Policies for Incarcerated Mothers and their Families in Australian Corrections

Abstract

The incarceration of a mother usually brings considerable dislocation to the offending woman's children and family. This paper examines current policies for the inmate mother, for her children and for the caregiver(s) of her children on the outside and argues for reform with respect to these policies. To this end, it reports on the Australian component of a comparative policy study, Incarcerated Mothers and Children: Impact of Prison Environments (IMCIPE), which investigated the impact of the prison environment on incarcerated mothers and their young children (including both mothers whose children live with them in custody and mothers who are separated from their children), in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and England. The paper draws on data from policy analyses; interviews with policy-makers, with inmate mothers, and with custodial and non-custodial staff; and observations within six women's prisons and their respective correctional authorities in the three Australian states. The study found that while inmate mothers need support from “significant others” within and outside the prison to cope with the dual roles of prisoner and mother, the custodial environment with its philosophy of incarceration, its mode of containment and the prison rules and regulations runs counter to such needs.