Another fine use of our tax $$: Baybees behind bars

So these jailbait moocows get free room and board for themselves AND their loaves, free daycare and healthcare, free preschool, and god knows what else. And we're supposed to be okay with the claim that this program doesn't cost the taxpayers "extra"??

It just figures that this is the only program of its kind in the country, right here in bleeding heart WA state. fuck

http://www.kxly.com/news/26871100/detail.html

Born Behind Bars: Inmates Raising Children in Prison

GIG HARBOR, Wash. -- Right now, at Washington's largest corrections center for women, 871 inmates are serving their sentences. Among them are 8 babies being raised right in the middle of it all. It's a trailblazing program pioneered by Washington and now being adopted in other states. But, is prison a safe place to raise a child?

Little Deegan's hands tell so much about the eight-month old boy. He's playful, curious and always reaching out to his mother Sunny.

"We're all in this and it's hard," Sunny Van Cleave explained. "Deegan makes people happy."

Right now, at Washington's largest corrections center for women, 871 inmates are serving their sentences. Among them are 8 babies being raised right in the middle of it all. It's a trailblazing program pioneered by Washington and now being adopted in other states. But, is prison a safe place to raise a child?

Deegan is surrounded every day by everything he needs; he has his books and toys, his mom and the caregivers who love him. But, outside his home at the Washington Corrections Center for Women, razor wire separates Deegan from the reality of where he's been raised since he was born.

"I have never been in trouble in my whole life, except 2008," said Van Cleave. "That's when everything started."

Sunny never thought she'd end up in prison, let alone with a baby. Living in Deer Park, she had a marriage, two daughters and her own hair-dressing business. Then, she gave birth to a son with severe medical problems.

"They said your son is not going to live. When you get news like that, it's hard to explain, but a piece of you dies inside."

For a time, oxycontin brought her back to life. Even though her son survived, Van Cleave was already hooked. Soon, it wasn't about feeling better anymore, she said. It was just not to feel sick. On a dark November night in 2008, Van Cleave hit bottom. She robbed the Bi-Mart Pharmacy in Deer Park with what looked like a real gun. Then, she went to a home and tried to end her pain. She chewed 60 oxycontin tablets and blacked out. 10 days later, she woke up in the hospital; now, she was charged with First Degree Robbery. By the time she was sentenced a year later, she was clean and sober - and, pregnant with Deegan.

When she got to the WCCW, she was in the general population. Then, she found out she qualified for the Residential Parenting Program, where she could keep Deegan while serving her 31-month sentence.

"We're promoting a healthy bond between incarcerated women and their children," explained Sonja Alley, who supervises the program. On the day we visited last week, the RPP housed 10 women and 10 kids, with the youngest child just two weeks old.

Sheri Pam's son Quincey is 20-months old, the oldest in the unit right now. Pam is serving time for Second Degree Robbery; she was six months pregnant when she was sentenced. Like every room in the unit, Pam's room has a bed for her, a bed for Quincey and the toys and books you'd see in any toddler's room. Women here have to meet strict criteria to qualify: they have to be minimum-security offenders, CPS history is considered and mental health is evaluated. While there are exceptions, the women typically have to be serving a sentence of 30 months or less. It's a short time in prison terms, but a lifetime for these infants and toddlers. The program is designed to keep moms and babies from ever coming back.

"Children of incarcerated parents are five to seven times more likely to be incarcerated themselves," Alley explained. "So, we're really trying to break that chain."

The moms have support from the Dept. of Corrections staff and from other inmates. Mandy Carver is serving time for possessing a stolen car. She's a caregiver on the unit, meaning she babysits and is available around the clock for anything the moms need. She's intimately familiar with how the program works. Not only has Mandy been in prison before, she has been in this program before. Twice, she came in pregnant; twice, she was allowed to keep her baby with her. When she came back pregnant a third time, her entrance to the program was denied.

"The superintendent felt like I wasn't learning anything from repeated returns," Carver said. "It's been a huge wake-up call for me. The hardest thing was leaving my son.

