell you that she
was a good client until she got into drugs again. Yes, she is an
addict, but she tells me she has not taken drugs for a month. She is
going to Narcotics Anonymous, and she believes she has overcome the
problem. And listen, judge! She has a 4 year old daughter, Jeanie.
[not her real name] What will happen to Jeanie if you put her in
prison?! And she believes she is 3 ½ months pregnant. Judge, you just
can't separate Mary from her child. They are very close. If you take
this mother away from her child you will be punishing the child!! And
she may deliver her second child in prison!!" (Also spoken with
emotion.)
There are 2,692 women in North Carolina prisons. About 1,938 of them
have children. The cost of separating mothers from their children is
high. First, we spend $30,000 per year on the mother. Second, the
children will need public assistance, and often suffer from attachment
disorders. They will likely experience extreme poverty, will do poorly
in school, and are likely to have behavioral problems. It is said that
children of female prisoners are 6 times as likely to become criminals
as those whose parents are not put in prison.
In short, when a mother with small children goes to prison, it is a disaster.
What can be done? There is a little office in the UNC Stone Center for
Black Culture. The name on the door is "Our Children's Place." In this
office, plans are being made for a residential building at Butner
where babies and pre-kindergarten children can live with mothers who
are in prison. It is for women who are serving sentences for
non-violent crimes only.The building will house up to 10 women and 20
children at first. Perhaps more later. It will be equivalent to a
minimum-security prison, but will be separate from other prison
facilities. Kindergarten or school-age children will not be allowed.
Women from all over the state will be accepted. It is voluntary.
The women who are placed at Our Children's Place (OCP) would
participate in an educational program. The program would consist of
substance abuse treatment, mental health and health care, a class on
how to be an effective parent, education classes such as GED,
vocational training, and life skills education. The parameters of the
educational program are still being studied. A team from OCP will
visit a similar facility in California to learn what works best.
In addition to the re-modeling of the building, OCP will be setting up
the rules of admission and how the facility will be run. In addition,
they will work closely with the Department of Correction, synchronize
state and federal regulations, get the word to individuals, groups,
faith communities and elected officials. It is a daunting task.
Yet it will be done. If you have suggestions for OCP, now is the time
for you to tell them. For instance, what crimes should be prohibited
from entering? Should they accept mothers who have older children in
addition to 1 or 2 pre-kindergarten children? Should the unit have a
prison-type fence around it? One thing for sure. This program will be
no picnic for the women. It will be very hard work. If you wish to
make suggestions, call Melissa Radcliff, director, 843-2760, or check
the agency's website at www.ourchildrensplace.com.
In the court case above, I had Mary talk to a probation officer. He
felt she kept Jeanie about 40% to 50% of the time, that she did a fair
job of parenting, except that she was undisciplined and often late
picking up the child, and that the child should not be around her when
she is drinking or doing drugs. Mary's mother was the dependable
care-giver. I sentenced Mary to 5 months in prison; trying to time it
so her next child would be born out of prison.
If Our Children's Place had been available, that would have been a
more hopeful solution.
Stanley Peele Feb. '08
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