“Yes, I can still parent. Until I die, he will always be my son”: Parental responsibility in the wake of child incarceration

Abstract

This paper examines what parental responsibility means when an adolescent child is sent to prison, where the traditional parenting relationship seemingly ends and parens patriae or penal control comes into full force. Paradoxically, we argue that even in these restricted spaces of contact, parenting continues, albeit in a form which runs into frequent tension with the care/control modalities of the prison itself. Our data further demonstrate the importance of addressing a constellation of social adversities experienced by caregivers, in conjunction with the collateral consequences of offending and incarceration. Data are drawn from interviews with primary caregivers with young men in prison (n ¼ 61).Research into the experience of primary caregivers who maintain relations with incarcerated children is incredibly sparse. This contrasts with a related (and now vast) body of research which has documented the effects of incarceration on families, typically through the perspective of intimate partners or children whose parents are in prison (e.

Conceptualizing the effects of imprisonment on families: Collateral consequences, secondary punishment, or symbiotic harms?

“…Mediators are co-producers of effects such as stigma, guilt, and shame, the offence type, criminal justice practices, and prison regimes (Condry and Smith, 2018). Furthermore, the category of prisoners’ families encompasses a range of kin relationships; the experience of a child whose primary carer is imprisoned is likely to differ considerably from a mother whose son is imprisoned (Gueta, 2018; McCarthy and Adams, 2017). There are, therefore, numerous dimensions which lead to a variety of different family experiences.…”

When Parents Fail: Addressing Delinquent Child Maintenance Through Informal Resources

“…Family laws and policies in many countries require that primary responsibilities to provide support for children lie on parents even if parents are separated (Kruk, 2012; McCarthy & Adams, 2019). However, parents are more involved in supporting the family when they are together than following separation (Nepomnyaschy & Garfinkel, 2010); often, mothers become the resident parent when there is divorce or separation.…”

Treating Mental Illness and Relational Concerns in Incarcerated Settings

“…Therefore, to incorporate incarcerated parents and other family members back into the family’s hierarchy and overall structure, a systemic lens has been recommended to be utilized (Tadros et al, 2019, 2020a; 2021). Further, it has been recently documented that a future challenge for researchers and policy makers will be to explore the best way of providing support to family members prior to incarceration instead of relying on treatments later on in the process (McCarthy & Adams, 2019). Thus, preventative treatment methods and treatments postsentencing but prior to entering an incarcerated facility may be necessary to consider.…”