Alternatives to Incarceration for Women

Women currently constitute the fastest-growing subset of offenders being incarcerated. In the United States, women make up 7 percent of the total prison population. Incarcerated women are usually convicted of non-violent or drug-related offenses, or as accessories to a crime. Due to the lack of their participation in violent crime, many women can be considered for alternatives to incarceration, as they do not pose a threat to society. Offering them alternatives to incarceration allows women to care for their children and acquire education and job skills, as well as participate in needed counseling or therapy.

Significance

Prison systems in the United States are not equipped to deal with the rising percentage of women who are being sentenced to incarceration for non-violent crimes. As recently as 2001, prison systems across the country were using a model designed strictly for men to treat, rehabilitate and reintegrate women into their communities after release. This system left women without the basic skills they needed for reintroduction to society and the workplace.

Function

Considering alternatives to incarceration for women provides the prison systems in the United States with a feasible option in meting out justice. Prison systems have to deal with overcrowding, operational costs and strains on the safety of their detainees and personnel. As the justice system catches on to sentencing alternatives for females, prisons are effectively releasing nonviolent offenders, with alternative programming as part of their parole and probation.

Types

These alternative programs include, but are not limited to: electronic monitoring (i.e., home confinement); parenting classes; educational programming (including G.E.D. acquisition); employability programs (which impart skills like cooking and data entry); abuse and victimization therapy (which teach offenders to break the cycle of relationship violence); supervised living (e.g., halfway houses); and day supervision (in which the offender must submit to drug testing, perform community service and observe a mandated curfew). The socioeconomic status of female offenders varies, resulting in multiple programs to ensure proper treatment and rehabilitation. Approximately 60 to 70 percent of incarcerated women have been abused or victimized, are addicted to drugs or alcohol and have children.

Effects

The widespread use of incarceration alternatives for women lightens the burden on the taxpayer. Fewer children will enter child-protective services and foster homes, as their mothers are able to reside with and care for them. Education or skill-based training affords released women an opportunity for employment with benefits. This alone translates into less federal and state dollars for health care and housing within the prison system.

Considerations

Alternatives to incarceration for women are not meant to be a "cure-all" for the ills found within the United States prison system. What this type of programming does offer is a chance for women in the system to be rehabilitated, educated and counseled while not using up funds required for the incarceration of violent offenders.