Facts about the
Ohio Reformatory for Women
The reformatory is located in Marysville, OH
which is about 40 miles northwest of Columbus.
It was opened in 1916 and in August, 2004 the
prison population was 2008 women.
The Ohio Reformatory for Women is a diverse,
multi-security, correctional facility dedicated
to creating a rehabilitative environment.
Professional staff and offenders are provided an
improved quality of life through innovative
programming, enhanced security, employee
enrichment and fiscal responsibility. Building
collaborative partnerships and employing the
principles of the re-entry philosophy will
facilitate the population’s successful
transition into the community.
The prison provides a variety of educational and
vocational programs for the inmates. Special
programs include the H.O.T. Program (Helping
Others Together) which was started in 1996. This
program allows inmates to assist fellow
medically fragile inmates with tasks of daily
living. The Therapeutic Community (TC) is a
long-term (6-12 months) residential Alcohol and
other Drug (ADD) treatment program. The aim of
the Therapeutic Community is to promote
pro-social behavior, attitudes, and values as a
method of attaining abstinence from alcohol and
other drugs. Achieving Baby Care Success Program
allows incarcerated pregnant inmates to maintain
custody of their infants after they are born.
Each participant has an individualized treatment
plan so that the problems that resulted in her
incarceration are thoroughly addressed. Hands-on
parenting instruction is available for every
mother. Eligible mothers for the program are
screened and must be serving a short-term
sentence for a non-violent crime.
Facts about the General Women’s Prison
Population
According to the Institute on Women and Criminal
Justice the women’s prison population grew by
757% from 1977-2005. Across the country a
majority of women serving prison time are
incarcerated for non-violent offenses. Many
struggle with drug addiction, mental health
issues or both. Upon release women face the same
barriers to successful re-entry as men when they
leave prison: lack of housing, limited job
opportunities, denial of public benefits and the
social stigma of having a felony record.
According to the Department of Justice 70% of
women in prison or under correctional
supervision are mothers with 1.3 million
children being affected. According to Oregon’s
Correctional Department, a child with an
incarcerated parent is 500-600% more likely than
other children to spend time in prison at some
point in their lives. The Bureau of Justice
Statistics reported that in 2004 4% of women in
state prisons and 3% in federal prisons were
pregnant at the time of admittance. By 2006 only
9 states had prison nursery programs in
operation or under development. Of the 9
programs available, 4 were created within the
last 5 years. (Please not that the Ohio
Reformatory for Women does have one of these
programs)
Some regions of the country stand out in their
willingness to use prison on women, with the
south and mountain states leading the trend. By
contrast, the northeastern states have seen a
drop in the use of prison following a period of
intense growth in the 1980s.
Facts about the General Prison Population
Over 9 million people are held in penal
institutions throughout the world. Almost half
of these are in the United States (2.09
million), China (1.55 million plus pre-trial
detainees and prisoners in “administrative
detention”) or Russia (0.76 million). The United
States has the highest prison population rate in
the world, some 714 per 100,000 of the national
population, followed by Belarus, Bermuda and
Russia (all 532), US Virgin Islands (490), Cuba
(487), Cayman Islands (429), Belize (420),
Ukraine (417), St. Kitts and Nevis (415), South
Africa (413) and the Bahamas (410).
However, almost 3.5 of countries (58%) have
rates below 150 per 100,000 inhabitants. The
rate in England and Wales -142 per 100,000 on
the national population-is above the midpoint of
the world list. Prison population rates vary
considerably between different regions of the
world and between different parts of the same
continent. For example: in Africa the median
rate for western African countries is 52 whereas
for southern African countries it is 324. In the
Americas the median rate for South American
countries is 152 whereas for Carribean countries
it is 324. In Europe the median rate for
southern European countries is 80 whereas for
central and eastern European countries it is 184
Prison populations are growing in many parts of
the world. Updated information shows that prison
populations have risen in 73% of the countries
listed in previous editions of the World Prison
Population List (in 64% of countries in Africa,
79% in the Americas, 88% in Asia, 69% in Europe
and 69% in Oceania).
Reference: www.scribd.com/doc/328143
World-Prison-Population-List-2007
Research by Wendy
Bynner, Sacred Threads 2009 Chairwomen |
