In the future, parents headed to jail will only be allowed to bring children with them if social workers deem it to be in the best interest of the minor child.
“The child’s viewpoint is now taken into consideration. A mother can no longer simply announce she’s bringing her child with her to jail,” says Kaisa Tammi-Moilanen, director of the open prison in Vanaja near Tampere.
The new law also sets clear age limits for kids living with their parents in prison: kids must be under two years old when admitted and can’t stay behind bars past their third birthday.
Some 30 children in Finland currently live with an incarcerated parent.