Kids Reunited With Locked-Up Moms for Mother’s Day

FOLSOM, Calif. (AP) — A program called Get on the Bus helped more than three dozen children visit their moms at a California prison before Mother's Day on Sunday.

The nonprofit arranges for inmates' children to visit their parents in California prisons around Mother's and Father's days. The organization says more than half wouldn't see their incarcerated parent without the free program.

An expert says Get on the Bus appears to be unique in providing free transportation to children around the two holidays and in offering counseling and other support.

The kids' arrival triggered an emotional roller coaster Saturday at the Folsom Women's Facility east of Sacramento.

Prisoner Lisa Mercuri says it's tough telling her 4-year-old son why she can't go home with him.

She tells him that she's on "a big girl timeout."