The United States comprises less than 5% of the world’s population yet 25% of the world’s prisoners (Stein and Hanna-Truscott 2010). There are roughly two million children under age 18 with a parent in prison or jail in the United States but there are only 11 prison nurseries across the country where mothers are allowed to live with their children up to age three (Stein and Hanna-Truscott 2010; Riley 2019). Children of incarcerated parents struggle with antisocial behavior and other psychological strain, suspension or expulsion from school, economic hardship, and criminal activity (Martin 2017; Foster and Hagan 2009). With women’s incarceration rates continuing to rise as men’s incarceration rates decrease, the United States needs to rethink maternal incarceration and develop an alternative that reduces recidivism rates for mothers and keeps their children out of the criminal justice system. Within the past couple decades, Spain has successfully implemented an alternative to traditional maternal incarceration.
The Spanish female inmate population has changed markedly within the last 50 years. In 1983, the population of incarcerated women in Spain was roughly 3% of the total prison population (Almeda 2005). Between 1980 and 1995, the number of female prisoners in Spain increased substantially; women currently make up 9% of Spain’s incarcerated population (Cerezo 2017). The majority of incarcerated women who do not have young children are located in units (15-40 women per unit) in Spanish prisons that were originally designed for men (Almeda 2005). There are 75 of these units across the country and they often do not have childcare services or any services specific to women and children (Almeda 2005). The Spanish prisons that are designed specifically for women, on the other hand, have childcare facilities and other services for mothers and children (Almeda 2005). Women’s prisons in Spain offer the opportunity for incarcerated mothers to live with and care for their young children while serving their sentences.
Similar to the United States, the standard for maternal incarceration in Spain is that children can live with their mothers until they are three years old (Library of Congress 2014). In 2017, there were around 200 women living with children under three years of age in Spanish prisons (Cerezo 2017). Distinct from the United States, Spain offers various options for maternal incarceration, rather than prison nurseries only. There are Maternal Units, Dependent Mothers Units, External Mother Units, and one residential family module for cases where both parents are incarcerated (Cerezo 2017). The Maternal Units are separate from the rest of the prison and are available in a few prisons across Spain (Cerezo 2017). The Dependent Mothers Units are located outside of prisons and collaborate with other public and private entities to create an open prison system (Cerezo 2017). Lastly, the External Mother Units are designed specifically to foster a strong bond between mothers and children (Cerezo 2017).
The External Mother Unit was introduced in 2004 with the emphasis on ensuring that the children of incarcerated mothers have access to appropriate conditions for physical and psychological development (Cerezo 2017). The combination of options demonstrates that Spain has recognized that maternal incarceration needs to be reformed. The External Mother Unit provides an alternative to traditional maternal incarceration practices by allowing mothers and children to mimic life outside of a prison while the mother serves her sentence. The architectural design of the External Mother Unit allows mothers and children to live together, while also being integrated into the community. As of 2017, there were three External Mother Units in Spain (Cerezo 2017).
The Spanish External Mother Units are different from the prison nurseries in the United States because these units accept 20-30 incarcerated mothers at a time, they live in a community-based setting, and in some cases, children can stay with their mothers until they are six years old (Feintuch 2010). The Spanish Department of Prison Services states that the External Mother Unit “aims to provide children with a harmonious environment while simultaneously preparing the mothers to reintegrate into the community and care for their children” (Feintuch 2010: 41). Positive feedback from incarcerated mothers, as well as unit directors, social workers, and correctional officers, has proven that the External Mother Unit is an effective form of maternal incarceration that successfully reintegrates formerly incarcerated mothers and lowers recidivism rates.
The 11 prison nurseries in the United States often separate mothers and their young children, and thus do not offer the same support and freedom as the External Mother Unit in Spain. Introducing a concept that parallels the External Mother Unit in the United States would improve the lives of incarcerated mothers and their children. Meeting the specific needs of caring for children while simultaneously facilitating the successful reintegration of incarcerated mothers should be a top priority for maternal incarceration programs in the United States. The Spanish External Mother Unit certainly is not a perfect solution, but it is a step in the right direction and provides a template for other countries around the world.
References
Almeda, Elisabet. 2005. “Women’s Imprisonment in Spain.” Punishment and Society 7(2):183-199.
Cerezo, Ana. 2017. “Women in Prison in Spain: The Implementation of Bangkok Rules to the Spanish Prison Legislation.” European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research 23(2):133-151.
Feintuch, Sophie. 2010. “New Spanish Practice Aims to Break The Cycle Among Mothers and Children.” Corrections Today 72(6):38-43.
Foster, Holly and John Hagan. 2009. “The Mass Incarceration of Parents in America: Issues of Race/Ethnicity, Collateral Damage to Children, and Prisoner Reentry.” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 623(1):179-194.
Library of Congress. 2014. “Laws on Children Residing with Parents in Prison.” Retrieved February 21, 2021.
Martin, Eric. 2017. “Hidden Consequences: The Impact of Incarceration on Dependent Children.” NIJ Journal 278. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
Riley, Naomi Schaefer. 2019. “Life Inside a Prison Nursery.” IFS. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
Stein, Deborah Jiang and Cheryl Hanna-Truscott. 2017. “Nurseries for incarcerated mothers and their children.” CWLA. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
Image Credit
BeautifulPicture, “Friendships and Ties,” photograph, shutterstock, ID156012080.
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