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Options in lieu of incarcerating mothers and parents
When it comes to incarcerating parents, each case is looked at closely in order to determine what kind of parent he/she is. Parents presenting a positive influence should go through intensive parenting and close monitoring and supervision. If a woman has young children, a shorter sentence should be given so that she can be active in her children’s lives. Meanwhile, those who negatively affect their children would go on probation by providing for their children financially (child support) while working at a different community and undergoing rehabilitation. (My part is everything below this sentence)

Prison Nurseries
Mothers being incarcerated are subjected to a form of alternative during their incarceration. Yet, some may view this either as an advantage in having a less intense trial or a disadvantage in having to deal with a child. Studies have provided an alternative to the relationships between children and their mothers whom are incarcerated. Along with the path of foster care, some prison complex have begun the formation of a prison nursery as an aid given to both mothers and children. Around 70% of women incarcerated have children that are minors and many of them include pregnant women.

Since incarcerated pregnant women would have to deal with the birth of a child behind bars, the prison nurseries helps mothers deal with the pregnancy, birth, and postpartum in order to keep the relationship between mothers and infants stable. The productivity of a prison nursery is having the mothers of the infant be the primary caregivers during some or all of their sentence. The attribute these nurseries bring forth is the actual physical closeness between mother and child as well as the infant being in a supportive environment rather than the dullness of prison cells. The program is establish to create a positive development in the children’s lives and have mothers avoid recidivism. Some cases have shown a decrease in maternal recidivism and a growth in gender-responsive program offered by the government toward women.

In the case of those opposing prison nurseries, they recognize how these women are placed in community co-residence sites instead of jail sites giving to much comfort to the inmates pregnant. Even though these women have to attend parenting programs, the objective of classes is unknown to be effective to the individuals. Many of the studies that people have seen in correlation with the nurseries have little significance on whether or not they help in a positive or negative manner toward women prisoners. One reason that has been seen as a constant issue with mothers who were sentenced to jail time is related to drug substance abuse. Dealing with drugs is more likely for the individual to be recidivated and go back to jail within three years. Yet, there is insufficient data and studies to actually clarify what would help mothers change their ways after their sentence in prison either with or without the gender response actions from the government aid.

Fathers & Child Support
Coming from a low income household is already a struggle, as a parent the amount one pays is indefinite. Fathers who have low income and have to pay child support have a high possibility of being incarcerated. It is already a difficult task to have the basic needs, and as a father who is required to pay a certain amount each month is a huge load to carry. The law is simple. If the father does not pay for child support for either reason, the individual can be taken into custody for about six months. While these individuals are at risk of going to jail for not fulfilling their duty, their debt just piles up as they sit in jail. Their relationship with their children fades away for a while as the father becomes absent in his time behind bars. Incarceration prevents them from fulfilling their jobs not just to the economy, but as fathers as well.

Incarceration creates more debt towards the individual than aid to society. Fathers are now given a chance through programs such as the Alternatives to Incarceration(ATI) module to have chance in life rather than punishment. The ATI module attempts to give fathers preparatory skills and confidence of securing a job for themselves. Instead of wasting their times in prison cells, they are placed to work for the skills needed to obtain a job that will help them sustain the life of their children and themselves.

Incarceration for not paying child support had alternatives that did not have a positive outcome. Alternatives such as burying the fathers in debt rather than helping them find a resolution to their problem. The options contained either work release or home detention. As work release has them fulfill their time behind bars and go to work, there is only certain amount of time for the individual to do any and at times they do not have a job coming back to the main reason why they are not paying their child support. Home Detention is another way in which it alters from incarceration. Instead of being inside a prison, the prison comes to the individual at the footsteps of their homes. Fathers are being charged for monitoring expenses and have no employment during that period since they cannot leave their homes. They are not be working and not being able to see their children. More of a lost than a gain. At the same time, many of them are likely to have more charges as they would violate their home detention in order to seek a job or visit their children. Then they will be re-incarcerated and nothing is beneficiary to either the economy and/or individual.

Programs such as the AIT module helps low-income fathers by giving them life skills, parenting workshops communication abilities, and building healthier relationships between families. The attempt with this module is to build a support system that aids rather than wastes time such as sitting in a jail cell and increasingly in debt. ATI program has eligibility criteria as well as steps to appeal for one. They are reasonable as to give fathers a certain period of time to find a job and start paying the child support. Then there was certain criteria to be eligible to be in this program. The point of this program is to grasp individuals who actually want a chance to be a father and not go the easy way out.