Incarcerated Parents: The Problems For Children Of Incarcerate Parents

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Incarceration can be problematic when children are taken away from their parent(s) because of a crime that their parent(s) have committed. This is especially true specifically when a mother is taken away from their children more than a father because a mother holds the responsibility to take care of the child. When a parent is not present in a child’s life, this can affect the child in the long run in terms of their behavior and mental health.
I chose this topic of children of incarcerated parents because of the outrageous amount of parents in prison within the last decade. According to the National Conference of State Legislator, “... in 2007, slightly more than 1.7 million children under age 18 had a parent in state or federal prison.”
An example of a child’s …show more content…

It is very easy to feel bad to incarcerate parent(s) because they have kid(s) to take care of and believe that parent(s) should not be incarcerated or at the very least be given the advantage of facing less time in prison. Well, at least, I think they should at first. But at the same time, when considering the opposing side, I don’t feel as bad because in a world like this, you pay the consequence for what you do wrong. Just because you have children doesn’t make the punishment any less. Furthermore, not incarcerating someone because they are a parent or allowing parent(s) to face less time in prison would not only be unfair to people who are not parents, but it would also defeat the whole purpose of the prison system.
Part of the reason why many women are in prison is because it is a sort of a mental health provider for them. “Many women need counseling and medical help, not prison,” said Amos Irwin, training director of law enforcement against prohibition. As a way to address this, I would like to see more counseling and medical help opportunities given to women in addition to children with incarcerated

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