At the “pregnancy tank” at the Harris County Jail, asking a female inmate “How much longer do you have?”
can get a puzzled look in response. She could answer with a due date or an anticipated date of discharge from jail.
The “pregnancy tank” is a two-story, atrium-like room with private cells. It houses 30 inmates chosen for a Mentoring Moms program, a 60-to-90-day course for inmates who are either pregnant or have young children. Through partnerships with 30 nonprofit groups and businesses, the program teaches participants about the help available on the outside that will keep them from returning to jail.
“I’ve learned coping skills — how to deal with my anger, how to deal with many things,” an inmate in the program, Laura Dominguez, 21, said. Pregnant with her second child, Dominguez is serving a sentence for driving while intoxicated and expects to be released a month before her daughter is born.
“I don’t want to be back,” she said. “My kids need me, and jail really isn’t a place to be.”
http://www.texastribune.org/2014/02/17/pregnant-inmates-find-help-stay-out-jail/
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