Motherhood comes with many things: triumphs, memories, struggles. However, some mothers may face the additional challenging task of recovering from addiction to alcohol or drugs while continuing to care for their child. This can lead to feelings of guilt and shame, produce stigma and judgment from courts unequipped to support these individuals, and result in avoidable relapses that leave both mother and child more traumatized than before their involvement in the court system. Between 30 and 49 percent of new mothers use alcohol, cocaine, or prescription drugs to handle postpartum depression and to relieve stress and anxiety. However, 10 percent of them cannot pursue treatment due to lack of childcare or face other barriers including involvement in abusive relationships and past trauma preventing them from reaching out.

As a former Correctional Officer and Counselor, I have seen the devastating result these barriers can produce with incarceration. Later, as a past criminal defense attorney, I represented clients in Drug Court, Veteran’s Court, and Mental Health Court. I noticed the unique challenges and roadblocks that mothers, especially single moms, face during their recovery, as well as the failure of our court system to implement a meaningful treatment court option for these individuals. Mothers with substance use disorders are often vilified in society, deemed unfit to raise children by the organizations meant to help them, and left to struggle on their own. The societal double standards that apply to them despite their unique hardships and challenges need to be addressed with reason and resources. My legislation would address these challenges by creating a mother’s treatment court pilot program aimed at providing recovering mothers with the support and resources they need to confidently re-enter society.

As elected officials, it is our duty to identify and address the issues affecting all of our constituents. Moving through recovery and taking care of a child can be taxing, physically and mentally, but we can lessen the load by encouraging the use of specific, knowledgeable courts. Please join me in supporting this commonsense, overdue legislation.

Statutes/Laws affected:
Printer's No. 1341 (Apr 15, 2025): 42-916(a)
Printer's No. 1341: 42-916(a)