June 3, 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Five Year Reunion of BAMBI (Baby and Mother Bonding Initiative) Program

Houston – A five year reunion of the BAMBI (Baby and Mother Bonding Initiative) program was held recently in Houston with former and current participants present along with State Senator John Whitmire and officials from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the University of Texas Medical Branch.

BAMBI program provides eligible female offenders the opportunity to bond with their newborn baby, if the child was delivered during the course of their sentence. The program houses the participants in a secure residential facility where the mother and child are afforded medical and social services.

The reunion, held at the Santa Maria Hostel in Houston, was a chance for the former participants along with their babies to meet with staff members who have had an impact on their lives. They were able to share their success stories after leaving the program. Senator Whitmire told the audience that bonding between mother and child is in everyone’s best interest and that drove him to push for the innovative program.

In 2007, Senator Whitmire, along with former Representative Jerry Madden, were instrumental in the passage of HB 199 which authorized the creation of BAMBI. The program began in early 2010 with the placement of three state jail offenders and their babies at the Santa Maria Hostel in Houston, a halfway house contracted through the University of Texas Medical Branch to provide up to 15 residential beds for new mothers.

The program is modeled on the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Mothers and Infants Together program in Fort Worth. On average, some 250 babies are born to TDCJ offenders each year. Most offenders give birth at the TDCJ Hospital Galveston facility following three months of prenatal care provided by UTMB at the Carole Young medical unit in Texas City, where they are encouraged to participate in Baby Basics, a workbook curriculum that tells pregnant women what to expect while expecting.

“Our goal is for these mothers to bond with their children and the hope is that bond can help stop the cycle of incarceration that many of these families face,” said TDCJ Executive Director Brad Livingston.

In most cases, candidates for BAMBI are offenders scheduled for release within twelve months following their due date. They must be minimum-custody offenders with no past or current conviction for any violent offense, arson or an offense that would require registration as a sex offender. There have been 158 placements since opening in April 2010.

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