10/02/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/02/2024 07:32
What GAO Found
Comprehensive national data on pregnant women incarcerated in state prisons and local jails do not exist. For example:
However, DOJ currently has an effort underway to collect more data through a voluntary survey of state prisons and expects to issue a report in 2025. The survey will request the count of women tested for pregnancy at admission and the number of those tests that are positive, among other things.
According to HHS and DOJ officials, five HHS and 10 DOJ grant programs could be used to support maternal health care in state prisons and local jails during fiscal years 2018 through 2023, the most recent data available at the time of GAO's review.
Challenges and opportunities exist for providing maternal health care in state prisons and local jails. For example, officials representing three prisons reported and two peer reviewed articles GAO reviewed identified challenges with coordinating transportation for medical appointments for pregnant women that occur outside their facilities, which can delay or impede women's access to maternal health care. Relevant literature also identified opportunities to address challenges, such as expanding program offerings to support pregnant women. Examples of such programs include mental health treatment, lactation, and mother-infant bonding programs.
Why GAO Did This Study
According to HHS, the U.S. has one of the highest maternal mortality rates among high-income nations, increasing rates of complications from pregnancy or childbirth, and persistent racial disparities in such outcomes. The U.S. also incarcerates women at the highest rate in the world, and the vast majority reside in state prisons or local jails.
GAO was asked to review maternal health care in state prisons and local jails. This report describes, among other issues, (1) available data on incarcerated pregnant women, (2) available federal support, and (3) challenges to providing care to this population and opportunities to enhance care.
GAO reviewed (1) existing available data on pregnant women incarcerated in state prisons and local jails, (2) federal grant information, and (3) relevant studies and peer reviewed articles. GAO also interviewed officials representing 9 state prisons and 9 local jails from a nongeneralizable sample of 12 states about maternal health care in their facilities. GAO visited prisons and jails in 3 states and interviewed 27 incarcerated pregnant and postpartum women about the care they received.
For more information, contact Gretta L. Goodwin at (202) 512-8777 or [email protected].