On furlough, mothers bond with children
Every afternoon, Kathleen Washington takes the bus from Cook County Jail to her Lawndale home, where her five children await her arrival. She reads to her 5-year-old twins, makes dinner for the family, or -- if she has the money -- takes them to their favorite restaurant.
In the morning, she rides the same bus back to the jail, where she resumes her drug treatment and counseling as part of the sheriff's Female Furlough Program.
Three months ago, the 26-year-old West Side woman was arrested for drug possession. But like 175 other nonviolent, female inmates, Washington is able to leave the jail and return home in the evening to care for her family.
Before her arrest, Washington said she didn't pay much attention to her children. She didn't play with them, she forgot to take them to the doctor, and it didn't even occur to her to read to them before bedtime.
"I was always on the streets," she said. "The streets were more important to me than my family."
But her arrest, and the furlough program, provided her with a second chance.
As she awaits trial, Washington said the program has helped her kick her drug habit and learn how to become a better mother.
Getting Clean and Sober
In the past 15 years, there has been a drastic increase in the number of female prisoners at Cook County Jail -- from about 8,000 in 1991 to 14,400 in 2005.
A majority of those women are high school drop-outs involved in nonviolent offenses. Most have drug or alcohol addictions and suffered some form of sexual or physical abuse, causing anxiety and depression, said Terrie McDermott, executive director of the sheriff's Department of Women's Justice Services.
On any given day, about 1,000 female offenders are in the jail, according to the department. Of those, 80 percent are single mothers with three or more children.
The lucky children are able to stay with relatives or close friends, but others are forced to move into foster homes and some lose touch with their mothers if parental rights are terminated.
Such situations make those children six times more likely to follow their mothers' criminal footsteps as adults, according to McDermott.
"We have to intervene on behalf of these children," she said.
The furlough program, which began in 1990, is an attempt to help the children by helping their mothers.
"The women are getting clean and sober for the first time in their lives," McDermott said. "The traumas that brought them to the criminal system in the first place are being dealt with."
The program, which focuses on substance abuse and mental health treatment, also saves taxpayers money. It costs $65 a day to house an inmate at Cook County Jail, while the furlough program costs only $27 a day, according to McDermott.
The program also pays off because only 17 percent of the female offenders will fall back into a life of crime. The national relapse rate stands at about 30 percent, McDermott said.
"Treating these symptoms is what's going to get [these women] on the right road," she said.
Empowering Women
Furlough program "graduates" have formed a support group to help other offenders deal with their struggles to maintain an addiction-free lifestyle.
"We nurture them, teach them how to love without being abused by society," said Lisa Cunningham-Depina, president of the Women of Power Alumni Association. "We teach them different lifestyle skills without selling drugs and prostitution."
Cunningham-Depina, a 42-year-old mother of five, was in the furlough program for six months in 2004, after she spent most of her life abusing drugs and at, times, prostituting. She said she started using drugs at the age of 13 because of low self-esteem.
"Throughout the years, I found I could be high and forget about myself," she said. "I was insecure. I had no self worth. The drugs lifted that feeling."
Cunningham-Depina said the furlough program helped her because she had to undergo daily drug testing.
Now, she is celebrating her third year of being drug-free. To help others, she is working to expand Women of Power. The group, created in 2002, has 371 members, and Cunningham-Depina has been the president since 2005.
Vice-president Marian Hatcher is also a recovering drug addict. For two years, the Loyola University graduate was a "runner," living in a rundown smoke house only a few minutes from her family, who didn't know where she was.
"I went from River Forest with two cars in the driveway to alleys," she said. Hatcher, 44, lost custody of one of her daughters while in hiding.
After she was arrested, Hatcher was placed in the furlough program. But unlike Cunningham-Depina, Hatcher was afraid to face her family.
"I was scared to go home because I was away for a very long time," she said.
And returning to her old neighborhood made it easier to slip back into old habits.
"Many ladies live next to where drugs are sold," Hatcher said. "In some cases, some family members use or sell drugs."
