Prison Nursery Programs

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This Act: • Permits the state department of rehabilitation and correction to establish in one or more of the department’s institutions for women a prison nursery program under which eligible inmates and children born to them while in the custody of the department reside together in the institution; • Establishes eligibility criteria of inmates for participation in the prison nursery program; • Establishes participation duties for each inmate selected by the department to participate in the prison nursery program; • Requires program participants to assign to the department any rights they have to child or spousal support; • Establishes reasons for which an inmate’s participation in the program may be terminated by the department, and • Requires the managing officer in each institution in which the prison nursery program is established to create and maintain a prison nursery program fund to pay expenses associated with the program and an individual nursery account for each participating inmate to help pay for the support of the inmate and child under the program.

Submitted as: Ohio Am. Sub. H. B. No. 661 Status: enacted into law in 2000.

Suggested Legislation

(Title, enacting clause, etc.)

Section 1. [Short Title.] This Act may be cited as “An Act to Authorize Prison Nursery Programs.”

Section 2. [Prison Nursery Programs: Authorization.] The [department of rehabilitation and correction] may establish in one or more of the institutions for women operated by the [department] a prison nursery program under which eligible inmates and children born to them while in the custody of the [department] may reside together in the institution.

Section 3. [Prison Nursery Programs: Eligibility.] An inmate is eligible to participate in the prison nursery program if she is pregnant at the time she is delivered into the custody of the [department of rehabilitation and correction], gives birth on or after the date the program is implemented, is subject to a sentence of imprisonment of not more than [eighteen (18)] months, and she and the child meet any other criteria established by the [department.]

Section 4. [Prison Nursery Programs: Requirements to Participate.] To participate in the prison nursery program, each eligible inmate selected by the [department] shall do all the following: (A) Agree in writing to do all the following: (1) Comply with any program, educational, counseling, and other requirements established for the program by the [department of rehabilitation and correction]; (2) If eligible, have the child participate in the Medicaid program or a health insurance program; (3) Accept the normal risks of childrearing, and (4) Abide by any court decisions regarding the allocation of parental rights and

23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 responsibilities with respect to the child. (B) Assign to the [department] any rights to support from any other person, excluding support assigned pursuant to [insert citation] and medical support assigned pursuant to [insert citation]. (C) Specify with whom the child is to be placed in the event the inmate’s participation in the program is terminated for a reason other than release from imprisonment.

Section 5. [Terminating Participation in Prison Nursery Programs]. An inmate’s participation in the prison nursery program may be terminated by the [department of rehabilitation and correction] if one of the following occurs: (A) The inmate fails to comply with the agreement entered into under division (a) of Section 4 of this Act. (B) The inmate’s child becomes seriously ill, cannot meet medical criteria established by the [department of rehabilitation and correction] for the program, or otherwise cannot safely participate in the program. (C) An action is brought to designate a person other than the inmate as the child’s residential parent and legal custodian. (D) An action is brought pursuant to [insert citation] to grant custody of the child to a person other than the inmate. (E) An order is issued pursuant to [insert citation] granting shared parenting of the child. (F) An order of disposition regarding the child is issued pursuant to [insert citation] granting temporary, permanent, or legal custody of the child to a person, other than the inmate, or to a public children services agency or private child-placing agency. (G) The inmate is released from imprisonment.

Section 6. [Prison Nursery Programs: Child Support.] (I) For purposes of this section, “public assistance” has the same meaning as in [insert citation]. (II) The rights to support assigned by an inmate pursuant to Section 4 of this Act shall constitute an obligation of the person who is responsible for providing the support to the [department of rehabilitation and correction] for the support provided the inmate and child pursuant to the prison nursery program. The [division of child support] in the [department of job and family services] shall collect support payments made pursuant to the assignment and forward them to the [department of rehabilitation and correction]. (III) The [department of rehabilitation and correction] may receive the following: (A) Money that is assigned or donated on behalf of, and public assistance provided to, a specific inmate or child participating in the prison nursery program, and (B) Money assigned or donated to establish and maintain the prison nursery program. (IV) The amounts described in division (III)(A) of this section shall be placed in the individual nursery account created and maintained under Section 7 of this Act for the inmate and child for whom the money was received. The money described in division (III)(B) of this section shall be deposited in the appropriate prison nursery program fund.

Section 7. [Prison Nursery Program Fund.] The [managing officer] of each institution in which a prison nursery program is established pursuant to this Act shall do the following: (A) Create and maintain a Prison Nursery Program Fund to pay expenses associated with the prison nursery program, and (B) Create and maintain an individual nursery account for each inmate participating in the prison nursery program at the institution to help pay for the support provided to the inmate and child pursuant to the program.

Section 8. [Prison Nursery Programs: Licensing and Regulation.] Notwithstanding any other provision of state law, neither the prison nursery program nor the [department of rehabilitation and

74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 correction], with respect to the program, is subject to any regulation, licensing, or oversight by the [department of job and family services] unless the departments agree to voluntary regulation, licensing, or oversight by the [department of job and family services].

Section 9. [Prison Nursery Programs: Rules.] If the [department of rehabilitation and correction] establishes the prison nursery program, it shall adopt rules that establish the requirements necessary and appropriate to the establishment, implementation, and operation of the program. The [department] shall adopt the rules prior to implementing the program.

Section 10. As used in Sections 4 and 6 of this Act, “support” has the same meaning as in [insert citation].

Section 11. [Severability.] [Insert severability clause.]

Section 12. [Repealer.] [Insert repealer clause.]

Section 13. [Effective Date.] [Insert effective date.]