Between 1980 and 2015, the number of women in state or federal prisons increased 744%. Women are the fastest growing segment of the prison population, but we never hear about them or the children that nearly 80% of these incarcerated women leave behind.

This is why in July, the Justice Action Network (JAN), Google, the Brennan Center for Justice, brought together national and local elected officials, advocates and organizers from across the country and across the aisle to Washington D.C., showing the more than 200,000 women behind bars in our country’s prisons and jails that they are not forgotten. Leaders like U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Kamala Harris and Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin sat across from local officials, victims, and advocates for an open and honest conversation that explored what worked and what didn’t for incarcerated women across the country.  

JAN is committed to translating this talk into action. We must enact more reforms both the federal and state level that address these issues facing women in the justice system. The following represents our recommendations from experts, lawmakers and formerly incarcerated women themselves.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

1. Change hearts and minds by placing the voices of women and girls at the center of discussions on incarceration.
2. Ensure mental health professionals are more involved throughout each stage of the justice system, especially in the early stages of incarceration to focus on the specific problems female inmates face like trauma.
3. Focus efforts on keeping mother and their children close. This includes creating better support systems for children of incarcerated parents who are all too often overlooked as they cope with the loss of caretakers.
4. Reinvest in diversion programs proven to reduce recidivism.
5. Measure progress in prison and incentivize the behavior proven to improve outcomes after prison.
6. Design new programs and support systems for female prisoners and returning citizens to smooth the transition back into society.

View the full document here: [LINK]

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