The facts are compelling, and they speak for themselves:
- More than 2.7 million minor children, or 3% of all children in the U.S., have a parent in prison; most under age 10.
- The 2007 U.S. federal budget includes about $50 million over three years to address this high-risk population.
- 85% of women in prisons are mothers.
- 85% of incarcerated women are in drug and alcohol abuse programs.
- Last year, over a quarter million babies were born drug-addicted.
- 50% of heroin babies do not survive birth.
- Over 1 million women are imprisoned, about 1% of the U.S. female population.
- Women are the fast growing prison population, increasing 800%+ in the last ten years.
- The United States has the largest prison population in the world. With 5% of the world’s population, our country houses nearly 25% of the world’s reported prisoners.
- 4-7% of women entering prison are pregnant, which translates into about 5,000 -10,000 babies born in prison every year.
- The majority of women are sentenced for nonviolent drug related crimes.
- Nearly all women in prisons have experienced abuse of one kind or another: sexual, psychological, or emotional.
Page still under continual development with more information coming about mental illness, education, drug and alcohol addiction and rehabilitation, all related to incarceration.