Many women in prison are mothers. According to the Task Force on Federally Sentenced Women, two thirds of the women in prison in 1990 were mothers and most were the sole supports of their children before they were taken to prison. Being away from your children is difficult at any time. Being away from your children because you are in prison is especially difficult, not least because of the potential barriers to living with, visiting, or speaking with your children. You may also be dealing with fear of the difficulties there could be, and too often are, involved in regaining custody of your children after your release from prison.
This section reviews your rights as a mother in prison but, before getting to that, it also explains some of the legal concepts involved in the law regarding the custody and care of children more generally.
What is custody?
Many people think of custody as simply determining with which parent a child will live. Custody is more than that; while children often do spend most of their time with the parent who has custody, custody also involves the right to make important decisions about your child. Having custody of your child means you have the right to make important decisions about a child as well as the physical care, control, and upbringing of a child.
What is access?
Access is the right to visit or be visited by your child, and the right to be given important information about your child’s health, education, and welfare. Access is a right granted by courts when parents separate or divorce, but also in child protection cases. The court order will often set out specific times when the parent with access will be able to see the child. Sometimes courts will order telephone access if it is hard for a parent to see a child in person.
What is supervised access?
If a court grants a parent supervised access, it means that the parent will be able to see the child, but there will be someone else present at all times during the visit. Sometimes supervised access can take place at a supervised access centre, which is a place set up a bit like a child care centre, and staffed with people to supervise the visits. Other times, a social worker or a family member may be designated by a court to be the one supervising the visit if parents and other parties involved, such as a child protection agency, can agree on someone.
What is child protection?
Child protection is an area of the law where the government takes over the care of children who are found by a court to be at risk of abuse or neglect. Child protection laws are the responsibility of each province and territory, so it is the law in the province where the children are which applies. The laws are pretty similar, but there are some differences between procedures in child protection and general custody and access applications. The name of the body responsible for child protection will also depend on the province/territory.