Moms Behind Bars
Donnie Belcher grew up as a girl without a mother. At the young age of 4, Donnie was forced to live with her grandmother because her mother was incarcerated for armed robbery, which may have been fueled by her addication to crack-coaine. This is not a rare scenario. Growing up with a mother in prison is more and more common each year. Because of the increasing number of children growing up without mothers, some prisons have actually begun to create programs that help bring mothers and their chldren closer together while behind bars.
Read the special report by the US Department of Justice on incarcerated parents.