Now Hatcher wants to help women like Kathleen Washington make good on their second chance.
Washington said she is blessed. "I'm not used to waiting for things," she said. "These women taught me that patience is a virtue."
In the morning, she rides the same bus back to the jail, where she resumes her drug treatment and counseling as part of the sheriff's Female Furlough Program.
Three months ago, the 26-year-old West Side woman was arrested for drug possession. But like 175 other nonviolent, female inmates, Washington is able to leave the jail and return home in the evening to care for her family.
Before her arrest, Washington said she didn't pay much attention to her children. She didn't play with them, she forgot to take them to the doctor, and it didn't even occur to her to read to them before bedtime.
"I was always on the streets," she said. "The streets were more important to me than my family."
But her arrest, and the furlough program, provided her with a second chance.
As she awaits trial, Washington said the program has helped her kick her drug habit and learn how to become a better mother.
In the past 15 years, there has been a drastic increase in the number of female prisoners at Cook County Jail -- from about 8,000 in 1991 to 14,400 in 2005.
A majority of those women are high school drop-outs involved in nonviolent offenses. Most have drug or alcohol addictions and suffered some form of sexual or physical abuse, causing anxiety and depression, said Terrie McDermott, executive director of the sheriff's Department of Women's Justice Services.
On any given day, about 1,000 female offenders are in the jail, according to the department. Of those, 80 percent are single mothers with three or more children.
The lucky children are able to stay with relatives or close friends, but others are forced to move into foster homes and some lose touch with their mothers if parental rights are terminated.
Such situations make those children six times more likely to follow their mothers' criminal footsteps as adults, according to McDermott.
"We have to intervene on behalf of these children," she said.
The furlough program, which began in 1990, is an attempt to help the children by helping their mothers.
"The women are getting clean and sober for the first time in their lives," McDermott said. "The traumas that brought them to the criminal system in the first place are being dealt with."
The program, which focuses on substance abuse and mental health treatment, also saves taxpayers money. It costs $65 a day to house an inmate at Cook County Jail, while the furlough program costs only $27 a day, according to McDermott.
The program also pays off because only 17 percent of the female offenders will fall back into a life of crime. The national relapse rate stands at about 30 percent, McDermott said.
"Treating these symptoms is what's going to get [these women] on the right road," she said.
Furlough program "graduates" have formed a support group to help other offenders deal with their struggles to maintain an addiction-free lifestyle.
"We nurture them, teach them how to love without being abused by society," said Lisa Cunningham-Depina, president of the Women of Power Alumni Association. "We teach them different lifestyle skills without selling drugs and prostitution."
Cunningham-Depina, a 42-year-old mother of five, was in the furlough program for six months in 2004, after she spent most of her life abusing drugs and at, times, prostituting. She said she started using drugs at the age of 13 because of low self-esteem.
"Throughout the years, I found I could be high and forget about myself," she said. "I was insecure. I had no self worth. The drugs lifted that feeling."
Cunningham-Depina said the furlough program helped her because she had to undergo daily drug testing.
Now, she is celebrating her third year of being drug-free. To help others, she is working to expand Women of Power. The group, created in 2002, has 371 members, and Cunningham-Depina has been the president since 2005.
Vice-president Marian Hatcher is also a recovering drug addict. For two years, the Loyola University graduate was a "runner," living in a rundown smoke house only a few minutes from her family, who didn't know where she was.
"I went from River Forest with two cars in the driveway to alleys," she said. Hatcher, 44, lost custody of one of her daughters while in hiding.
After she was arrested, Hatcher was placed in the furlough program. But unlike Cunningham-Depina, Hatcher was afraid to face her family.
"I was scared to go home because I was away for a very long time," she said.
And returning to her old neighborhood made it easier to slip back into old habits.
"Many ladies live next to where drugs are sold," Hatcher said. "In some cases, some family members use or sell drugs."
Now Hatcher wants to help women like Kathleen Washington make good on their second chance.
Washington said she is blessed. "I'm not used to waiting for things," she said. "These women taught me that patience is a virtue."
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