Policies and Practices for Children of Incarcerated Parents: Summarizing What We Know and Do Not Know

Peterson, Bryce E.; Cramer, Lindsey; Fontaine, Jocelyn

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-16707-3_22

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…First, the role of maintained contact during fathers' imprisonment in shaping positive aspects of reunification postrelease implicates jails and prisons to expand availability and access to child‐friendly communication options. For instance, corrections administrators can make visits, free or reduced‐cost phone calls, mail and email services, and video visits more accessible to all those incarcerated while expanding child‐friendly visiting spaces and family‐focused programming and services (e.g., child visiting days, holiday celebrations; Peterson et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Family reunification after fathers are released from prison: Perspectives on children's adjustment

Muentner

Charles

2022

Family Relations

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Objective: This qualitative study examined adult perspectives on the adjustments children face through the process of paternal incarceration and eventual release. Background: While the United States leads the world in incarceration, 95% of imprisoned individuals return to community life. Despite poor outcomes for children with incarcerated fathers, less is known as to how they fair after fathers' release. Conceptualizing paternal incarceration and reentry as linked rather than disparate events, this study examines perspectives on family separation, reunification, and children's adjustment when fathers return from prison. Method: The sample consisted of 38 participants (19 previously incarcerated fathers, nine coparenting mothers, and 10 relatives) who shared perspectives on 63 children's adjustments. The semistructured interviews were analyzed via thematic analysis. Results: Two main themes were evident: (a) Paternal incarceration has a lasting toll on children that complicates reunification processes, introduces hurdles to maintaining togetherness, and is tied to changes in children's behaviors; and (b) reentry renews opportunity for father involvement that bolsters resilience despite ongoing systemic vulnerabilities. Conclusion: Postrelease family reunification may present challenges for children's adjustment, though supported transitions may curb some concerns. The findings call for strengths-oriented, needs-focused, and evidence-based reentry strategies that support entire family systems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Family reunification after fathers are released from prison: Perspectives on children's adjustment

Muentner

Charles

2022

Family Relations

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“…Similarly, brief workshops and tip sheets could be provided to individuals in prison to help build their skills in preparation for video visits with children. Visit coaching has also been suggested as a way to enhance the quality of video visits between a child and their incarcerated parent (Charles et al, 2021 ; Peterson et al, 2019 ). Currently, little is done by correctional services to support carers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contact experiences and needs of children of prisoners before and during COVID‐19: Findings from an Australian survey

Flynn

Bartels

Dennison

et al. 2021

Child & Family Social Work

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Most of the research examining children visiting a parent in prison indicates that visits have a positive impact on children's well‐being, their connection to the imprisoned parent and the parent themselves. However, the COVID‐19 pandemic brought about a significant change to prison visits worldwide, with limits or bans on face‐to‐face contact. Understanding the experiences and needs of children during this period remains limited. This paper presents the findings of a survey of 84 carers of 184 children across Australia, investigating children's experiences of contact with their imprisoned parent both before and during COVID‐19 restrictions. Although most carers reported maintaining contact during restrictions, a range of difficulties were noted: reduced availability; the effect of prison‐based issues, including lockdowns; and the suitability of video/telephone visits for young children. Some described the benefits of videoconferencing, including reduced travel time and cost, and not needing to take children into a prison environment. Despite this, respondents typically described the negative impact of restrictions, and lack of physical contact, on children's emotional well‐being. Our findings suggest that, for video visiting to be successful, it should be complementary to in‐person visits, tailored to the needs of children, with support offered to families.

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Section: Family Involvement With the Criminal Justice Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Families with a parent in prison are likely to experience poverty, homelessness, and residential instability (Peterson et al 2019). Parental imprisonment often contributes to children's behavior problems, depression, poor academic performance, and antisocial behavior (Parke and Clarke-Stewart 2001;Peterson et al 2019). Children may also experience trauma through involvement with the criminal justice system at other points (e.g., if they witness the arrest of a parent or before or during visits with a parent in prison or jail; Eddy and Poehlmann 2019).…”

Section: Family Involvement With the Criminal Justice Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Involvement of parents in the criminal justice system can be traumatizing to their children at the same time that it reduces family income and the availability of a parent (Peterson et al 2019). Promising evidence points to enhanced family relationships through interventions such as parenting skills training, well-managed visitations, and improved communications (Dallaire et al 2015).…”

Section: Reduce the Harmful Effects Of The System On Familiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A Strategic Plan for Strengthening America’s Families: A Brief from the Coalition of Behavioral Science Organizations

Biglan

Elfner

Garbacz

et al. 2020

Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev

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Despite significant progress in research on the treatment and prevention of psychological, behavioral, and health problems, the translation of this knowledge into population-wide benefit remains limited. This paper reviews the state of America's children and families, highlighting the influence of stressful contextual and social conditions on child and family well-being and the concentration of disadvantage in numerous neighborhoods and communities throughout the nation. It then briefly reviews the progress that has been made in pinpointing policies that can reduce stressful contextual conditions such as poverty, discrimination, and the marketing of unhealthful foods and substances. It also describes numerous family and school interventions that have proven benefit in preventing psychological and behavioral problems as diverse as tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use; depression; antisocial behavior; academic failure; obesity prevention; and early childbearing. We argue that progress in translating existing knowledge into widespread benefit will require a nationwide effort to intervene comprehensively in neighborhoods and communities of concentrated disadvantage. We present a strategic plan for how such an effort could be organized. The first step in this organizing would be the creation of a broad and diverse coalition of organizations concerned with advancing public health and well-being. Such a coalition could increase public support both for the policies needed to focus on these disadvantaged areas and the research needed to incrementally improve our ability to help these areas.

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Policies and Practices for Children of Incarcerated Parents: Summarizing What We Know and Do Not Know

Cited by 8 publications

References 35 publications

Family reunification after fathers are released from prison: Perspectives on children's adjustment

Family reunification after fathers are released from prison: Perspectives on children's adjustment

Contact experiences and needs of children of prisoners before and during COVID‐19: Findings from an Australian survey

A Strategic Plan for Strengthening America’s Families: A Brief from the Coalition of Behavioral Science Organizations

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