ALTERNATIVES TO PRISON PROPOSED FOR WOMEN

More alternatives than prison for women convicted of substance abuse and
better attention for children of Oklahoma's female inmates are recommended
in a study released Wednesday.

Alternatives mentioned in the study were day reporting centers and
nighttime incarceration. The report, the second of three looking at female
inmates and their children, was prepared by the Oklahoma Commission on
Children and Youth.

Rep. Barbara Staggs, D-Muskogee, said the study shows the need for more
drug courts in the state. Drug courts allow eligible offenders to receive
treatment instead of being incarcerated.

Sen. Debbe Leftwich, D-Oklahoma City, said she hoped the study would raise
public awareness and support for drug courts, which have proven to be an
effective and less-expensive way to deal with drug offenders.

"Oklahoma has more women in prison per capita than any state in the
nation," said Leftwich, who with Skaggs sponsored a Senate joint resolution
last year that authorized the study.

"We need to be smarter about how we approach this problem. Simply locking
women up, not giving them treatment and sending the children to live with
abusive relatives is not the answer," she said in a statement.

Susan Sharp, a University of Oklahoma associate professor of sociology,
interviewed 54 female inmates at Hillside Community Correctional Center,
3300 Martin Luther King Ave., Eddie Warrior Correctional Center in Taft and
Mabel Bassett Correctional Center in McLoud. As of Feb. 7, Oklahoma had
2,048 female inmates, according to the study.

Some of her findings showed:

About 76 percent of the women surveyed indicated they have been victims of
childhood abuse as well as adult victims of abuse.

36 percent reported their children were placed in the home with the same
relative who had abused them.

About 76 percent reported they had used drugs more than one time a week
before going to prison.

One in three reported not receiving substance abuse treatment during
incarceration.

Jerry Massie, spokesman for the state Corrections Department, said he had
not seen the study.

But he said he agreed more substance abuse treatment programs are needed.

"Those cost money, and when we have budget cuts, you're not going to have a
lot of programs," he said.

More than half the women surveyed -- 31 -- said they were incarcerated for
drug offenses. Three were incarcerated for murder or manslaughter, and
three were in prison for assault.

A vast majority of the women reported experiencing physical or sexual abuse
before the age of 18. Forty-two, or 78 percent, reported experiencing one
or both kinds of abuse during their childhood. Family members were likely
to be perpetrators of both physical and sexual abuse.

As for their children, depression was the most reported problem, according
to the study.

Twelve women reported one or more of their children had developed problems
with depression since their incarceration. In three cases, the women
reported a child being suicidal.

Children also were having problems at school, and trouble with parents or
guardians was also a frequent issue, the study states.