Characteristics of incarcerated fathers and mothers: Implications for preventive interventions targeting children and families (original) (raw)
Related papers
2013
In 2007, over 1.75 million children under the age of 18 had a parent in a state or federal prison in the United States (U.S.) (Maruschak, Glaze, & Mumola, 2010). Nationally, about 53% of men and 61% of women in the U.S. prison population are parents (Maruschak et al., 2010). In 2007, this represented nearly 810,000 incarcerated parents, with a disproportionate number from racial minority backgrounds. Indeed, black children were almost eight times more likely than white children and nearly three times more likely than Hispanic children to have a parent in prison. Estimates now suggest that 1 in 15 black children in the U.S. have a parent currently in prison (Maruschak et al., 2010). Although there are substantially more fathers than mothers incarcerated in the U.S., rates of maternal incarceration are increasing at a much faster rate (Maruschak et al., 2010). Between 1991 and 2007, the number of incarcerated fathers increased 77%. During that same time, the number of incarcerated mothers increased by 122% (Maruschak et al., 2010).
Handbook on Children with Incarcerated Parents, 2019
A growing body of research shows that a vast number of children in the USA have had a parent incarcerated in prison or jail. Numerous studies also indicate that these children may experience trauma and other detrimental outcomes that can be associated with their parents' incarceration. However, there is little empirical research on the policies, practices, and programs for children that might mitigate the harmful outcomes associated with parental incarceration. This chapter discusses the gaps in the current knowledge around policy and practice, such as the lack of evidence on the efficacy of programs for parents detained in local jails or in other stages of involvement in the criminal justice system, as well as the limited understanding of how interventions may affect children, their caregivers, and the incarcerated parents differently. This chapter then discusses some of the promising interventions for incarcerated parents and their children, such as parenting classes, visitation, and mentoring. Based on the current state of the field, we conclude this chapter with proposed recommendations for research, policy, and practice. Not surprisingly, the scope of parental incarceration and its impact on children are major concerns among correctional administrators, policymakers, and researchers. A large and growing body of research has examined the degree to which parental incarceration leads to negative outcomes for children (see Chaps. 5-8, this volume). Though it is difficult to isolate the effects of parental incarceration from a host of related individual and family characteristics (e.g., race, neighborhood, and socioeconomic status), the extant literature shows that losing a parent to incarceration can be traumatic and disruptive for children (Adalist-Estrin, 2006), leading to insecure attachment, behavior problems, and other negative outcomes (e.g.,
The Impact of Parental Incarceration on Children: An Emerging Need for Effective Interventions
Tradition-a Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought, 2006
The increasing number of children with incarcerated parents constitutes perhaps one of the largest at-risk populations in the United States. Short- and long-term effects of parental incarceration are difficult to quantify; however, the current literature indicates that this population is negatively responding to major shifts in family structure, and is vulnerable to economic stress and adverse interpersonal issues. Service providers are seeking appropriate intervention strategies to address the resultant issues of parental incarceration. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of research on effective practice methods. This paper reviews the literature on the potential implications parental incarceration has on children, and discusses service providers’ concerted efforts to allay the consequences. Recommendations for appropriate data collection and identification of relevant gender, developmental, and cultural interventions are provided.
Needs Assessment and Operation Plan Summary: Children of Incarcerated Parents in Miami-Dade County
In 1999, the U.S. Department of Justice estimated that 721,500 state and Federal prisoners were parents to 1,498,800 children under the age of 18. Those numbers represented an increase of about 500,000 children over figures provided less than one decade earlier, in 1991 (Mumola 2000). According to Bernstein (2005), by 2004, nearly 2.4 million children had parents who were incarcerated in jails and state or Federal prisons. We estimate that more than 15,000 Miami-Dade County children are counted among them. Like many other children, children of incarcerated parents enter social service systems for reasons of poverty, learning deficits, or misbehavior. But unlike other children, their core problem-the practical and emotional cost of having a parent in prison-is rarely addressed there. We now know that such a child is seven times more likely than his or her peers to be incarcerated, as well. Parental incarceration has consequences for children; consequences that too often go unacknowledged. Every time a parent is sentenced to prison, children begin serving time. Their punishment is to be wrapped in feelings of shame and worthlessness, to wonder if a similar fate is in store for them, to live with the anger, hurt, worry, and grief of losing and blaming a loved one, to lose touch with the simple pleasures of learning and growing, and to suffer emotional withdrawal, social isolation, loneliness, and grieving. Older family members are also affected, as they shoulder new financial and caretaking responsibilities-or in some cases, abandon them. We know that familial violence is carried forward, parent-to-child, for perpetrators and for victims. We know that without corrective intervention, welfare dependence often spans generations. Criminal behavior and incarceration are also intergenerational occurrences, with serious consequences. Statistics from Miami-Dade County alone are stunning: More than 15,000 children have parents in jails and state prisons. More than half of the county's 20,400 adults now on probation or parole likely are parents, and a six percent annual increase in incarcerated adults is predicted. Incarcerated Parents of Miami-Dade Children We estimate that in Miami-Dade County, 15,300 children have parents incarcerated in local jails and state prisons. We base these estimates on data provided by the Florida Department of Corrections (FLDOC) and extrapolations from the national data. FLDOC estimated that 8,200 of the state's inmates were from Miami-Dade County: 7,888 (96 percent) males and 312 (4 percent) females. National estimates indicated that 44 percent of male inmates and 64 percent of female inmates were parents. We estimate that about 3,500 of the males and 200 of the females from Miami-Dade County who are now in state prisons are likely to have children. To estimate the number of children, we multiply the number of males and females by the average number of children for each (2.04 and 2.40, respectively), based on national estimates. Doing the math, we find that 2.04 X 3,500 = 7,128 and 2.40 X 200 = 480; the resulting numbers suggest that about 7,608 of the county's resident children are likely to have parents incarcerated in the Florida's state prisons.
