Corrections_Today_March_April_2023_Vol.85_No.2

■ FAMILY SUPPORT

When fathers are incarcerated, the child typically resides with the mother, but when mothers are incarcerated, the child will often go to live with another female member of the family, a close friend, or in 10% of the cases, they will be placed in the foster care system. 12 Only 25% of incarcerated women have children who live with their biological father, compared to 90% of incarcerated men who have children who live with their biological mother. 13 Thus, those with incarcerated mothers have more attach ment disruption, and experience more instability of care, in addition to emotional and academic problems. 14 Since women are often the primary caregivers to their children, it means when mothers are incarcerated, children are more likely to lose their home. 15 Maternal incarceration places the entire family structure at risk; children have to relocate, and siblings are more likely to be separated since it is difficult to find one household to house multiple children. 16 These children also lose friends when they relocate, an important source of support, and may have to change schools, another added layer of stress. Overall, approximately 70% of incarcerated women report being mothers to minor children, with poor chil dren and children of color disproportionally effected. 17 Since 1991, the number of children with an incarcer ated mother has risen more than 131%; this affects black children, who are seven and a half times more likely than white children, and Latino children, who are two and a half times more likely than white children, to experi ence parental incarceration. 18 These children have higher rates of future criminal justice involvement, when com pared to children without incarcerated parents, being six times more likely to be involved in the criminal justice system. 19 Difficulties maintaining contact A majority of incarcerated parents want to have con tact with their children and, not surprisingly, a majority of their children want the same. 20,21 However, the rela tionship between the incarcerated parent and the child’s caregiver, who is also known as the “gatekeeper” to the children, will often determine the nature and frequency of that contact, or whether any contact is even permitted. 22 Children may question why they are not able to see an in carcerated parent; even in circumstances where they may know the reasons the caregiver has for precluding contact, they do not necessarily agree with it but have little they

can do about it. Either way, keeping children in a place of secrecy, without any evidence to the contrary, encourages the imagination to substitute fact for fiction and can lead to excessive worry and anxiety regarding the incarcerated parent’s well-being.

Maintaining contact between incarcerated parents and their children, even limited contact, can help to mitigate mental health problems, risky behaviors and future involvement in the criminal justice system for both, especially since strong family bonds are often found to be a protective factor against recidivism. Distance, lack of transportation, cost, stress, refusal of the caregiver to bring the child, lack of appropriate docu mentation to demonstrate familial relationship, non-child friendly spaces, etc., often creates barriers to maintain ing this contact. 23 Lower-income incarcerated parents are typically the least likely to receive visits from their children, yet they comprise the majority of the incarcer ated population. 24 If the child is placed in foster care, they can face multiple placements, making it difficult for an in carcerated parent to even know their child’s whereabouts. Additionally, distance from the facility is problematic; 60% of those incarcerated at the state level are housed in a facility at least 100 miles from their last residence. 25 Nonetheless, maintaining contact between incarcer ated parents and their children, even limited contact, can help to mitigate mental health problems, risky behaviors and future involvement in the criminal justice system for both, especially since strong family bonds are often found to be a protective factor against recidivism. 26 Children who maintain contact with their incarcerated parent are more likely to describe them with positive words,

36 — March/April 2023 Corrections Today