Grace Meng: “My amendment would ensure that incarcerated, pregnant prisoners who are primary caretaker parents and who have limited…”

“My amendment would ensure that incarcerated, pregnant prisoners who are primary caretaker parents and who have limited English proficiency will have access to parenting classes. Mr. Chair, we know that at the end of 2016 there were over 111,000 women in prisons across our country. That is a nearly 750 percent increase from 1980. Women are the fastest growing population of incarcerated individuals in our country. Our Nation has 4 percent of the world's female population, but 30 percent of its female incarcerated population. We also know that women of color are significantly overrepresented in our criminal justice system. In fact, two-thirds of women in jail are women of color. Additionally, a recent study published just 2 weeks ago in the American Journal of Public Health found that, during their 1-year study of rates of pregnancy and outcomes among women in prison in 22 States and the Federal system, almost 1,400 pregnant women were admitted to prison. Given the intersection of these data points, my amendment ensures that parenting classes be accessible to those incarcerated women with limited English proficiency. The Bureau of Prisons already provides certain parenting classes for pregnant incarcerated individuals. They include the Mother and Infants Nursing Together, MINT, program; and the Residential Parenting Program.…”