Lawmakers OK bill to steer more pregnant inmates into rehab
Source: Associated Press
Bruce Schreiner, Associated Press
Updated 3:37 pm, Thursday, March 29, 2018
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Faced with a fast-growing incarceration rate, Kentucky is moving forward with a plan to keep some pregnant women out of jail for nonviolent offenses.
The House overwhelmingly passed a bill to allow women facing low-level drug or similar charges to get into rehabilitation as they wait for their cases to move through the court system. It also could apply to women already convicted of those offenses.
The measure, already passed by the Senate, awaits Gov. Matt Bevin's signature.
State Sen. Julie Raque Adams, the bill's lead sponsor, said the initiative will help mothers and children.
Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Lawmakers-OK-bill-to-steer-more-pregnant-inmates-12790786.php