INR Plans New Facility for 60 Mothers With Children, Separate From New Women’s Prison

Uruguay’s National Rehabilitation Institute is preparing a new prison facility for mothers with children, with space for 60 people, as officials seek to reduce the impact of incarceration on young children.

There are currently 53 women with children held across the country, along with 12 pregnant women. At Unit No. 9 in Colón, which was specifically intended for this population, 37 women live with 37 children, according to Paula Lacaño, the INR’s director of gender and diversity.

Other mothers and children are held in mixed units that have designated spaces in Salto, Rivera, Colonia and Florida. The women range in age from 19 to 39, and motherhood generally began early, often during adolescence. Under current rules, children may remain with their mothers until they turn five.

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37 women with 37 children

The administration led by Ana Juanche is working with the Interior Ministry’s infrastructure department to identify a site. Officials say the location must meet land-use and urban-planning requirements and should be accepted by nearby residents. They are looking for a neighborhood with strong links to services because the children leave the facility during the day for activities.

More than 800 women moved in July from Unit No. 5 in Colón, located on the same grounds as Unit No. 9, to a new site in Punta de Rieles. Mothers with children were not included in that transfer. Lacaño said Unit No. 9 was originally designed as a temporary solution in late 2010 and was adapted rather than built for this population from the start. Officials are considering whether the new facility should use an existing building or be built from scratch, with spaces more integrated into society and less like a conventional prison.

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