Who WIll Take Care of the Children?

 It’s four o’clock in the morning and a squad of heavily armed police in full protective gear make their way to a silent apartment. Reaching the door, the lead cop bangs loudly with his fist while screaming, “Police! Open up!”  Waiting the official five seconds for a reply, they bring up their spring-loaded battering ram and in less than a minute they are inside in time to confront two bewildered adults still trying to wake themselves from what appears to be a nightmare. The kids clinging to their mother’s house dress are screaming.  It is their nightmare and they will re-live it forever.  They watch as their father is thrown to the ground, handcuffed and taken away.  They watch as their sobbing mother clings to daddy, screaming at the police.  What none of the actors in this too-often repeated scene know is that event may be the end of the family, and the kids may never see their father again.  The number of minor children with a parent in state or federal prison is estimated at one and one-half million.  Some ten million children under the age of 18 are affected by current or past parental involvement in the criminal justice system.  Approximately five million children have a parent who is currently under some type of supervision, while five million have a parent who was involved in the past.  Most of these children are less than ten years old.  Their average is only eight years old. 

Racial and Ethnic Background 

 About one-half of current Federal prisoners are Black, about 25% are White, and the remaining 25% are other ethnic minorities.  Blacks are almost nine times more likely to have a parent in prison at any given time than White children.  Hispanic children are almost three times as likely as White children.  

Pre-prison Living Arrangements 

Prior to their parent’s incarceration 85 percent were living in poverty, and fewer  than two out of five parents reported living with any of their minor children.  Most of these households 89% did not have resident fathers, while approximately 11% of the households are without a resident mother.  Of those parents who lived with their children, only one out of five lived with a spouse as well. 

Caretakers 

 Incarcerated mothers most often leave their children in the care of grandparents.  In fact, almost half of the children of incarcerated mothers live with grandparents. Only 28% of children with incarcerated mothers live with their biological fathers.  Close to one out of four are left in the care of other relatives or friends, or are placed in out-of-home care.  Often, where there are multiple minors, the children may be placed apart from each other. 

In contrast, the vast majority (an estimated 90%) of children with incarcerated fathers live with their biological mothers.  Only two percent are placed in out-of-home care, while the other eight percent live with relatives or friends.  Replacement caregivers tend to have low incomes and may lack the social support and other resources necessary to meet the children’s needs.  Furthermore, most child welfare agencies have no policies that focus specifically on children with incarcerated parents. 

Children in foster care are often moved from home to home, and live in less than ideal situations.  Multiple placements also make it difficult for mothers to keep up on the current whereabouts of their children. 

Abuse and Neglect 

 Often, parental incarceration leaves children at risk for abuse and neglect.  One recent study suggests that, of the children of incarcerated parents who are placed in residential group care, group homes, or foster care, 37% have been sexually abused, 47% have been physically abused, and 58% have been neglected. 

Psychological Consequences 

 An extraordinary proportion of  these children—7 out of 10—appear to have psychological problems during their lives.  Many of the children suffer from symptoms characteristic of post-traumatic stress disorder.  High-end estimates indicate that about three-quarters of them report depression, difficulty sleeping, difficulty eating, concentration problems, fear, and flashbacks.  Self-esteem problems are common. 

 

Some children even experience hallucinations related to the lost person, such as hearing their mother’s voice.  Many children blame themselves for their parents’ absence and experience guilt. 

 

Often the children withdraw emotionally from their families or begin to regress developmentally.  These emotional difficulties have been linked to the separation from their parents, social stigma, and post-traumatic stress. 

Growing With Trauma 

 The effects of incarcerated parents vary greatly depending on the age of the child.  Parental incarceration during infancy (zero to two years), seems to produce few effects on the physical and intellectual development of the children.  

Those in early childhood (two to six years) are particularly vulnerable to the trauma of parental arrest and imprisonment, as they are extremely dependent upon and identify with their parents or primary caregivers.  The development of autonomy in young children may be compromised by such traumatic experiences.  The traumatic effects are compounded by the fact that the majority of children of this age witnessed the arrest of a family member.  One study found that 53% of four to eight-year-olds had seen an arrest.  The effects of parental incarceration may, in  fact, be worse at this stage of development than any other stage because children can perceive the events, but cannot yet comprehend or adjust to the trauma. 

Trauma during middle childhood (seven to ten years) can interfere with children’s ability to work and be productive, and control emotions.  As a result, a number of reactive behaviors begin to develop.  Though aggression is the most common reactive behavior, anxiety, withdrawal, and attention deficit problems often occur as well. Children in early adolescence (11 to 14 years) have various reactions to trauma.  By this stage of childhood, many children have developed effective coping mechanisms and are able to overcome traumas associated with incarcerated parents, such as stigma, multiple care placements, and absence of a parent. However, many will form maladaptive patterns of behavior, such as aggression, violence, and abuse.  Some children will also reject limits on their behavior set by parental or adult figures. The cumulative effects of parental crime are seen in adolescence (15 to 18 years).  Generally, by this age, most children have experienced multiple parental crimes, arrests and imprisonment, prolonged parent-child separation, and continuing trauma.  Due to repeated separation, the likelihood of parent-child reunification at this age is greatly reduced.  In fact, in one study, mothers’ plans for reunification declined from 73% for infants to 42% for teenagers.  Parental incarceration at this stage also commonly leads to reactive behavior and incarceration of the children themselves. 

