The dramatic increase in the number of women in prison in this country is a result of changes in criminal justice policy that were intended to 'take a bite out of crime' and wage a 'war on drugs'. The consequences of these policies for women is seldom mentioned and even less is heard about their impact on children. According to the Department of Justice, 76.4% of the women in State prisons are mothers compared to 59.6% of …showed first 75 words of 1841 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1841 total…on the families of men and women. Research in Law, Deviance and Social Control,Corrections Network A Tangled Web: Public Benefits, Grandparents, and Grandchildren, Washington, D.C.:AARP Public Policy Institute Stanton, A (1980) When Mothers Go to Jail, Lexington, Massachusetts: Lexington Books United States Department of Justice (1996) Correctional Populations in the United States, 1994 Washington, D.C.:Bureau of Justice Statistics United States Department of Justice (1993) Women in Prison, Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics