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Incarcerated parents thesis
The effects of parental incarceration on children
The effects of parental incarceration on children
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A serious issue facing this country today is the 2.7 million children currently being left behind with incredible pain while their parents are being placed behind bars (Maier 91). They are left behind with not only pain, but the struggles of living day to day life without the guidance of their parents, as well as having to find a new home. According to child development specialist and the founding director of the Center for Children of Incarcerated Parents, Denise Johnston, “there are over 10 million minor children in the United States who have dealt with parental incarceration over the course of time” (91). The Big Brother Big Sister (BBBS) program needs to take the initiative in the process of reunification between parents who have been incarcerated, and the children which whom they leave behind. The Big Brother Big Sister program is designed to nurture children that have not had that sense of connection before, also helping them to recognize their potential, as well as helping them to build a bright future. The BBBS program serves many children in the world that deal with various challenges in life, but one program in relation is the Amachi program. “The Amachi program specifically helps children with an incarcerated parent to broaden their perspectives on what they can achieve in life and help them to overcome” (Big Brother Big Sister). Along with the responsibilities they possess, the Amachi/BBBS program should also help to reunify these children back with their parents once they are released from incarceration. Ultimately, having these BBBS mentors there to encourage these children to visit their parents is creating an easier path to complete reunification. According to R. Anna Hayward and Diane DePanfilis of the Univers... ... middle of paper ... ..." Social Work in Public Health. 27.1-2 (2012): 12-28. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. Maier, Katrin. “Children of Incarcerated Parents.” Taylor & Francis Online. 12.1 (2006): 91-105. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. Merenstein, Beth, Ben Tyson, Brad Tilles, Aileen Keays, and Lyndsay Ruffiolo. "Issues Affecting the Efficacy of Programs for Children with Incarcerated Parents." Journal of Correctional Education. 62.3 (2011): 166-174. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. Osofsky, Joy D. Young Childrn and Trauma: Intervention and Treatment. New York: Guilford Press, 2004. eBook. Reed, Diane F., and Edward L. Reed. "Children of Incarcerated Parents." Social Justice. 24.3 (1997): 152-169. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. United States. U.S. Government Accountability Office. Child Welfare: More Information and Collaboration Could Promote Ties Between Foster Care Children and Their Incarcerated Paents. Washington: , 2013. Web.
When a person becomes a parent, their role in life undoubtedly changes. The person must become a teacher, a guide, and a helping hand in the life of the child. Research has shown that there is a distinct connection between how a child is raised and their overall developmental outcome. John Bowlby’s attachment theory emphasizes the importance of the regular and sustained contact between the parent-infant or parent-child relationship (Travis & Waul 2003). Yet, what happens when the only physical contact a child can share with their parent is a hand pressed on the shield of glass that separates the two? What happens when the last memory of their mother or father was from the corner of their own living room as they watched their parent become handcuffed? In 2007, there was an estimate of approximately 1.7 million children of incarcerated parents in the United States (Poehlmann, Dallaire, Loper & Shear 2010). Of those 1.7 million children, 58% of those children are under the age of 10, with the mean age being 8 (Travis & Waul 2003). The children of incarcerated parents are often moved from one family and one school to the next. The child must cope with this issue in home and in school, and may find it especially hard to cope with during school. Schools, however, can be a safe place for these children. This research explored the psychological effects of parent incarceration on the child, the school-based problems that occur as a result, and what educators can do to support children of incarcerated parents.
Studies show parental incarceration can be more traumatic to students than even a parent's death or divorce, and the damage it can cause to students' education, health, and social relationships puts them at higher risk of one day going to prison themselves.(Sparks,
Glaze, Lauren E and Maruschak, Laura M. “Parents in Prison and Their Minor Children.” BureauofJusticeStatistics.gov, Bureau of Justice Statistics. 8 Aug. 2008: 1. PDF File.
Gender related issues within U.S. Prisons initially involve consideration of the family. Family bonds are often broken whenever a convicted parent is sentenced to jail, according to Nell Bernstein’s article “Relocation Blues.” However, as stated by Carol Fennelly, “There was an outcry about mothers being separated from their children, but nobody bothered to ask what would happen to the dads and their relationship with their kids,” (109). Due to overcrowding, Fennelly explains how convicted fathers are constantly being moved into prisons far from their families, mainly because they do not seem to share that special bond a mother shares with her children; however, this is not always the case. Fennelly’s contribution of using Microsoft Ne...
