A bittersweet Mother's Day

Get on the Bus time is here again, at CIW:

A hundred feet (Thirty meters) away, behind two tall barbed wire fences at the California Institute for Women, stood a cluster of women clad in blue cotton prison garb. They anxiously craned their necks and stood on tip-toes for a glimpse of their kids, some of whom had come to the prison roughly 90 minutes by bus from south central Los Angeles. Then came the moment of reunification - mothers jumping up and down excitedly, shouting "hi baby, give me a hug," with tears in their eyes as they embrace their children, some for the first time in years.

More from Reuters at KGMI.

California women's prisons trying to save programs

The number of women prisoners in California prisons is rapidly dropping, reducing crowding but also leading to cutbacks in budgets for programs aimed at women prisoners. According to reporter Marisa Lagos, Kathleen Allison is the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation's associate director of female institutions, and wants to preserve existing programs that work:

Allison said state officials are looking at whether they could expand the criteria to keep at least one of the Community Prisoner Mother Program's centers open. The Family Foundations centers are operated by private companies contracted by the state, she noted, so counties could take over those contracts if they choose.

Hancock has also written legislation to expand the state's alternative custody program, which allows women with young children to serve their prison sentence at home, while being electronically monitored. Just 54 women have so far qualified for the program, but Allison said the governor is committed to expanding it.

"The first inmates were released in early January, and only one has been returned to custody," said Allison, who praised the program for both reconnecting women with their families and saving taxpayers' money.

"It costs about $7 a day to electronically monitor someone, and about $60 a day to house someone in state prison," she said.

From the San Francisco Chronicle.