Abounding Needs: Children of Incarcerated Parents

Incarceration has become a norm in our society. Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that prison population exceeded a record-breaking 2 million last year. Considering higher rates of incarceration, we can easily deduce that more parents are incarcerated now than ever before. The children of these parents are undoubtedly affected. Sadly, these children are often considered a collective group with a particular set of needs-- that is, basic needs like food, clothing and shelter (Johnson and Waldfogel, 2002). However, each child of an incarcerated parent has emotional and psychological needs specific to his/her situation that must be met. Meeting these needs will help ensure positive growth and development.

Many factors must be considered when assessing the behaviors of children with incarcerated parents. Was the child exposed to parental criminality prior to the parent's incarceration? Did the child exhibit emotional instability or have behavior problems before the parent's incarceration? In Doing Time on the Outside, Braman argues that "[Children] made fatherless by incarceration are not only more likely to be abused, to live in poverty, and to burden their extended family but also more likely to be involved in the criminal justice system themselves, contributing to a cycle of abuse and neglect across generations (p 93)." Having an antisocial or incarcerated parent was one of the strongest predictors of violent or serious delinquency in adolescence and young adulthood (Eddy and Reid, 2001)." Children with incarcerated parents often exhibit behaviors that stem from feelings of anger, anxiety or fear, to name a few. Socioeconomic status, parent education, sexual abuse, substance abuse and physical abuse are a few of the many factors that affect how children cope with parental incarceration.

According to Johnson and Waldfogel (2002), "The needs that children have, and where these children are placed during a parent's incarceration-whether with the other parent, with a grandparent, relative, or in foster care-may have important implications for how children fare during a parent's incarceration." The fact is that the majority of children do not enter the child welfare system when a parent becomes incarcerated. Each state is primarily responsible for mandating how these children are cared for and what resources and benefits are made available to caregivers. Most families experience financial difficulties with the incarceration of a parent.

Income from working parents or spouses who become incarcerated is lost. Any welfare benefits mothers received before incarceration is not transferred to grandparents or relatives who become caregivers; and, there is no guarantee that these caregivers will be offered financial assistance (Hairston, 2002).

In Children with Parents in Prison, Seymour and Hairston tell of a study conducted in a women's correctional facility in a Midwestern state in 1998. The study of the facility's visitation program charted thirty-one program participants and twenty-seven who were on the waiting list for the visitation program. Researchers found that the women who were participating in the visitation program reported more contact with their children. The women participating in the program also reported having a positive relationship with their children. Because visitation policies and procedures vary among correctional facilities, there are instances where inmates are not allowed to have visitors.

So exactly what efforts are being made to help children with incarcerated parents? The most common approach is to provide these children with mentors. Mentoring programs are abundant in the U.S. Many are organized by non-profit or faith-based organizations. The U.S. Congress devotes millions of dollars each year to support existing and establish new mentoring programs. Mentoring programs such as Amachi Big Brothers Big Sisters matches volunteers with children who have been enrolled by a parent or guardian. The volunteers spend time with the children they are to mentor and the sponsoring organization oversees the relationship. Children often become attached to mentors. Mentors become new friends or just like family. The down side to most mentoring programs is that children are subject to being paired with a new mentor each year. The relationship between a mentor and her mentee is illustrated in the poems below. Poem by a Mentee

Some people specialize in doing thoughtful deeds,
Before you ask they understand your problems and your needs.
They help because they want to; they find joy in being kind,
And making others happy is the first thing on their mind.
They make this world a better place by practicing the art,
Of reaching out to others' and by "Giving from the heart."

Mentee Anonymous Poem by a Mentee to her Mentor

Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
This poem is from me to you.
So follow me to a sweet tree.
Then follow me to my knee.
Then we will have fun.
We will not have a gun.
I do not want you to leave me for another mentee.
I want you to stay with me.
So we can have some more fun.

PS from Merissa to Ms Jennifer

The poem illustrates that mentoring programs can be beneficial. On the other hand, after a child with an incarcerated parent has been made to deal with being separated from a parent, the last thing he/she needs is to be crushed by the termination of a relationship formed with a mentor. A parent-child relationship cannot be replaced or substituted for. Children with incarcerated parents not only need positive relationships, but they also need permanent relationships.

Because of shortfalls in the establishment of positive, permanent relationship, the lack of which that often results in emotional distress for children with incarcerated parents and the financial strain that results from parental incarceration, I suggest four things:

1. The money that the U.S. Congress devotes to funding mentoring programs for children with incarcerated parents should be used, instead, to establish parent-child visitation programs in all correctional facilities.

2. We can keep more parents out of the prison system and in the homes with their children by offering more alternatives to incarceration for non-violent offenders.

3. When incarceration is necessary, those who care for children with incarcerated parents

should be guaranteed financial assistance in providing for the basic needs of those children.

4. Children with incarcerated parents should be given periodic evaluations. Each state's child welfare department should track the children's emotional, physical and educational status. Free counseling services should be offered to the children and their caregivers.

The proposed parent-child visitation programs will allow all parents who have not been

convicted of crimes outlined by their state's Adoption and Safe Families mandates to visit with their children twice a week in a designated child-friendly atmosphere within the correctional facility. The visitation rooms should only be used for inmates participating in the visitation program. Inmates will be counseled on how to maintain and re-establish positive relationships with their children. Social workers should be on hand to meet with the inmates and their children as needed. Another benefit of the program will allow inmates to telephone their children once a week free of charge. Currently, inmates must place collect calls in order to communicate with family members and friends. Allowing the inmates to make one free call weekly will help breakdown any financial barriers that might a parent from communicating with his/her children.

By allowing more alternatives to incarceration for non-violent offenders who are parents,

the parents will be given a "second chance" to alter lifestyles. The alternatives should range from those already in place like community service, retribution and intensive supervision, or house arrest, to parent classes, adult basic education classes and vocational training courses.

Parents should be counseled on the importance of their full involvement in their children's lives.

Although a much more complicated subject, those who care for children with incarcerated parents should be guaranteed financial assistance. Caregivers are often financially unequipped to care for the children they take in. The children should be provided with a state or federally funded health insurance program. Federal and state governments have enough available resources to ensure that these children's basic needs are met. Let's not make them suffer any additional hardships.

The final proposed intervention would involve periodic evaluations by child welfare departments for children with incarcerated parents. These evaluations will be used to adequately assess the needs of each child. Counseling, tutoring, caregiver training courses, etc. will be made available according to findings in the children's evaluations. The aim is to create a system for early intervention and, in turn, aid in the growth and development of mentally and physically healthy children, adolescents and young adults.

Though these are just a few things that we as a nation can do to help children with incarcerated parents, I believe that each step made beyond the assignment of mentors, is a step in the right direction.

References

Braman, Donald (2004). Doing Time on the Outside: Incarceration and Family Life in Urban America.Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.

Eddy, J. Mark & Reid, John B. (2001). The antisocial behavior of adolescent children of incarcerated parents: A developmental perspective. Paper produced for the "From Prison to Home" Conference sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Johnson, Elizabeth & Waldfogel, Jane (2002). Children of incarcerated parents: Cumulative risk and children's living arrangements. New York: Columbia UniversitySchool of Social Work.

Hairston, J. Creasie Finney (2001). Prisoners and families: Parenting issues during incarceration. Paper produced for the "From Prison to Home" Conference sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.