WOMEN COST MORE THAN MEN IN LOCK-UP

OKLAHOMA CITY - Not only does Oklahoma lead the nation in the number of
women it sends to prison, but the cost of locking up those women is 31
percent more than the average male prisoner, officials reported Tuesday.

David Wright, a researcher with the Criminal Justice Resource Center, said
Tuesday that because of higher medical costs and the additional social
services required for female prisoners, Oklahoma taxpayers spend an average
of $5,637 more annually on women than men.

Testifying before the Special Task Force Women Incarcerated in Oklahoma,
Wright said the annual cost for incarcerating a female inmate, including
social services, is $23,684, compared to $18,047 for males.

"DHS (Department of Human Services) reports that it spends at least $10.1
million annually in state and federal tax dollars for foster care, medical
and other welfare needs of 1,816 children in Oklahoma whose parents are
incarcerated," Wright said.

Of that $10.1 million, Wright said:

- - $6.2 million is for foster care subsidies for 1,000 children;

- - $1.5 million is for welfare payments on behalf of 816 children living
outside the foster care system; and

- - $2.4 million for Medicaid costs of 1,816 children.

The task force, which was created by the Legislature last session, is
examining ways to lower Oklahoma's skyrocketing rate of female
incarceration.

One trend that is at least partly responsible for Oklahoma's increasing
incarceration rate of women is a shift in recent decades from mental
hospitals to prison for mentally ill women. K.C. Moon, director of the CJRC,
said the U.S. Congress, followed shortly thereafter by state legislatures,
began a philosophical shift in the late 1960s to move women from
institutional mental health centers to more community based mental health
services.

According to CJRC statistics, the mental health hospital population in 1960
was 2.3 times the prison population. Now, the prison population is 58 times
higher than the mental health population, Wright said. In 2002, there were
22,981 inmates in the state prison system, compared to 394 patients in
mental hospitals.

Also on Tuesday, the task force began finalizing its list of recommendations
for the Legislature and governor. Although still in draft form and subject
to change, the recommendations center on:

- - diverting women from becoming offenders by focusing on the mental health
needs of women;

- - addressing physical and sexual abuse and domestic violence against women
through prosecution of offenders and the development of programs for
victims;

- - alternatives to incarceration for drug offenders, including the
establishment of more drug courts and drug treatment options;

- - the removal of minimum sentencing barriers for lesser drug-related
offenses;

- - rehabilitative efforts while offenders are incarcerated; and

- - reintegration efforts after incarceration.