Incarcerated Parents

“In the United States, there are more children with incarcerated parents than there are people in prison.” (Boudin, 2011) Women, before incarceration, are frequently the heads of their households and have children that depend on them for financial stability and care. “Over 60% of female inmates in state prisons are mothers of minor children.” (Clear, et al, 2012) Many of them are single mothers and therefore, the loss of their presence in a home severely disrupts the lives of their children and families. The loss of the main caretaker means either another family member must assume the financial burden and caretaker position or children must go into the homes of strangers through the foster care system. A growing body of research suggests that …show more content…
Most heads of family and primary caretakers are women. So as incarceration increases for women, more children are left without a primary caretaker and the absence of their mother results negatively in their progress in social and educational development. Hagan and Foster (2011) conducted a large, nationally representative longitudinal study of American children from the 1990’s, children of incarcerated parents were tracked from adolescence into early adulthood. Hagan and Foster (2011) found “strong evidence that effects of maternal imprisonment on the educational outcomes of children—especially college completion—was notably lower than parallel effects of paternal imprisonment, which are nonetheless also significant.” Their study also demonstrated that formal equality at the time of sentencing is likely to lead to inequality for women and that the gendered effects of these sentences are detrimental for individual children and also for the schools and the communities in which they …show more content…
A study by Poehlmann (2005) investigated family environments of children during their mothers’ incarceration and summarized the outcomes of their intellectual development. The results showed that, in the 60 children between the ages of 2 and 7 years that were studied, children were showed to be at risk for multiple factors- cognitive delays, greater likelihood of poor health and care, and increased risk of poverty. Poehlmann advised additional research be done on this understudied population and that the criminal justice system evaluate current policies and procedures to prioritize the safety and well-being of children of incarcerated

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Essay On Incarcerated Parents

Incarcerated Parent Research Paper