Question

how has society thoughts of incarceration and probation influenced sevices over the centuries

Answer 1

Imprisonment casts a long shadow in the United States. Incarceration rates have grown substantially over the past three decades, resulting in a fourfold increase since the early 1970s. Currently, 1.4 million individuals are behind bars in America's state and federal prisons, and more than 600,000 individuals—about 1,600 a day—will be released to return to their communities this year (Beck, Karberg, and Harrison 2002). These prisoners are parents to 1.5 million children—an increase of more than a half-million children in the last decade (Mumola 2000). Furthermore, if we include adults who have recently been released from prisons and jails and those adults on parole, the number of affected children more than doubles—to an estimated 3.2 million in 2001 (Mumola 2002). Now more than ever before, we need to ask whether the intersection of systems—corrections, and health and human services—can better serve the growing population of children, families, and communities affected by the incarceration of a family member.

For policymakers, researchers, professionals, and community leaders who are concerned about child development, foster care placement, family strengthening, and individual postprison adjustment, incarceration's influences on a growing number of children and families are rapidly becoming salient issues. To begin with, families impacted by incarceration are already typically at high risk along several dimensions. A parent's incarceration does not necessarily signal the onset of family and child development needs, but rather in most cases adds to the burdens of a family already struggling to overcome life's obstacles and setbacks. The incarceration of a family member may further exacerbate an environment already characterized by ongoing poverty, stress, or trauma. While the problems and needs of these children and families clearly intersect both the criminal justice and health and human services systems (see chapter 9), these systems do not always recognize that the incarceration and reentry of a parent produce consequences for a larger family unit.

Moreover, an increasing number of prisoners are returning home with less preparation for the challenges they will face on the outside, with less assistance in their reintegration and, at best, with strained connections to their families and communities (Travis, Solomon, and Waul 2001). Many will have difficulty with the most basic requirements of life outside of prison, such as finding a steady job, locating stable and affordable housing, and reestablishing positive relationships with families and friends.Many will remain plagued by substance abuse and health problems. Most will be rearrested and many will be returned to prison for new crimes or parole violations. And this cycle of removal and return of large numbers of individuals—mostly men (although the number of incarcerated women is growing exponentially)—is increasingly concentrated in a small number of communities already facing enormous social and economic disadvantages (see chapter 10).

Prisoners, their children, and their families experience risks and disadvantages experienced by few others in our society. The incarceration of a parent for months or years on end—typically in a prison located many miles away—and the sometimes-abrupt return of that parent to free society, may have deep and unexamined consequences for all involved. Too often, prisoners returning home experience high recidivism rates, frequent relapses to alcohol and drug abuse, and significant family tensions—sometimes erupting in violence.At the same time, the opportunities for a smoother reentry process are substantial and bear the promise of profound and far-reaching benefits for all involved. In short, the stakes are high. To date, however, policymakers and public officials have paid little attention to how the annual removal and return of hundreds of thousands of adults—many of whom are parents—affect the families and communities left behind, and how the needs of these populations can best be met collaboratively by the health and human services and criminal justice systems. This chapter will review what we know about prisoners as parents and how their incarceration and reentry affect their children and families.

Prisoners as Parents

Of the 1.4 million people currently in prison, nearly all of them will return home to their families and communities after completing their sentences (Travis 2000). This population of Americans is at high risk on a number of fronts due to high rates of communicable disease, substance abuse, mental illness, homelessness, and unemployment.And a growing number of these prison inmates are parents. In fact, the total number of parents in prison has increased sharply in the last decade—up 60 percent from 452,500 held in state and federal facilities in 1991 to 721,500 in 1997. Indeed, over half of state and federal inmates report having at least one minor child (Mumola 2000).

The population of returning prisoners is generally at high risk along several critical dimensions. Most have not completed high school, have limited employment skills, and are struggling with substance abuse and various health problems. Many returning offenders also struggle with finding affordable housing, a basic but often overlooked prerequisite for establishing stability upon release. Further, returning prisoners today have generally served longer prison sentences, which means they may be less attached to the job market, their families, and the communities to which they return. The prison experience and its psychological consequences can often also impact an individual's postprison adjustment (see chapter 2).

Taken together, the employment, physical and mental health, substance abuse, education, and housing issues facing returning inmates present formidable challenges for their successful reintegration and tax the strained resources of their families, children, and communities. Although inmate parents struggle with a host of issues that in many ways mirror those of the general inmate population, their needs deserve particular attention due the potential consequences for their children. Therefore, an examination of the impact of incarceration and reentry on children and families necessarily starts with the challenges facing prisoners because those challenges all translate into risks and needs for the family members, caregivers, and children left behind. The following section1 will highlight the characteristics of returning prisoners, particularly prisoners who are parents, and briefly examine how they are prepared for release back to their families and communities.

Characteristics of Prisoners with Children

Over half (55 percent) of all state prisoners reported having at least one minor child back in the community.2 Because the overwhelming majority of state prisoners are men, incarcerated parents are predominately fathers (93 percent) (table 1.1). However, the number of incarcerated mothers has grown dramatically in the past decade. Between 1991 and 2000, the number of incarcerated mothers increased by 87 percent, compared with 60 percent for fathers. Incarcerated women are also more likely than male inmates to report having a child (65 percent vs. 55 percent). Nearly half of all parents in state prisons are African American, 29 percent are white, and 19 percent are Hispanic. The median age of inmate parents is 32 years. The majority of parents in state prison (70 percent) do not have a high school diploma, although 31 percent have completed their GED. Less than one-quarter of incarcerated parents reported that they are currently married. (To put this in perspective, inmates without children were less than half as likely to report being married [9 percent]). The majority of inmate parents—three-quarters—reported they never had been or were no longer married (figure 1.1).

Overall, the majority of parents in state prison were either serving time for violent offenses (44 percent) or drug offenses (24 percent). However, mothers and fathers were serving time for different types of offenses. For example, inmate fathers were more likely than mothers to be incarcerated for a violent offense (46 percent vs. 26 percent). Inmate mothers, on the other hand, were more likely than fathers to be serving time for a drug crime, such as possession or trafficking (35 percent vs. 23 percent) (figures 1.2 and 1.3).

Table 1.1. Selected Characteristics of Parents in State Prison, 1997