[At least they cut off her gravy train.]

Carver is an anomaly. Most women allowed in the program never set foot in prison again. But, what about the kids? It may help the moms to have their babies with them in prison, but is it fair to the kids who have to live here? How do they tell their child years later that they spent their first birthday and had their first steps just yards away from convicted killers?

"This experience has been positive for me - it hasn't been troubled or hard or anything," explained Pam, who has an 11-year old son living with his grandmother while she serves her time. "It's just kind of part of our story together."

[If it hasn't been hard, how can it be considered punishment??]

The per-inmate cost of the program is the same as other minimum security offenders here - about $123 a day. DSHS money pays for toys, books and food. It's money the families would qualify for outside of prison, so there's no additional cost to taxpayers. Doctors come in once a month for well-baby checks and vaccinations. Many of the women say they're receiving care for themselves and their babies they had no idea how to access when their other children were born outside of prison.

[I don't get this "logic." They shouldn't be costing the taxpayers ANYTHING because they should NOT be in jail in the first place and they should NOT be having kids they can't fucking afford!!]

Like their moms who work or go to school in prison, these babies are busy, too. Every day, they head across the prison yard to a sanctuary. It's the Early Head Start Program, staffed with educational professionals.

[Yet more costs the rest of us get to pay.]

"We do have a curriculum that we use with infants and toddlers," explained infant-toddler educator Jo Ader. "It's really more about the experiences we provide them than a lesson plan."

If you couldn't see the razor wire outside, it's easy to forget your inside a prison when you see the kids at the center; it could be any early childcare center in the country. Because of this program, the only one in the nation, these kids are learning things their moms never could have taught them on their own.

"I wish I could take these women home with me," said Pam. "They're so good with Quincey and all the other kids. They're teaching Quincey sign language, he makes play-doh and colors and does all sorts of things."

The biggest challenge, though, comes when these women and their babies leave, heading back to old haunts and old habits.

"I want to make every moment that we have with them count for something," said Ader. "We don't have any control of what happens after they leave, but I feel like every good thing we can provide them with when they're here will help them when they get out."

And, when they do get out, it's not always a happy ending. The day we visited, Riley, the only girl in the unit, was leaving after more than a year in the RPP; her mom was not going with her. Oregon has a warrant for mom's arrest. She'll serve at least 13 months there and we're not sure where Riley is going. Another woman checked out while we were there and was heading right to the hospital, where her three-year old child is on life support, fatally injured by a family member earlier this month.

[Sterilize these bitches so they can't breed more of this horrible bullshit!]

It's prison, after all. It's not perfect.

But, the women who remain are still confident they've been given the foundation they need to succeed when the gates finally open for them.

"When people think of prison, they think cold, dark and gloomy," said Pam, as her son Quincey sat watching cartoons a few feet away. "It's not really like that. People are people at the end of the day. People really do want to change."

[It's fucking PRISON. It SHOULD be cold, dark, and gloomy, not a free goddamn Disneyland!]

As for Sunny Van Cleave, she's getting out soon. She'll head back to Deer Park to her fiance and three other children. She knows someday she'll tell Deegan where he came from - and that life doesn't have to be defined because he was born behind bars.

"I think it will be good for him to know - I'm going to tell him, I had you in prison."

[Yeah, it'll be REALLY good for him, you stupid bitch. Sterilize this idiot NOW.]

fuck mob

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shauna's like a gluten-free Jim Jones for dumb, lifeless middle-aged women. I swear, this bitch could set fire to a orphanage and they would applaud her for bringing them light. ~ Miss Hannigan

That's really neat how the government gives the convicts all that shit for free. It's also really neat how I'll have $45,000 in variable interest rate loans because the goverment doesn't think I'm worthy of a fixed interest rate federal loan. I'm glad to know which sector of the community the government values more.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
"Not every ejaculation deserves a name" - George Carlin

they spent their first birthday and had their first steps just yards away from convicted killers?