Antisocial Behavior 

 Recurrent trauma in early childhood can initiate a pattern of unfavorable life choices.  Children with an incarcerated parent may engage in a variety of antisocial behaviors.  The cumulative effects of an incarcerated parent tend to appear most in late adolescence, generally 15-18 year-olds.  As teens and pre-teens, the children are at high-risk for juvenile delinquency, substance abuse, and addiction.  Removing a parent from the family can expand the role and influence of the peer group, encouraging many teens to join gangs.  

Children without a father are also likely to commit crimes.   In fact, children of incarcerated parents are five times more likely to spend time in prison than their peers.  One in ten of these children will be incarcerated before reaching adulthood.  Approximately 50% of incarcerated juveniles had or have a parent who has been incarcerated. 

School Performance 

 Of children identified by their teachers as having the most severe be-havioral and disciplinary problems at school, an estimated 80-90% had experienced parental crime, arrest, or incarceration.  Poor school performance is a common problem for most children with an incarcerated parent.  The effects range from impaired achievement motivation to acting out inappropriately.  A study of seven to ten year-olds with incarcerated parents showed that the children often have a hard time achieving in school and getting along with others, and may display aggressive behavior.  It is also common that children without a father will drop out of school. 

Visits and Contacts 

 Maintaining close family ties throughout incarceration results in the improved mental health not only of the children, but of the inmates as well.  Close contact with their children decreases the chance of recidivism and increases the chance of success after release. 

More than a quarter of female prisoners and almost one-half of male prisoners have never called or received a phone call from their children.  A smaller number (21% of females and 32% of males) have never sent or received any mail from their children either. Even more significantly, only 46% of women and 43% of men have seen their children on a personal visit after admission. 

Contact is often difficult due to limited financial resources, lack of transportation, and the distant location of prisons.  More than one-half of incarcerated parents are held over 100 miles from their last residence.  Furthermore, collect calls from jails and prisons typically cost the receiving household as much as three times more than a collect call placed from payphones outside the institution.  Written correspondence can be complicated by some prison rules. Also, the literacy of both the children and the inmates is often limited. 

Who Cares? 

 Children of imprisoned parents are unquestionably and deeply at risk.  By ignoring them, society contributes unwittingly to reproducing a new generation of criminals. 

 

There are organizations in the local area who are helping.  Information and 

their programs are available. 

Alternative Directions, Inc. 

Address: 2505 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218 

E-mail: mary.j.davis@verizon.net; phone: 410-889-5072 

Contact: Michelle Kelly, Assistant Director/ Office Manager 

Mary Joel Davis, Director 

Area Served: Maryland; established: 1979 

Provides incarcerated parents with legal and social services: 

notarizes temporary guardianship forms for prisoners, assists with 

motions for court-ordered visitations, provides information about 

custody and paternity. Also assists women after release with em- 

ployment, GED, parenting, home-purchasing, addiction counseling 

and treatment. 

Federal Resource Center for Children of Prisoners 

Address: 440 First Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001 

Phone: 202-639-4030 

Administered by the Child Welfare League of America, provides 

support and evaluation services to families of incarcerated parents 

at 10 demonstration sites around the country.  The ultimate goal is 

to improve the quality of information available about children with 

incarcerated parents and develop resources that will help create 

better outcomes for these children and their families. 

Girl Scouts Beyond Bars 

Address: 4806 Seton Drive, Baltimore, MD 21215 

E-mail: www.gscm.org; phone: 410-358-9711 

Contact: Marina A. Gethers LCSW-C, Project Coordinator 

Area Served: Baltimore Metropolitan Area; established: 1992 

Provides scouting activities for incarcerated mothers and their 

children. Provides family reunification support, support groups, 

mentoring to mothers and daughters by volunteers. 

Living with Incarcerated Parents and Surviving (LIPS) 

Address: c/o Heaven on Earth Dance Min., P.O. Box 1050, Bowie, 

MD 20718-1040 

Web site: www.Heavenonearthdanceministries.com; phone: 301- 

352-4145 

Contact: Minister Carol A. Overton, Director 

Area Served: Maryland 

Parent Organization: Heaven On Earth Dance Ministries 

Provides children of prisoners with theatrical activities, counseling, 

mentoring and bible studies. Provides parents with parent educa- 

tion, pro bono paralegal assistance, bible studies, mentoring and 

referrals. Families are offered church fellowship. 

Long Distance Dads 

Address: 101 Lakeforest Blvd., Suite 360, Gaithersburg, MD 

20877-2629 

E-mail: mtorres@fatherhood.org; phone: 301-948-0599 

Web site: www.fatherhood.org 

Contact: Marcos Torres, Executive Director of Incarcerated 

Programming 

Roland Warren, President 

Area Served: USA and International; established: 1994 

Publications: Curricula on responsible fatherhood, interactive CD 

Roms and numerous other related books and resources. Order 

from our on-line book store. 

Provides training and technical assistance on parent education for 

incarcerated fathers. The Long Distance Dads curriculum is used 

in over 145 correctional facilities in 24 states of the USA as well as 

in Canada, Great Britain and Africa. Provides extensive fatherhood 

resources and publications. 

Maryland Justice Coalition 

Address: 2521 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218 

E-mail: khaven@povertysolutions.org; phone: 410-366-0600 

Web site: www.povertysolutions.org 

Contact: Kimberly Haven, Campaign Coordinator 

Tara Andrews, Executive Director 

Area Served: Maryland; established: 2002 

Provides information and referrals. Advocates criminal justice 

reform in Maryland.