Children of Incarcerated Parents 101

1. Children of Incarcerated Parents 101 July 25, 2019 | 2:00PM-3:00PM EST • This project is funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance under Cooperative Agreement No. CSIAAGKY6. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs.

2. Training Overview • Welcome and Introductions • Scope and Impact of Parental Incarceration in the United States • Understanding their Experience: Voices of Youth from Project WHAT! • Unique Needs, Challenges, and Assets of Children of Incarcerated Parents

3. Meet your Trainers • Katie Kramer, CEO, The Bridging Project • Evelyn McCoy, Research Associate, Urban Institute • Alina Martinez, Lead Clinician and Program Manager of One Family Program, Community Works West • Jakaela Foster, Facilitator, Project WHAT! • Oscar Calderon Leon, Facilitator, Project WHAT! • Hilary Cuthrell, Correction Program Specialist, National Institute of Corrections

4. Participant Poll

5. Training Objectives • Identify the scope of parental incarceration and children affected in the United States. • Understand the experience of youth affected by parental incarceration. • Develop a basic understanding of the unique needs, challenges, and assets of children of incarcerated parents throughout various child development stages.

6. Mass Incarceration in the United States Source: Wagner, P. & W. Sawyer. (2019). Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2019. Northampton, MA: Prison Policy Initiative. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2019.html.

7. Beyond Incarceration Source: Wagner, P. & W. Sawyer. (2019). Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2019. Northampton, MA: Prison Policy Initiative. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2019.html.

8. Contextual Factors • Racial and ethnic disparities • People of color are disproportionately involved in the criminal justice system • In 2017, black men were incarcerated 6x more than white men. • Poverty • Influencing factor and consequence of incarceration Source: Bronson, J. & E.A. Carson. (2019). Prisoners in 2017. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p17.pdf.

9. Poverty Source: Rabuy, B. & D. Kopf. (2015). Prisons of Poverty: Uncovering the pre-incarceration incomes of the imprisoned. Northampton, MA: Prison Policy Initiative. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/income.html.

10. Changing the Narrative Judging and punishing incarcerated parents Recognizing and addressing the needs of children

11. “We must provide spaces for children [of incarcerated parents] to be active participants in their own narratives, to see themselves outside the social boxes they have been placed within, and envision their destiny through new lenses. A lens of liberation and freedom from an experience they had no control over.” Source: Muhammad (2018). Against all odds: Resilient children of incarcerated parents. In L. Gordon (Ed.), Contemporary research and analysis on the children of prisoners: Invisible children. London: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

12. How many children are affected by parental incarceration?

13. Participant Poll

14. Participant Poll

15. 2.3M People Incarcerated; 2.7M Children Affected by Parental Incarceration Source: Pew Charitable Trusts. Collateral Costs: Incarceration’s Effect on Economic Mobility, 2010

16. Just the numbers please… • ~10M children have experienced parental incarceration at some point in their life • Half of children with incarcerated parent are <10 years old • How does this differ per race/ethnicity? • 1 in 9 black children • 1 in 28 Hispanic children • 1 in 57 white children Source: Western, B. & B. Pettit. (2010). Collateral Costs: Incarceration’s Effect on Economic Mobility. Washington, DC: Pew Charitable Trusts. https://www.pewtrusts.org/-/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/pcs_assets/2010/collateralcosts1pdf.pdf.

17. Caregivers are affected too Source: Glaze, L.E. & L.M. Maruschak. (2008). Parents in Prison and their Minor Children. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/pptmc.pdf.

18. Young children are disproportionally affected Over 50% of children are age 9 or younger Source: Glaze, L.E. & L.M. Maruschak. (2008). Parents in Prison and their Minor Children. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/pptmc.pdf.

19. Understanding their Experience: Voices of Youth from Project WHAT!

24. Unique Needs, Challenges, Assets of Children of Incarcerated Parents

25. Every child’s story is unique Source: Philbrick, K., L. Arye, & H. Lynn. (2014). Childrenof Imprisoned Parents: European Perspectives on Good Practices. https://childrenofprisoners.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Children-of-Imprisoned-Parents-European-Perspectives-on-Good-Practice.pdf.

26. Separation between a child and their parent that occurs as the result of parental incarceration is different from other forms of separation due to stigma, shame, judgement, andisolation.

27. Main Areas of Affects of Parental Incarceration on Children

28. Stress throughout a Child’s Journey Source: Adalist-Estrin (2019). Impact of parental incarceration on children and families: Implications for mental and behavioral health. Presented to Alameda County Behavioral Healthcare.

29. Major Life Disruptions Sources: Kramer, K. & Burton, C. F. (2018) What little we know: A system-wide descriptive study on children of incarcerated parents in two U. S. jurisdictions. In Gordon (Ed.), Contemporary research and analysis on the children of prisoners: Invisible children. London: Cambridge Scholars Publishing; Project WHAT! (2016). We’re here and talking: Research findings and policy implications concerning children of incarcerated parents in San Francisco.

