Child Custody Issues of Women Prisoners: A Preliminary Report from the Chicas Project

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Abstract
This report describes 660 jailed or imprisoned parents who sought child custody advocacy services from the Center for Children of Incarcerated Parents between January 1, 1990, and December 31, 1994. There were clear differences between male (N = 160) and female (N = 500) clients. Men's child custody problems were related to both informal and foster care placements of their children with relatives other than the children's grandparents. Female clients had significantly more child custody problems when their children were placed with relatives other than the maternal grandmothers or in any type of foster care. The most significant finding in this report is the dramatic correlation of mother-child reunification with postrelease residential drug treatment for mothers. More than 90% of clients released to residential drug treatment achieved reunification with their children. This finding suggests that treatment for substance dependency strongly influences the ability of formerly incarcerated women to parent effectively.

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