“Although nearly 90% of children remain with their mothers when fathers go to prison, grandparents usually care for children when mothers are incarcerated” (Johnson & Waldfogel, 2002; Snell, 1994 as cited in; Poehlmann). This shows that the family structure is more drastically upset when the mother is imprisoned versus the father. This also shows that just losing one parent while staying in the same environment is easier to self-adjust back into equilibrium than it is to fully change and integrate into another household. While the mother is in prison, the child is now in the care of someone else and where that child is, is crucial to their development. This explains that a disrupt in family structure can impact a child’s skills that are necessary to a positive development, such as reading and math skills and the ability to focus in class to learn. Emily Durkheim’s structural functionalism theory can be used to further explain this topic. A child’s family is an organism, no matter that typicality of it’s makeup. Every person has a role in the structure and when a mother is incarcerated that disrupts the system and the children are moved into a new structure, the process towards equilibrium can be tough and in some cases detrimental to their development as they are exposed to more intellectual
Parke, Ross D. "Effects of Parental Incarceration on Young Children." Parke, Ross D. "Effects of Parental
About one child in 50 in the United States currently has an incarcerated parent, but ensuing attachment disruptions for children depend substantially on the parent’s gender (Bretherton, 2011, p. 18). When fathers are imprisoned (by far the most common occurrence), 88% of the children continue to be cared for by their mothers (Bretherton, 2011, p. 18). Only 37% of fathers care for at least one of their children under these circumstances (Bretherton, 2011, p. 18).When mothers are incarcerated, children are most likely to live with a grandmother or aunt with whom they may or may not have a close relationship (Bretherton, 2011, p. 18). The majority of children whose mothers serve prison sentences not only face separation from the person most likely to be their principal attachment figure (Bretherton, 2011, p...
Mothers in prison, with obvious limitations and restrictions, can still have a positive effect on their children. This can only happen if the lines of communication are able to be maintained. A child needs contact with the mother to keep their bond strong. When communication is able to be maintained, families can benefit by helping incarcerated mothers and their children cope with separation, providing incentives for the mothers to become better parents, and can make the transition into the family and society easier upon release.
Some states require parents to terminate their parental rights when they are incarcerated, based on the length of their incarceration, so the child can be put with a new family permanently, severing all ties between mother and child (Luke, 2002). This situation can exacerbate the effects a child is already feeling during their mother’s incarceration. Luke recommends laws exclude jail or prison time from being a criterion for terminating a parent’s parental rights (2002). Luke also recommends parenting classes for incarcerated mothers during their incarceration (2002). Parenting classes can be useful for mothers to reintegrate themselves into the household an role as a mother following their incarceration. There is little research in the effectiveness of parenting class, studies only having been done in individual prisons, but all research points to the potential long term benefits of providing incarcerated mothers with parenting classes and resources
Over 150,000 children in the United States have been separated from their mothers because of incarceration. These children face an extremely difficult situation. As the population of female inmates in jails and prisons continues to increase, protections will need to be put in place to preserve the mother-child bond during their sentence and in the process of release. Contact and visitation between mother and child can decrease the negative emotional, social and developmental effects that are caused by maternal incarceration. These measures will improve the children’s well being and create adults who are less likely to repeat their parents’ mistakes.
Between 1990 and 2007, the number of children under 18 years old with an incarcerated parent in the United States increased from 945,600 to 1,706,600, reaching 2.3% of the nation’s children (Glaze & Maruschak, 2008). These children can suffer from traumatic separation, loneliness, stigma, confused explanations to children, unstable childcare arrangements, strained parenting, reduced income, and home, school, and neighborhood moves. (Murray, Farrington, and Sekol 2012). Additionally, these children are put into high stress life events while their parents go through the process of being incarcerated and likely had other stressors before their incarceration. The behavioral effects of these children and their families have urgent social concerns, as incarceration effects go far outside of prison walls.
The challenges of children who grow up with parents whom were incarcerated at some point in their childhood can have a major effect on their life. The incarceration of parents can at times begin to affect the child even at birth. Now with prison nurseries the impregnated mother can keep her baby during her time in jail. With the loss of their parent the child can begin to develop behavioral problems with being obedient, temper tantrums, and the loss of simple social skills. Never learning to live in a society they are deprived of a normal social life. “The enormous increase incarceration led to a parallel, but far less documented, increase in the proportion of children who grew up with a parent incarcerated during their childhood” (Johnson 2007). This means the consequences of the children of the incarcerated parents receive no attention from the media, or academic research. The academic research done in this paper is to strengthen the research already worked by many other people. The impact of the parent’s incarceration on these children can at times be both positive and negative. The incarceration of a parent can be the upshot to the change of child’s everyday life, behavioral problems, and depriving them a normal social life.
There is a plethora of data within the last 10-15 years that repeatedly show family, friends, and entire communities or neighborhoods being drastically affected by the consequences of mass incarceration as well. The data focus primarily on the effects on the partners, children, families, friends, and caregivers of those incarcerated; particularly the economic, emotional, and personal relationships between incarcerated individuals and those the data also
Parental incarceration can affect many aspects of a child’s life, including emotional and behavioral well-being, family stability and financial circumstances. The growing number of children with an incarcerated parent represents one of the most significant collateral consequences of the record prison population in the U.S. Children who have an incarcerated parent require support from local, state, and federal systems to serve their needs. Kids pay both the apparent and hidden costs while their loved one serves out sentences in jail or prison.
Taylor, A. (2003, February). The International Child and Youth Care Network. Retrieved 8 14, 2010, from CYC Online: http://www.cyc-net.org/cyc-online/cycol-0203-offenders.html