Waubonsee Community College

Parental incarceration and the family, psychological and social effects of imprisonment on children, parents, and caregivers, Joyce A. Arditti

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 209-236) and index

illustrations

index present

non fiction

Parental incarceration and the family

bibliography

756592634

Joyce A. Arditti

psychological and social effects of imprisonment on children, parents, and caregivers

Over 2% of U.S. children under the age of 18--more than 1,700,000 children--have a parent in prison. These children experience very real disadvantages when compared to their peers: they tend to experience lower levels of educational success, social exclusion, and even a higher likelihood of their own future incarceration. Meanwhile, their new caregivers have to adjust to their new responsibilities as their lives change overnight, and the incarcerated parents are cut off from their children's development. Parental Incarceration brings a family perspective to our understanding of what it means to have so many of our nation's parents in prison. Drawing from the author's own research and fieldwork, this book offers an in-depth look at how incarceration affects entire families: offender parents, children, caregivers. Through the use of examples, anecdotes, and reflections, a human face is put the mass of humanity behind bars, as well as those family members who are affected by a parent's imprisonment. In focusing on offenders as parents, a radically different social policy agenda emerges, one that calls for real reform and that responds to the collective vulnerabilities of the incarcerated and their kin. -- Publisher description

Introduction: A framework for understanding parental incarceration -- Context and processes associated with incarcerated parenting -- Maternal incarceration -- Paternal incarceration -- The effects of incarceration on families and children -- Conclusion: Practice and policy implications of a family perspective on parental incarceration