New Blog Post – Realignment: An Opportunity to Keep Mothers and Children Together?

California’s criminal justice system is in flux. Following a Supreme Court order to relieve severe overcrowding, state prisons are depopulating and counties are charged with responding to low-level felony offenses locally. Recent headlines have read: “California underestimated number of people sent to county jail”, “Grand Jury warns of overcrowding in jails”, and “Finding money in California’s prisons”.

California’s criminal justice system is in flux. Following a Supreme Court order to relieve severe overcrowding, state prisons are depopulating and counties are charged with responding to low-level felony offenses locally. Recent headlines have read: “California underestimated number of people sent to county jail”, “Grand Jury warns of overcrowding in jails”, and “Finding money in California’s prisons”. As counties tailor strategies and implement plans to address crime locally, one story has yet to be told: How realignment will impact system-involved mothers and their children.

In our latest blog post, NCCD’s Caitlin Dunklee and Thoai Lu discuss the high risk of incarceration for children of incarcerated mothers, and stress California’s unique opportunity to reduce the harm incarceration has on women and their children.