Families Dealing With Incarceration

INCARCERATION

The families who wait on the outside

.....and especially their children.....

feel like they are incarcerated as well...

“When my mother was sentenced, I felt that I was sentenced. She was sentenced to prison ‐to be away from her kids and family. I was sentenced as a child, to be without my mother”

Fatherless children represent:

• 63% of teen suicide

• 70% of juveniles in state-

operated institutions

• 71% of high school dropouts

• 75% of children in chemical

abuse centers

• 80% of rapists

• 85% of youths in prison

• 85% of children with exhibit

behavioral disorders

• 90% of homeless and

runaway children*

*Primary Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Challenges

The Impact On Children:

•Children of incarcerated parents mourn the loss of their parent.

•Witnessing the arrest of a parent intensifies the child’s loss, sense of helplessness and creates additional trauma.

•Many children of incarcerated parents exhibit symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

•Social stigma causes families to avoid discussing the absence of a parent. Being kept in the dark can influence children emotionally and psychologically and impact the restoration of parent/‐child relations when the parent in prison is released.

•Parental incarceration can have profound consequences for children including:

* feelings of shame, grief, guilt,abandonment, and anger

* poor school performance

* impaired ability to cope with future stress and trauma

* potential addiction

* negative perceptions of police and other authority figures

•Children with parents in prison need support and there are very few programs and social services specifically designed to serve their complicated and layered needs.

Issues For Caregivers:

•Approximately 70% of children whose mothers are in prison live with grandparents and other relatives.

•Caregivers of children with parents in prison bear numerous burdens, including stigma and shame associated with having a family member in prison, increased financial strain, physical and emotional stress, and lack of external resources.

*Public assistance programs were not designed with relative caregivers in mind. Grandparents especially are reluctant to seek support for fear of losing the children the child welfare system.

•Caregivers struggle with multiple challenges in fostering continued relationships between children and their parents in prison.

•Most prisons are not accessible by any form of public transportation, restricting childparent visits. In some cases this means children will never visit their parents.

•Caregivers of children with incarcerated parents are often forced to renegotiate family responsibilities and assume new roles.

Issues With Reentry Into Society:

•Parents released from prison face a myriad of legal barriers making it difficult for them to have a successful reentry.

•Parents reentering society need supports if they are expected to parent: many prisoners have few skills with which to find and maintain employment. This issue, coupled with restrictive hiring policies and stigmas associated with possessing a criminal history, makes it difficult for parents to provide adequate support to their families.

•A criminal record can hinder a reentering parent's ability to be reunited with children when children are involved with the child welfare system.

•Strong family ties during imprisonment can have a positive impact on people returning from prison and on their children.

•Some research suggests that parenting programs in prison reduce repeating of imprisonment, improving the chances of successful reentry.

•People returning home from prison who have access to family support fare better than those who do not.

54% of mothers and 57% of fathers in state prisons reported never receiving a visit from their children.

http://www.familyfoundationfund.org/aboutfff

Always Give A Child Hope For A Better Life!

Strategies For Teachers:

• Be Sensitive to Stereotypes
• Keep Routines as Normal as possible.
• Remember that the child's self-esteem is closely tied to their parents. Avoid negative statements or dismissive mercy.
• Be attentive to signs of abuse.
• Maintain consistent and fair discipline.
• Help the child communicate with parent by writing letters, drawing pictures, etc.
• Seek out information based on the details of the child's living situation to research possible links to resources for the caregivers.

Statistics:

•62% of parents in state prisons and 84% of parents in federal prisons are held over 100 miles away from their residence. 43% of parents in federal prisons are held over 500 miles away from their last residence.

"Education is the fundamental way to prevent incarceration."

-Bonita Parker

Books For Children

My Daddy's In Jail: Discussion Guide and Small Group Activities http://www.amazon.com/My-Daddy-Jail-Discussion-Activities/dp/1889636487/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334029066&sr=1-1

Everything You Need to Know When a Parent is in Jail

(Need to Know Library) [Hardcover]

Stephanie St Pierre (Author), Stephanie S (Author), Ruth C. Rosen (Editor)

Doogie's Dad [Paperback]

Richard Dyches (Author), Edwin Garcia (Illustrator), Roger Sheffer (Illustrator)

Kofi's Mom by Richard Dyches, Edwin Garcia and Roger Sheffer (Oct 8, 2010)

Resources:

http://www.clasp.org

Offers employment assistance for low income families and services for children and families

http://familiesofincarcerated.org/index.htm

Counselling services for children and families including classes for job skills, supervised activities for children

http://abbasway.com/about-us/abbas-way-ministries

Weekend events for fathers and sons. Also offers mentoring and surrogate father experiences

The Family Foundation serves boys without fathers by providing strong relationships with men devoted to develop the future of these boys.