New Program in Oklahoma Tires to Offset High Rate of Female Incarceration

The Takeaway | Feb 10, 2011

As states across the country are dealing with a budget crisis, some in Oklahoma are pointing to what has become a financial nightmare: the rate of female incarceration. Oklahoma puts more women behind bars than any other state. And at the annual cost of $15,000 per inmate, incarceration has become a top budgetary concern.

But now a new philanthropic program is working with the courts and legal system to keep women charged for nonviolent offenses — about 67 percent of all female inmates — out of the prison system. The Women in Recovery program began in 2010 and is funded by the George Kaiser Foundation.

We talk with Amy Santee, a senior program officer with the George Kaiser Family Foundation; and Melissa Pruett, a current participant in the program, explains her success thus far with the program. Pruett was arrested in March 2010 for manufacturing drugs.

WNYC is funded by sponsors and member donations

Top Stories

The World Cup, the Knicks, and LeBron James’s Fate: An All-Time Summer in Sports

The staff writer Louisa Thomas on the U.S. men’s national soccer team, the N.B.A. off-season, and Serena Williams.
The New Yorker Radio Hour |

The near-collapsed Midtown building is now stable, but its finances may not be

Experts say the structural failure at the Pfizer Building could cause financial problems and a lingering stigma — but that the city’s housing shortage means renters will probably move in anyway.
Gothamist |

NYC DSA on Their Big Wins, and the Future

NYC-DSA co-chairs Grace Mausser and Gustavo Gordillo talk about the DSA's recent big wins.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

Get Lit: Laila Lalami's 'The Dream Hotel,' and Imal Gnawa Performs

All Of It with Alison Stewart |
YOU ARE ONLINE