Like black men, black women comprise a disproportionate share of the population in State and Federal prisons. Further, drug laws have significantly increased the rate of incarceration for black women. Compared to white women in prison, incarcerated black women are less likely to be high school graduates, more likely to be single mothers, less likely to have ever had a legitimate job, more likely to be on welfare, and more likely to have been raised in a family in which the father was absent. From the standpoint of individuals who already feel a sense of social disfranchisement, prison provides many comforts that do not exist for these individuals on the outside. Because the experiences of offenders following their release have a powerful influence on their adjustment to life in the community, a primary goal should be to mobilize informal social control mechanisms by strengthening, creating, or restoring healthy interdependence in the outside world and by encouraging the development of a mature sense of internalized control or conscience. Unless society is willing to make real economic and social enrichment opportunities in the neighborhoods where many black women live, prisons will continue to be viewed as a safe, available, and free haven. 10 references