DALLAS (1080 KRLD) - Many women sent to Texas prisons and jails lose their children to foster care.
A newly passed house bill by longtime Democratic state representative Senfronia Thompson would allow for judges to take into consideration whether a person being sentenced for a crime is the main caretaker of a child.
If the judge allows, that person could instead receive probation, community service, counseling and drug treatment.
Lauren Johnson with the ACLU of Texas says there are nearly 13,000 women in Texas jails and prisons, and 64 percent of the mothers in the system are the main caretakers of minors.
"Historically women lose their children to the foster care system at a rate five times higher than men. And often for very short sentences, so losing your children should not be part of the penalty range for petty crimes that are committed."
She says this is not a big, radical change. "This is just asking judges to consider one more factor before sentencing someone to prison. But it's a really important factor and it has long-lasting impacts in our community."
Johnson has personal experience in this matter. She says after being clean for five years, she had a drug relapse nine years ago. Because she had a criminal history she was sentenced to seven months in a state jail. "It didn't have treatment and it didn't have programs and services. All it did was take me away from my children and warehouse me for seven months as a punitive measure and not as a rehabilitative measure. We almost lost our home because my husband couldn't afford to pay for childcare and the mortgage. Thankfully some friends moved in to help with our children. These are the collateral consequences of the system that we have."
The bill is now being forwarded to the state senate.