Born Behind Bars

I've seen four babies

get sent home in the last three months.

If you see a girl that needs a reality check, help 'em.

Why would you tell her that?

Brandi is the alpha on unit 7.

She's a very blunt person. - You don't say that

to another mom 'cause you don't know

your ass from a hole in the ground.

I have to stay out of trouble

because that could hinder me from getting out.

- You can't be over here and be aggressive.

- I have a total of four write-ups.

I can get angry.

- You're not even getting yelled at right now,

so stop this pity party right now.

I don't get along with all women.

You have to have a backbone.

'Cause if not, I'm gonna push you over.

- I don't want to lose my children again.

Of the 75,000 women

entering U.S. prisons each year,

up to 7,500 are pregnant.

Most of the babies are removed at birth.

But Indiana Women's Prison has a radical program

that allows a select few inmates

to raise their babies behind bars.

- Dispatch. - In a maximum security prison,

with infants, there has to be boundaries.

- We say zero tolerance. We mean zero tolerance.

It's not supposed to be nice.

It's prison.

- General population, anything can happen.

It's scary.

- There's people that killed their children,

starved their children.

- Hopefully they let me have my baby.

- The Indiana Women's Prison specializes

in pregnant offenders that come in.

Before the Wee Ones Nursery, mom and baby did not bond.

The mother comes to the prison,

and the baby goes with the caregiver.

But it is still a maximum security prison.

The rules are for the safety of the baby.

The offenders know that if they break the rules,

then the baby has to go home.

If Mom wants to be a part of Wee Ones Nursery,

she's either gonna get with the program,

or she's out of the program.

You look at the age that you really mark a child,

those 30 months, that's the meat.

Mother bonding with the child, and the child

having that closeness with somebody that loves them,

that may break that cycle.

This individual may not end up like Mom and Dad.

Come to Mom.

Say, "Bye, Mr. Martin."

- Bye-bye. - Say, "Thank you."

This is Addison.

Where's the baby? Yeah.

The parole board wanted me

to do a year in the Wee Ones program.

They wanted me to bond with her.

Where's the puppy? Puppy?

Oh, that's-- you feel pup--aww.

Addison's so smart.

For being nine months old, she is very smart.

We teach her day by day something new,

and she picks up.

Where's messy? Where's messy at?

Yes, jelly.

She gets on her little elephant, and she'll push it

across the floor and almost run.

So, yeah, she's almost there.

I give it probably another two weeks

and she'll be walking by herself.

- Attention all units. Seven's starting the count.

Seven's starting to count.

- Official count, ladies. Official count.

Let's empty it out, ladies. Empty it out.

Official count, ladies. Official count.

Uh, if you don't live there, don't be there.

What's up with that? You know I write up people.

Diabetics, high blood pressure, cripple, blind, handicap.

Thank you very much.

- I've been incarcerated almost 11 years total.

A third of my life.

I was selling methamphetamines for $900 a pop.

My dad, he hustled every day. I mean, he worked,

but him being a drug user, he still had

to chase that drug on a daily basis.

And I was his right-hand man, I was always with him,

so kind of--I followed into the same footsteps

as what he had.

With me, hustling was an addiction in itself.

And then I started using.

The Wee Ones program has helped me change my way of thinking.

Now I see what I have to work on.

I'm hoping to see the parole board in a couple months.

So I have to stay out of trouble, because that could

hinder me from getting out.

- Ladies, make sure you keep your rooms clean.

I've been here, like, 20 years.

You kind of know when they're feeding you a bunch of bull.

If you don't do "A," "B" is gonna happen.

You're gonna get written up, and we'll take you

to lock, pregnant too, we don't mind.

You want to take that and throw that in the trash for me.

Okay? - Okay.

Okay.

When I walk down the halls to do count,

I'm always on guard because

we have to keep this dorm safe.

You got to take that blanket out.

- I'm in the middle of count. Take him out.

Nothing's supposed to be in that bed.

Come on, you understand.

It is still a prison,

and they have to comply with all the rules.

You can't be over here and be aggressive.

And there's a zero tolerance for certain things.

If you violate, baby's going home.

And the young lady, they will be removed from this dorm.

Why do you have so much baby laundry?

I thought you was doing some of that last night.

- This is my clothes and her clothes.

Okay, that's not good.

You're getting shook down.

Every dorm gets shaken down.

They could be hoarding pills.

They could have a shank. They could have anything.

Oh, this is not good.

These are gonna have to be moved.

Okay, and we need to do your shelves in here.

And you're gonna have to reorganize.

And you've got food on the shelf with clothes.

That's not good.

- This is supposed to be a zero-tolerance dorm.

If we do not follow rules, we can get shipped to another unit,

and that--no matter what, our child would have to go home.

- We got stuff back there-- see, this stuff

will bring those ants. - I see it.

- Now, you see all this stuff down here?

- Yeah. - That's not a good situation.

This is not acceptable.

At all. Okay? Not at all.

- Don't be in my day room at all till this is completely done.

Count is clear.

You have officers on the unit,

writing little notes on their books,

and they're gonna come back at you, "Well, you're not

taking care of your baby."

Then stuff like that can get your baby sent home.

132, 130.

Have one more. The child from unit 9.

Control 2. Johnson.

Unit 7, we're good.

Count, ladies.

- My name's Taylor McClanahan. I'm expecting twins right now.

I was here before, when I was 18.

I came in pregnant. I had three years

for a burglary and a forgery charge.

I was robbing my ex-boyfriend's grandma's checkbook

to get my current boyfriend out of jail.

I was raised, you know, good environment.

Neither one of my parents did drugs or alcohol

or anything like that.

Now my dad's doing the tough love thing

'cause he doesn't want me to feel comfortable in here.

He wants me to be, like, you know, stressed out,

so that way, I don't want to come back again, so...

The first time I was here, the Wee Ones program was offered,

but I had too much time to keep my daughter here,

so I didn't get accepted.

It was one of the hardest things

I ever had to go through.

I got out and was so upset

that I didn't feel that bond with her.

She didn't know me.

When she'd cry, she wouldn't want me.

So I left and started doing drugs.

I was using meth and using coke

and ended up with a forgery charge,

and I got a year and nine months

on my probation violation.

If I get to keep the twins here,

I feel like it will make me do better

and me be a mother, whereas the first time,

I didn't feel like I was a mother.

So I messed up and came back.

- The Wee Ones program definitely gives the offenders

an opportunity to finally learn to be a mother.

Oh, stop.

- They're less likely to come back

because they are really invested

in the future of a family.

But none of 'em are in here for singing too loud

in Sunday school, and we have to remember that.

- I thank God that I get this moment, being able

to fix myself, getting better,

and also have my baby with me.