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SappyWriter

Hate to burst this writer's balloon but something tells me that even if the kyd weren't in the pen, he would hardly be surrounded by the bluebloods of Monaco. 'Steps away from convicted killers' is probably an upgrade from the environment his squalid, ignorant moomare would provide outside the joint.

Yeah, let's reward bad behavior......

______________

- The human gene pool could use a little chlorine

What happened to taking their kids away from them? Isn't that supposed to not only be better for the kyd, but punishment for the moo, too?

WTF ever happened to foster care?

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M4P
Yeah, let's reward bad behavior......

Unfortunately, welcome to America (or even the world). People care more about stories of people in hardships they created or people who "come back" from a world of drugs and crime that they chose to go into. Hell, even the FAFSA gives money to people who refuse to work and shit out kids, while all of those who made responsible decisions are treated liek they're worthless.

At least they don't allow husbands and boyfriends to spend the night with the skanks in the jail.

That would have resulted in MORE jail baybees for US to "raise". eyes2

WHAT??? So these CRIMINAL bitches get to raise their baaybeez in prison? I'd say that's more of a reward, not to mention that they are getting positive attention from the other inmates because they have a baaaybee to raise. This country is fucked up - it continues to reward CRIMINALS! Illegal scumbags, now THIS? Truly fukt up!

So they get free stuff because they broke the law. Hey, maybe if I steal a car the government will pay my tuition.
I'm moving to some fucking corrupt country so when I have to bribe an official at least I know where my money is going and it will do me some good. I should also start my company outside of the US so that the money that I earn, and the business that I create, do not go to support laziness and stupidity.

They might as well leave the children there, because with parenting like that, they are just going to end up there anyway. Cut out the middle-man, as it were.

On the plus side, an initiative like this will deter me from a life of crime. Being surrounded by babies would make prison truly a hell for me.


Part of this is about the view that prison should be for rehabilitation rather than punishment. Personally, I'm in favor of whatever can be demonstrated to prevent repeat offenses (which should lower crime and costs to the state). I'm pretty sure offering someone a second chance with this program is pointless, however. And if studies show that the children of criminals are more inclined to criminal behavior, it seems like sterilization of criminals would be even more effective in reducing crime.

What particularly annoys me about this program is the pure sexism of it. Do male prisoners get custody of their offspring? Pigs will fly before that happens. This is buying into and reinforcing the idea that women live for their children, and will be inspired to reform for their children, and that moms aren't really bad people who commit crimes. All of which is pure bullshit, and offensive to any woman who wants to succeed on her own merits and not get some sort of free pass because she has a uterus. Equality cuts both ways--equal rights and equal responsibilities. I hope an incarcerated man sues this program into oblivion over their double standards.

Aside from the fact that this is an obvious and BLATANT misuse of public funds, and it IS funded by taxes no matter how they try to sugar coat it, it's child abuse for a child to be born in AND raised in prison. I am absolutely astounded that this is going on too. Is this going on in other prisons across the nation? This is the most bizarre bullshit that I do believe that I have EVER heard in my life and I find it hard to believe that other family members are "for" their child, grandkid, nephew, etc.........to live in this atmosphere.

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If YOU are the "exception" to what I am saying, then why does my commentary bother you so much?
I don't hate your kids, I HATE YOU!

Does anyone remember Jean Harris, the private-school headmistress who shot "the Scarsdale Diet Doctor" around 1980? it was a pretty sensational trial pre-OJ, she was a somewhat spurned aging lover; he sounds like an asshole frankly. Anyhow she was convicted and served 15 years in maximum security in the New York prison system. To while away the time she got involved in a lot of parenting classes for inmates, etc., and many of her observations about the futility of it all (and that was in the 80s when there was less political correctness than now) are pretty grim.

Her book Stranger in Two Worlds is a good read; first half is her life and crimes, the second half is behind bars. Subsequent books were less self-focused, relief more on stats about moos in prison, etc. Worth a read if you're into that sort of thing.

