Incarcerated mothers and their children

Guests: Dorothy Roberts, Kathleen Creamer, Malissa Gamble

What happens to a child when their mother is sent to prison?  Incarcerated mothers often lose their parental rights, even when convicted for minor crimes. In fact, they are more likely to lose custody of their children than a parent accused of physically or sexually abusing a child. A quarter of a million children have a mother in prison and as the number of incarcerated women continues to rise, what is the impact on families and their communities? We’ll talk about incarcerated mothers, parental rights, and the best practices for keeping the parent/child relationships strong. And we’ll discuss why African American mothers are particularly penalized in the criminal justice and foster care systems. Our guests are DOROTHY ROBERTS, professor of law, sociology and civil rights at the University of Pennsylvania, KATHLEEN CREAMER, managing attorney of the Family Advocacy Unit at Community Legal Services, and MALISSA GAMBLE, an advocate for incarcerated families.