“YOU MISS SO MUCH WHEN YOU’RE GONE”

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

"YOU MISS SO MUCH WHEN YOU'RE GONE"

The Lasting Harm of Jailing Mothers Before Trial in Oklahoma

"You Miss So Much When You're Gone"

The Lasting Harm of Jailing Mothers Before Trial in Oklahoma

Copyright ? 2018 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 9781623136628 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez

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This report was supported in part by a grant from the Open Society Foundations.

SEPTEMBER 2018

ISBN: 9781623136628

"You Miss So Much When You're Gone"

The Lasting Harm of Jailing Mothers Before Trial in Oklahoma

Map .................................................................................................................................... i

Summary ........................................................................................................................... 1 Money Bail, Pretrial Incarceration, and Added Pressure to Plead Guilty......................................4 Parent-Child Communication While in Jail .................................................................................4 Child Custody and Parental Rights at Risk .................................................................................5 System Imposed Debt and Collateral Consequences .................................................................5

Recommendations.............................................................................................................. 7 To Oklahoma Lawmakers ..........................................................................................................7 To Oklahoma Judges ................................................................................................................ 9 To Oklahoma Prosecutors ........................................................................................................ 9 To the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) ...................................................... 10 To Oklahoma Jail Administrators ............................................................................................. 10 To the United States Government............................................................................................ 11 To the Congress of the United States ................................................................................ 11 To the US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics............................................. 11 To the US Department of Health and Human Services ....................................................... 11

Methodology.................................................................................................................... 12

I. Background................................................................................................................... 16 A National Problem: Disproportionate Rise in Women's Incarceration ...................................... 16 Drivers of Women's Incarceration ..................................................................................... 18 Growth in Women's Jail Population ................................................................................... 21 Women Under Correctional Control ................................................................................... 21 Women's Incarceration in Oklahoma.......................................................................................24 Women Held in Oklahoma's Jails ......................................................................................25 Incarceration's Impact on Children, Other Dependents, and Substitute Caregivers ................. 29 Mothers in Jails and Prisons ............................................................................................ 29 Impact on Children ........................................................................................................... 31 Impact on Other Dependents............................................................................................34

Impact on Substitute Caregivers ....................................................................................... 35

II. Barriers to Pretrial Release ........................................................................................... 37 Money Bail ............................................................................................................................. 37 Lengthy Pretrial Incarceration .................................................................................................42 Unique Pressure on Mothers to Plead Guilty........................................................................... 46

III. Barriers to Parent-Child Contact .................................................................................. 49 Policies and Practices that Limit or Bar Family Contact ............................................................50 In-Person Visitation..........................................................................................................50 Video Visitation ............................................................................................................... 57 Communication by Telephone and Mail ........................................................................... 60

IV. Barriers to Parental Rights .......................................................................................... 64 Risk of Losing Custody and Parental Rights ............................................................................ 64 Poor OKDHS and Court Communication with Parents .............................................................. 66 Mothers Left Out of Child Placement Decisions ...................................................................... 69 Barriers to Kinship Placement .................................................................................................70 Lack of Notice and Transportation to Custody Proceedings ......................................................72 Obstacles to Regaining Custody..............................................................................................74

V. Barriers to Stability ...................................................................................................... 78 Fines and Fees........................................................................................................................78 Driver's License Suspension or Revocation ...................................................................... 80 Jail Fees ........................................................................................................................... 81 Probation Fees ................................................................................................................ 84 Incarceration for Failure to Pay and Applications to Revoke or Accelerate ......................... 84 Fees as a Barrier to Family Reunification ................................................................................ 89 Collateral Consequences of a Criminal Record.........................................................................93

VI. International Human Rights Standards ........................................................................ 96 Pretrial Detention and Money Bail .......................................................................................... 96 Communication and Family Visits ...........................................................................................97 Custody and Family Unity....................................................................................................... 99 Healthcare in Detention ........................................................................................................ 100

Acknowledgments........................................................................................................... 101

Appendix I: Tables of County Jail Visitation Policies ........................................................ 103 Counties with Regularly Scheduled In-Person Visitation ........................................................ 103 Counties with In-Facility and/or Remote Video Visitation....................................................... 104

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