Transcript The Impact of Incarceration on Children, Families, and

Presented by
Bob Brinker
ParentWISE Program of Family Services of Western PA
Have you
 Worked with a family having a parent who is
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incarcerated?
Visited a parent who was incarcerated?
Provided transportation to a family visiting an
incarcerated parent?
Worked with a family who’s parent was previously
incarcerated?
Had a family member who is or was incarcerated?
Test Your Prison Knowledge
What is a shank?
a. A piece of meat
b. Part of a handcuff
c. Handmade weapon
d. A corrections officer
 1.
2. What happens if a prisoner
clicks up?
a. Gets promoted on a prison job
b. Is assigned a better cell
c. Joins a prison gang
d. Lights a cigarette when smoking is
not permitted
3. Who is Chester?
a. A prisoner who spent so much time in
prison that he cannot function in the
outside world
b. An officer who smuggles contraband
into the institution
c. A prisoner who avoids hard work
d. A child molester
4. What happens when a person is
“riding leg?”
a. Forms a homosexual relationship with
another inmate
b. Becomes friendly with a staff to get
favors
c. Fabricates a story to gain status with
other prisoners
d. Person who received contraband and
is enjoying life
5. Who is Sancho?
a. A corrections officer
b. A prisoner who informs on others, a
snitch
c. A Latino prisoner
d. Man having an affair with a prisoner’s
wife or girlfriend
Words from Ed, a former
inmate
“
What people don’t understand
is that when you go to jail,
you take your whole family
with you.”
Incarceration in the United States
 2.8 million children have an incarcerated
parent
 3.6 million parents are under some form of
corrections supervision
 10 million children have had an incarcerated
parent sometime in their lives
Incarceration in the United States
 93 percent of incarcerated parents are male and 7
percent are female
 90 percent of children with an incarcerated father live
with their mother
 Children with an incarcerated mother : 28 percent live
with dad; 58 percent live with kin; 4 percent are in
foster care
 Parents who maintain connections during
incarceration experience significantly greater success
and less recidivism when paroled
Discrimination?
 African American children are nine
times more likely to have an
incarcerated parent than Caucasian
children
 Latino children are three times more
likely to have an incarcerated parent
than Caucasian children
Human Capital
Social Networks
Human Capital
The ability to solve life’s
problems, take steps to
improve one’s life and
maintain relationships
Social Networks
Friends, family and
neighbors that can
provide support
Effects of Incarceration
1. Financial loss and added expense
2. Stigma of incarceration
3. Loss of parent/child bond
4. Stress on extended family
members
Effects of Incarceration
5. Costs to community, its systems
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and society
Potential loss of parental rights
Family instability
Loss of intimacy
Child-related concerns
Words of Wisdom
“There’s nothing wrong with
being a criminal. There is
something wrong with
remaining a criminal.”
Malcolm X
Words of Wisdom
“Prison need not be the end of the
road but the beginning of an
interesting and productive life”
Dr. Karl Menninger
We all have them!
Have you heard or said
 “I have too many families and lack the
skills to work with these families.”
 “If they didn’t have their lives together
before, how will they get their lives
together now.”
 “It will just upset the child to bring up
the incarcerated parent or see them in
prison.”
Have you heard or said
• “There’s a reason the parent is there.
Good parents don’t go to prison.”
• “The parents should have thought of
their children before committing the
crime.”
• “Prisons are scary places. Children
don’t belong there.”
Barriers to Working with families
having an Incarcerated Parent
 Dealing with the non-incarcerated family members
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(parents, kin, caregivers)
Distance/transportation
Hostile Prison Environment
The System
Communication
Finances
Legal TimeFrames
Lack of Programs and Services
Personal Circumstances
DVD Presentation
Family Ties
A Project of
Pittsburgh Child Guidance Center
Discussion Questions
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3.
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5.
What insights and understanding did you gain from
hearing the stories of the incarcerated parents?
What new understanding did you gain by listening
to the stories of the families on the outside?
How did incarceration negatively impact them?
What challenges did they face in dealing with the
separation?
What helped them deal with and overcome these
challenges?
Seeing it through their eyes
Children of Incarcerated Parents
A Bill of Rights
1. I have the right to be kept safe and informed at
the time of my parents arrest.
2. I have the right to be heard when decisions are
made about me.
3. I have the right to be considered when decisions
are made about my parent.
4. I have the right to be well cared for in my parents
absence.
Children of Incarcerated Parents
A Bill of Rights
5. I have the right to support as I face my parent’s
incarceration.
