Decatur Correctional Center

Prison for women in Decatur, Illinois

Decatur Correctional Center is a prison for women in Decatur, Illinois. It is operated by the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC). It first opened on January 24, 2000.[1] Sex offenders are not placed in Decatur Correctional.[2]

The prison, which includes the "Moms and Babies" program,[2] has the only nursery for newborn babies in IDOC; it has eight cells in the E-Wing equipped with childcare facilities. Women convicted of nonviolent offenses may care for their newborns while serving time.[3] The cells are video-monitored, and do not have bars. The mothers in this program are separated from the general population, and other prisoners are kept where they are when children are transferred within the prison. Due to a desire to not cause stress on the children, the correctional officers do not handcuff the women in the nursery area. The prison only accepts mothers who will be released in time to continue taking care of their children; therefore each woman has two or fewer years of time remaining.[2] As of 2015[update] most women in the prison do not qualify and must immediately give up their children after their births occur.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Decatur Correctional Center." Illinois Department of Corrections. Retrieved on September 4, 2018. "2310 East Mound Road [...] Decatur, IL 62524"
  2. ^ a b c Jouvenal, Justin (2018-05-11). "This central Illinois prison is allowing mothers to raise their babies behind bars. But is the radical experiment a good idea?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-09-04 – via Chicago Tribune.
  3. ^ a b Mastony, Colleen (2015-05-03). "Bringing up baby while doing time". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
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Prisons for women in the United States
This list template only include facilities for post-trial long-term confinement of adult females and juvenile females sentenced as adults, of one or two years or more (referred to as "prisons" in the United States, while the word "jail" normally refers to short-term confinement facilities)
Federal facilities
Federal Bureau of Prisons
Converted into men's facilities
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Alabama
Alaska
  • Hiland Mountain Correctional Center
Arizona
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Closed
  • Arkansas State Farm for Women
Women removed from facility
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Converted into men's facilities
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Closed
  • Colorado Women's Correctional Facility
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Delaware
  • Delores J. Baylor Women's Correctional Institution
Florida
Closed
Women removed from facility
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Converted into men's facilities
Closed
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Closed
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Converted into men's facilities
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Women removed from facility
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Women removed from facility
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Closed
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Closed
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  • Dakota Women's Correctional and Rehabilitation Center
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Converted into men's facilities
Women removed from unit
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Closed
Vermont
  • Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility
Closed
  • Dale Woman's Facility
Virginia
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Closed
  • Pine Lodge Corrections Center for Women
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Women removed from facility
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  • Wyoming Women's Center
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  • See Federal Bureau of Prisons
Closed
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See also: Incarceration of women in the United States
Note: Adults who commit felonies in the District of Columbia are sent to Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facilities

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