Public Policy Commons^™

Women In Prison In Massachusetts: Maintaining Family Connections, Erika Kates, Paige Ransford, Carol Cardozo

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

This report first provides an overview of the statistical data on women in prisons in the U.S. over the past two decades. It pays particular attention to the literature on the effects of mothers' incarceration on their children and the gradual recognition of the emotional, economic, and legal consequences for families when parents, especially mothers, are incarcerated. When viewed in this broad context it becomes clear that the concerns and challenges families face extend beyond the perimeters of a single agency or policy area. We then present the comprehensive Family Connections Policy Framework we created for assessing the status of …

Alternatives To Incarceration For Substance Abusing Female Defendants/Offenders In Massachusetts, 1996-1998, Carol Hardy-Fanta, Sylvia Mignon

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

In July 1997, the Massachusetts State Legislature, recognizing the challenge presented by the problem of substance abuse for women in the criminal justice system, authorized funds to the Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Substance Abuse Services for a study of substance using female offenders to be conducted by the John W. McCormack Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Since March 1998, a group of researchers at the McCormack Institute and the Criminal Justice Center at UMass Boston has gathered and analyzed a wealth of quantitative and qualitative information on women offenders in Massachusetts.

This information includes data from …