30. Disruption to Living Situations • Loss of parent • ~40% of children lose a resident parent when parent is incarcerated • 20% lose their primary caregiver • Risks • Heightened risk for foster care placement and permanent separation from family members • More likely to live in a household facing economic strain, to experience financial hardship, and to be at risk of homelessness Source: Glaze and Maruschak (2008); Walker (2003); Foster and Hagan (2007); Geller et al. (2009); Phillips et al. (2006); Wildeman (2011); Bendheim-Thoman Center (2008); Brazzell (2008); Ehrensaft et al. (2003); Moses (2006)

31. Distance from Parents • 62% of parents in state prisons and 84% of parents in federal prisons are held >100 miles away from home • 43% of parents in federal prisons are held >500 miles away from home Source: Mumola, C.J. (2000). Incarcerated Parents and Their Children. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/iptc.pdf.

32. Family Financial Burden • Families can… • Lose primary income earners and face expenses directly related to CJ system involvement, such as court fees, bail, or bond • Face extra financial burdens maintaining family ties, including phone bills, sending care packages, and the cost of visiting • Experience increased risk for children living in poverty or household instability Sources: Braman, D. (2004). Doing Time on the Outside: Incarceration and Family Life in Urban America. University of Michigan Press; Eddy, J. M., & Poehlmann, J. (Eds.). (2010). Children of incarcerated parents: A handbook for researchers and practitioners; Phillips, S.D., Erkanli, A., Keeler, G.P., Costello, E.J., & Angold, A. (2006). Disentangling the risks: Parent criminal justice involvement and children’s exposure to family risks. Criminology & Public Policy, Vol. 5, Issue 4, pp. 677-702.

33. Who Pays? One survey of ~1,100 people affected by the criminal justice system found: • In 63% of cases, family members were the primary party responsible for court-related costs • 65% of families were unable to meet their basic needs because of financial costs related to incarcerated family member • 49% struggled with meeting basic food needs • 48% had trouble meeting basic housing needs • $13,607 average debt for court-related fines and fees • Almost one year’s entire annual income for respondents who earn less than $15,000 per year Sources: Saneta deVuono-powell, C. Schweidler, A. Walters, & A. Zohrabi. (2015). Who Pays? The True Cost of Incarceration on Families. Oakland, CA: Ella Baker Center, Forward Together, Research Action Design.

34. Resiliency “Research on resilience and achievements among children of incarcerated parents provides a balanceto the current databank of ‘risk-based’ scholarly works and helps children affected by parental incarceration to see themselves in a different light.” Source: Muhammad (2018). Against all odds: Resilient children of incarcerated parents. In L. Gordon (Ed.), Contemporary research and analysis on the children of prisoners: Invisible children. London: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

35. Key Resiliency Factors for Children • Relationship with parent prior to incarceration • Ability to set or consider life goals • That debunk stigma and stereotypes • Involvement in extra-curricular activities • Opportunity to maintain contact with parent • Social support system • Includes incarcerated parent if in best interest of child Source: Muhammad (2018). Against all odds: Resilient children of incarcerated parents. In L. Gordon (Ed.), Contemporary research and analysis on the children of prisoners: Invisible children. London: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

36. What Can You Do Differently? • Train staff on unique needs, challenges and assets of children of incarcerated parents • Examine intake and assessment processes to included questions about children • Provide up to date information to families about communication and visiting policies • Provide parenting classes and other parent support programs • Improve visitor lobbies to decrease stress for children

37. What Can You Do Differently? • Enhance visiting rooms to be more child-friendly • Expand and decrease communication costs between parents and children • Provide care-giver support • Incorporate families into reentry planning For more information on the Model Practices, visit: http://www.urban.org/research/publication/model-practices-parents-prisons-and-jails

38. Resources • Project WHAT!, http://communityworkswest.org/program/project-what/ • National Resource Center on Children and Families of the Incarcerated, https://nrccfi.camden.rutgers.edu/ • National Institute of Corrections Family Strengthening Project Microsite, https://info.nicic.gov/fsp/ • Community Works West, http://communityworkswest.org/ • San Francisco Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnership, https://www.sfcipp.org/resources • Children of Incarcerated Parents Federal Website, www.youth.gov/COIP

39. Contact Us • Katie Kramer, katie@thebridginggroup.com • Evelyn McCoy, emccoy@urban.org • Alina Martinez, amartinez@communityworkswest.org • Jakaela Foster, jfoster@communityworkswest.org • Oscar Calderon Leon, ocalderonleon@communityworkswest.org • Hilary Cuthrell, hrunion@bop.gov