6. I have the right to speak with, see and touch my
parent.
7. I have the right not to be judged, blamed, or labeled
because my parent is incarcerated.
8. I have the right to a lifelong relationship with my
parent.
Children and Families
Lack information
Fear the unknown
The Experience
of the Arrest
Children as Witnesses
 67% see their parent handcuffed
 27% witness weapons being drawn
 4.3 % witness a physical struggle
 3.2% witness their parent being pepper
sprayed
Trauma
A psychologically distressing event outside the
range of usual human experience, often
involving a sense of intense fear, terror,
helplessness, and that produces
psychological injury or pain
Trauma
 Creates a prolonged stress response
 Is typically unexpected which leads to
distrust
 Is uncontrollable which creates a sense of
helplessness
 Can be triggered and re-experienced
through various sensory triggers
Trauma Inducing Events
 Abuse in all forms
 Witness to domestic violence
 Violence in their community
 Frequent housing changes
 Chronic health problems
 Mental health issues of caregiver
 Institutional care and multiple foster
placements
Attachment
Theory
Attachment is
Critical to human survival
A lifelong need
Neurologically driven (need for
relationships)
Benefits of Attachment
 Empathy towards others
 Greater cooperation
 Mood regulation
 Ability to maintain healthy
relationships
Potential Consequences of Trauma
and Poor Attachment
 Poor school performance
 Developmental delays
 Mental health related problems
 Exposure to domestic violence
 Substance abuse
 Aggression and acting out behaviors
 Lower economic status
Impact affected by
 Age of child at time of incarceration
 Length of separation
 Level of disruption
 Number of previous separation events
 Availability of family and community
support
 Relationship to parent
Addressing the needs of the
incarcerated parent, their
children, and the nonincarcerated parents and
caregivers
Grief Due to Loss
Grief is the conflicting
feelings caused by the end
of or change in a familiar
pattern of behavior.
6 Myths of Grieving
1. Don’t feel bad.
2. Replace the loss.
3. Grieve alone.
4. Be strong.
5. Keep busy.
6. Time heals all wounds.
Incarceration Creates a
Conspiracy of Silence
A Quick Quiz
1. The families of the incarcerated are a
nuisance. They enable and are a part
of the problem.
2. Families are a primary source of
stability, support, and motivation.
Without them success is unlikely.
3. Both A and B.
Key Players
 The inmates
 Their children and families
 Family support workers
 Corrections and Administration
WIIFM
What’s In It For Me?
Outcomes
 Better inmates
 Inmate has smoother reentry/less recidivism
 Child is less stressed
 Child experiences fewer behavioral, emotional , and
developmental concerns
 Less worry about parent and self
 Kinship and foster caregivers feel more supported and
better
Change
One day a man saw a butterfly shuddering on the
sidewalk
Locked in a seemingly hopeless struggle , to free itself
from its now useless cocoon
Feeling pity, he took a pocket knife, carefully cut away the
cocoon and set the butterfly free
To his dismay, it lay on the sidewalk, convulsed weakly
for awhile then died
A biologist later told him, “That was the worst thing that
you could have done!
Change (continued)
A butterfly needs that struggle to develop the muscles to
fly
By robbing him of the struggle, you made him too weak
to live
Programs Frequently available to
Incarcerated Parents
 Parenting Programs
 Virtual Visitation
 G.E.D. /educational
 Domestic Violence
opportunities
 Anger management
 Drug and Alcohol
Programs
 Religious/spiritual
services
Programs
 Counseling/Mental
Health Services
 Reentry Programs
 Reading/Storytelling
Children Need Information
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Where is my Mom or Dad?
When is He or She Coming Home?
Why is She or He in Jail or Prison?
Can I Talk to my Mom or Dad?
When can I See my Mom or Dad?
Who is going to take Care of Me?
Do My Parents Still Love Me?
Is this My Fault?
Can I do something to Help?
Why do I feel so Sad and Angry?
For More Information
Organization
Organization
 Bethesda Family Service
 National Fatherhood
Foundation (www.bfsf.org)
 Pennsylvania Family Support
Alliance (www.pa-fsa.org)
 Center for Children of
Incarcerated Parents (www.eccip.org)
 Families and Correction
Network
(www.fcnetwork.org)
Initiative
(www.fatherhood.org)
 PA Dept. of Corrections
(www.cor.state.pa.us)
 Pennsylvania Prison Society
(www.prisonsociety.org)
Thank You Very Much