ATLANTA – State Representative Kim Schofield (D-Atlanta) recently introduced House Bill 377, or the Georgia Women’s Child Care Alternatives, Resources and Education (CARE) Act, which seeks to bring safety and dignity to thousands of babies and their mothers across the State of Georgia. Rep. Schofield is a co-sponsor of the legislation, along with House Health and Human Services Committee Chair Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta), and this bipartisan legislation was inspired by the advocacy efforts of Pamela Winn, founder of RestoreHER.
“It is clear that we need to provide a safe way for pregnant mothers in Georgia’s prison system to be treated with dignity,” said Rep. Schofield. “I am proud to work with Chairman Cooper and Pamela Winn to protect mothers and their babies from harmful separations.”
The Georgia Women’s CARE Act would provide three ways to assist incarcerated mothers who are pregnant or who have recently delivered babies. First, women would be offered a pregnancy test upon detention, and if the pregnancy test is positive, they would be given the opportunity to be released under bond within 72 hours. HB 377 would also defer a mother’s prison sentence up to 12 weeks after delivering a baby, and the newborn baby would remain with the mother during this deferment. Finally, penal institutions in Georgia would be required to report data on women who are pregnant in the state’s prison system to the Georgia Department of Public Health.
Rep. Schofield drafted this legislation based on data which highlights that the first three months of a child’s life are crucial for psychological and physical development. Rep. Schofield reports that studies have found that the occurrence of a mother-child separation of a week or longer within the first two years of life may lead to higher levels of child negativity at age three and aggression at ages three and five. Additionally, Motherhood Beyond Bars has reported that 50 to 150 babies are birthed in Georgia prisons each year, and these babies are usually separated from their mothers 48-hours after birth. If this bill is passed and enacted, Rep. Schofield and RestoreHER hope to prevent mental illnesses and behavioral abnormalities that may arise from an early separation period.
RestoreHER is a policy advocacy organization which works to end the shackling of pregnant women in Georgia, as well as promotes reentry programs that serve formerly incarcerated women on their path to rehabilitation.
For more information on HB 377, please click here.
Representative Kim Schofield represents the citizens of District 60, which includes portions of Clayton and Fulton counties. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2017 and currently serves on the Health & Human Services, Interstate Cooperation, Information and Audits and Small Business Development committees.
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