Challenges in research with incarcerated parents and importance in violence prevention
American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2001
Incarcerated parents present several risk factors for later violence by their children. This study uses comparison groups and repeated measures to evaluate an inmate parenting program. Subjects are inmates at a county detention center, their children, and primary caregivers. Challenges to program implementation and longitudinal research with inmates were identified, along with recommendations to assist future research and programming. Training material should use illustrated, basic language format. Acceptance and participation by inmates and staff require ongoing outreach and communication. Severed relationships are common and future research on inmates with stable family relationships is recommended. Because of inmate transience, integrating parent training into postrelease programming is suggested.
Adversity Across the Life Course of Incarcerated Parents: Gender Differences
Journal of Forensic Social Work, 2015
More than half of the 1.6 million adults in U.S. prions are parents. Despite growing knowledge regarding the life course adversities of corrections-involved populations, less is known regarding incarcerated parents per se and the implications of cumulative adversities both on their needs and those of their children. Using a gender-balanced (41% minority) sample of incarcerated parents (N=357) from a randomized controlled trial of an in-prison parent training program, this study examines differences between incarcerated mothers and fathers in their exposures to adversities across the life course. Mothers and fathers shared similar patterns of adversity exposure in their families of origin, but differed in their experiences of juvenile justice and child welfare systems involvement, as well as in their adult experiences of victimization and related adult social and mental health outcomes. Implications for gender-responsive parent support and prevention programs for their children of incarcerated mothers and fathers are discussed.
Children and Youth Services Review, 2014
Most incarcerated women are mothers. Parenting programs may benefit women, children and families, yet effectively intervening in correctional settings is a challenge. An evidence-based parenting intervention (the Strengthening Families Program) was tailored and implemented with women in a jail setting. Goals were to assess mothers' needs and interests regarding parenting while they were incarcerated, adapt the program to address those needs, and establish intervention delivery and evaluation methods in collaboration with a community-based agency. Women reported wanting to know more about effective communication; how children manage stress; finances; drug and alcohol use; self-care; and stress reduction. They reported high program satisfaction and reported reduced endorsement of corporal punishment after the intervention. Barriers to implementation included unpredictable attendance from session to session due to changing release dates, transfer to other facilities, and jail policies (e.g., lock-down; commissary hours). Implications for sustainable implementation of parenting programs in jail settings are discussed.
Socioemotional Effects of Fathers' Incarceration on Low-Income, Urban, School-Aged Children
PEDIATRICS, 2007
OBJECTIVE-The goal was to evaluate whether children of incarcerated fathers are more likely to report or exhibit behavioral symptoms than their equally disadvantaged peers without an incarcerated father. METHODS-During an ongoing longitudinal study of intrauterine cocaine exposure involving 102 children (50% male and 89% black) from urban, low-income homes, questions regarding incarceration of the child's father were asked of the child's primary caregiver at each visit during school age. Children were administered the Children's Depression Inventory between the ages of 6 and 11 years, and their primary caregivers completed the Child Behavior Checklist. In addition, the children's teachers completed the Teacher Report Form. Children's Depression Inventory, Child Behavior Checklist, and Teacher Report Form data obtained at the oldest available age after the first report of paternal incarceration were analyzed. RESULTS-In bivariate analyses, children whose fathers were in jail had higher Children's Depression Inventory total scores compared with children without incarcerated fathers, indicating more depressive symptoms. This finding was robust in multivariate analyses after adjustment for children's age, gender, prenatal cocaine and alcohol exposure, and school-age violence exposure. Teachers reported higher Teacher Report Form externalizing scores for children whose fathers were in jail, after adjustment for age, gender, prenatal cocaine and marijuana exposure, and school-age violence exposure. CONCLUSIONS-Children of incarcerated fathers reported more depressive symptoms and their teachers noted more externalizing behaviors, after controlling for other biopsychosocial risks. Interventions targeted to ameliorate the distress of children with incarcerated fathers should be considered. Keywords child depression; externalizing behavior; paternal incarceration; alcohol; marijuana; cocaine THE RECORD PRISON population 1 has resulted in an unprecedented number of children in the United States with an incarcerated parent. 2 More than one half (54.
2016
The Impact of Treatment Programs in Reducing the Incarceration Rate for Children with Incarcerated Parents by Chandra V. Thornton BS, Clayton State University, 2005 MPA, Troy State University, 2006 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Public Administration, Law and Public Policy Walden University January, 2016 Abstract Research has found that children who experience the incarceration of a parent may experience behavioral, psychological, and emotional problems. Studies have identified treatment programs and interventions designed to alleviate the long-term effects of parental incarceration on children. Limited research exists on the impact of treatment programs and interventions on these children. The purpose of this research was to determine if treatment programs are successful in reducing future incarceration rates for adults that experienced the incarceration of a parent during childhood. Research questions examin...
Children and Families of Incarcerated Parents: A View from the Ground
An estimated ten to twelve million children in the United States are currently affected by parental involvement in the correctional system, which includes having a parent currently or formerly incarcerated in jail or prison or under the supervision of parole or probation. Children of incarcerated parents are vulnerable to a variety of behavioral and psychological problems, and their families and caregivers subject to emotional, financial and physical stress.