Malika Saada Saar, JD, Rebecca Project for Human Rights, 1752 Columbia Road NW, Third Floor, Washington, DC 20009, 202-265-3907, mthemba@thepraxisproject.org and Makani Themba-Nixon, The Praxis Project, 1750 Columbia Rd, NW, Second Floor, Washington, DC 20009.

Criminal justice policies make motherhood particularly difficult for women dealing with drug problems – especially women who are low income and of color. Although studies have shown consistently the importance of family ties and support in encouraging recovery, policies often ban and disrupt these key relationships and often result in permanent separation of mother and child therefore removing a primary incentive for seeking treatment and sustaining recovery over time. The exponential increase of women with children incarcerated for drug related problems over the last decade has given rise to a growing movement. This movement connects public health and human rights approaches in ways that are forging more humane policies for women with drug problems – and their children. This presentation will focus on the groundbreaking work of the Rebecca Project for Human Rights, an innovative partnership between women in recovery and lawyers to shift public opinion and public policy toward a more public health approach to the treatment of alcohol and other drug problems.

Learning Objectives:

• to help ATOD professionals and policy advocates better understand the relationship of public policy and institutional racism to addressing ATOD problems; to familiarize ATOD professionals and advocates with policy tools in civil and human rights frameworks to support their work; to provide concrete examples of these tools applied in the context of "community recovery" as an effective intervention to address ATOD problems; and to encourage better ATOD policy advocacy practice

Keywords: Human Rights, Correctional Institutions

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.