Texas Commission on Jail Standards open to recommendations to improve treatment of pregnant inmates
AUSTIN–Advocacy groups appeared before the Texas Commission on Jail Standards Thursday to discuss improving treatment for pregnant inmates.
The groups, including the Texas Jail Project and Mamas of Color Rising, originally addressed the issue at the Commission’s meeting in September, and were invited to participate in a conference call with Commission members where the groups expressed concerns.
Chairwoman Donna Klaeger said the Commission learned a lot from the call, and would continue gathering information on the topic.
The advocacy groups plan to present recommendations, which will include investigating standards for methadone-using pregnant women and revising treatment plans for women with high-risk pregnancies, to the Commission before their next meeting in February.
Shela Williams was 18 weeks pregnant when she was jailed in Travis County for violating her probation. The pregnancy was high-risk and she was seeing a specialist before her incarceration.
“When she got to Travis County jail the specialized care stopped and she lost the baby at 26 weeks,” advocate Kellee Coleman told the Commission on Williams behalf.
Williams was taken to hospital twice to monitor her pregnancy, and on the second trip was told the baby’s heart had stopped beating. They induced labor that day.
“I wasn’t able to talk to my sister, my family,” Williams said. “I had to have him by myself.”
Dallas County spokeswoman Carmen Castro said Parkland Health & Hospital System handles medical services in the county’s jails.
“Depending on how far along a women is in her pregnancy, they can be expedited to be placed in a separate section, or in an infirmary area if they are nearing their due date,” Castro said.