Amendment #742 to H3400

Special House Committee on Incarcerated Women and the Children Who Wait

[Sponsors] Representatives Khan of Newton, Fernandes of Milford, Walsh of Boston, and Fox of Boston  move that the bill be amended by inserting after SECTION 107, the following new

SECTION XXX ;

“A Special House Committee on Incarcerated Women and the Children Who Wait forThem shall be established to investigate and report on the women in MA correctional facilities, their families and children, and the availability of services and treatment programs throughout the state. This special committee will investigate, report and if necessary, propose legislation to improve the lives of these women and their families and children.

The Committee will compare and evaluate services and programs offered to incarcerated women and their children in different regions of the Commonwealth, determine if there is service parity for incarcerated women and incarcerated men, and  investigate regionalization of services, the possible closure of MCI Framingham, returning low-risk women to their counties for services instead of incarceration, the women’s mental health needs , the existence of case management services including parenting programs, recidivism rates, education and training programs, transportation for families to correctional facilities and the needs of the children of incarcerated mothers including foster care issues.  The Committee may also investigate and report on what programs are available in other states for women prisoners and their families.

A report is due no later than 1 year after passage and  annually thereafter  no later than June 30 of each following year, to the House Clerk; the House Committee on Ways and Means; the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities and the Joint Committee on the Judiciary.