Weird URL truncating - the end of that title is "...Reproduction in America"

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The book is only in hardcover now so it's a little pricey but maybe see if it's at your local library? (I work for a magazine so I was lucky to score a pre-publication paperback, though the few typos that were still left were sort of funny...)

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When they get to jail they have a sudden change of heart, usually manifested by a prison tat with the name of their child on their neck. Then they file petitions for custody, even though they have a release date of 2012- but a notice of appeal has been filed, so hey, take a shot at it. Then they are given hoops to jump through- parenting classes, anger management, substance abuse counseling, GED classes- and now that they have all this time on their hands they might as well go to the classes. And I'm sorry- if you're in prison and you want custody of your child, you had better show a clean urine at LEAST.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the poor child is in the custody of Auntie or Granny or Dad or Mom's Cousin's Auntie. If he's old enough, believe me, he loves Mama and wants to live with her in that magical world where Mama is "getting an apartment." If he's an infant, he is teetering on the brink of an attachment disorder if he doesn't have one already.

Then when Mom gets out she hooks up with the brother of her cellmate, also a convicted felon, and she doesn't give a shit about the kid- again. Surprise! Now she's pregnant, the baby is born positive for weed and Lortab, and boom- another neglect is filed, and another baby is farmed out.

The best thing for the kids is to be placed in a permanent home as soon as possible. There are PLENTY of homes for young children who are freed for adoption.

Give the kid a chance at a normal life!

And yes, I am a law guardian and do this for a living.

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Many of them were resolved to change their lives around -- in prison you have lots of time to think about stuff like that. But they weren't getting the tools to do it in prison, and they didn't have them when they came in, and the likelihood of being able to get them when they came out was pretty small. One of my students said, "When I got out of here in 1978, they gave me $40, a new dress, and a 10-pack of bus tickets. And when I got out of here last year, they gave me $40, a new dress, and a 10-pack of bus tickets. I'm getting out again in three weeks. Guess what I'm gonna get?" Later, she added, "These girls are doing a life bid 30 days at a time." She had three kids; one was in juvenile detention, the other two were with her sister.

The problem is system-wide, and not just the prison system. I think I've even said in the comments before that recidivism is inversely proportional to the amount of education: people who get a bachelor's degree while they're inside (which it used to be easier to do) are less likely to go back than people who get a GED, BECAUSE when they get out they're more employable AND more confident. And less likely, with their children, to be a burden on their communities -- in this generation and the next.

It kills me that people cannot think two steps ahead about this stuff. Education -- in or out of jail -- is an investment in the future -- in productivity, in safety, in innovation, in the reduction of negative change and the increase of positive change. There is no downside.

/educator rant over

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