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Melanie
Does anyone remember Jean Harris, the private-school headmistress who shot "the Scarsdale Diet Doctor" around 1980? it was a pretty sensational trial pre-OJ, she was a somewhat spurned aging lover; he sounds like an asshole frankly. Anyhow she was convicted and served 15 years in maximum security in the New York prison system. To while away the time she got involved in a lot of parenting classes for inmates, etc., and many of her observations about the futility of it all (and that was in the 80s when there was less political correctness than now) are pretty grim.

Her book Stranger in Two Worlds is a good read; first half is her life and crimes, the second half is behind bars. Subsequent books were less self-focused, relief more on stats about moos in prison, etc. Worth a read if you're into that sort of thing.

I remember that story, but I hadn't realized that she had written a book. Of course parenting classes in prison are futile by the very NATURE of where the classes are being taught! If they don't care enough about their kids to stay out of prison, then I seriously doubt that any amount of classes will help. They need instead a class on how to NOT come back to prison and after they complete THAT course there needs to be another one about how to NOT keep shitting loaves that they can't or won't support. Prison is a PUNISHMENT and they have lost ALL privileges afforded to free people which should INCLUDE constant contact with their loved ones, including and perhaps specifically their kids.

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If YOU are the "exception" to what I am saying, then why does my commentary bother you so much?
I don't hate your kids, I HATE YOU!

I know. Harris was rather frank in her disdain for how the inmates and the guards spoke --she was better at recreating the dialect than I could but basically would ask the girls "how do you think you'lre going to be able to speak like that on the outside and get a job as a cashier or secretary?" and they would just give her the blank looks -- or worse -- and go on with their ghetto speak. She wrote about how obsessed they were with putting elaborate outfits on the kids but totally disinterested in the lessons about how speaking to an infant/child will help its brain develop.

The books are pretty good -- "Stranger in Two Worlds" and the sequel "They Always Call Us Ladies" -- not ponderous or depressing; I bought them back in the day as 'beach reads' if that clues you in.

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Melanie
I know. Harris was rather frank in her disdain for how the inmates and the guards spoke --she was better at recreating the dialect than I could but basically would ask the girls "how do you think you'lre going to be able to speak like that on the outside and get a job as a cashier or secretary?" and they would just give her the blank looks -- or worse -- and go on with their ghetto speak. She wrote about how obsessed they were with putting elaborate outfits on the kids but totally disinterested in the lessons about how speaking to an infant/child will help its brain develop.

The books are pretty good -- "Stranger in Two Worlds" and the sequel "They Always Call Us Ladies" -- not ponderous or depressing; I bought them back in the day as 'beach reads' if that clues you in.

I'll bet with her upbringing, education, and lifestyle that being in prison was a huge culture shock. I know it would be for me and I honestly don't know if I could survive in prison, so I will do my best to not get sent there. It does get harder day by day though, not just reaching out and choking some of these welfare moo-cunts with my bare hands until I feel the lard in their massive bodies turn cold like an economy size slab of butter.

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If YOU are the "exception" to what I am saying, then why does my commentary bother you so much?
I don't hate your kids, I HATE YOU!

About 20 years ago, my old high-school actually erected a DAYCARE CENTER in the school! I wonder who paid for THAT? Yup, Joe & Jane taxpayer, that's who. All so Cuntsuelo could bring her litter of shitsacks to school while she gets an education, which she really doesn't care about in the FIRST PLACE!

This shit needs to stop. This baybee-worshipping bullshit has to stop somewhere. Lines need to be drawn and ciminals need to stop being rewarded. What a fuckt up country!

Mandatory adoption. Period.

You give up your kid to go to a family that can actually care for it while you go to jail for being a druggie. Don't like it? Maybe you should have thought about that before you robbed a store and then got knocked up by your "BabbyDaddy" the next year.

I'm sick of paying for this shit.

The hottest contraband in prisons right now is a cell phone. This story will really make you mad.

http://raycomgroup.worldnow.com/global/video/popup/pop_playerLaunch.asp?vt1=v&clipFormat=&clipId1=5544054&at1=Station 49&h1=Inmates are using Facebook illegally, victims' families react&flvUri=&partnerclipid=


This guy sounds like he's having a great time.

JD