Parental Incarceration — Social and Economic Issues — Galsworthy Criminal Justice Reform Program

Galsworthy Criminal Justice Reform Program

Social and Economic Issues

Overcriminalization significantly undermines human flourishing and social well-being by harming the family, social networks, and social citizenship. Additionally, it prevents capable men and women from utilizing their creative capacities in the marketplace. This creates vast issues involving relations with family while incarcerated and reintegration into society after release. On the economic side, draconian cash bail systems undermine justice through basing someone's ability to attain pre-trial release upon their wealth, not their actual threat to society.

Posts in Parental Incarceration

Millions of Children Lose Their Parents to Incarceration. That Doesn't Have to Happen.

“Today, the number of children separated from their parents totals in the millions. One out of every 28 children has a parent who is incarcerated, and 1 in 4 Black children will have a father who has been incarcerated by the time they turn 14. That’s millions of children not only experiencing the pain and stigma of having a parent behind bars, but also the myriad adverse consequences that come along with it, including financial hardship, health and educational challenges, and often permanent separation from their parents as a result of incarceration.“

The Appeal

October 24, 2019

Parental IncarcerationPhillip ReevesOctober 24, 2019The AppealComment

Prisons Need ‘Child-Friendly’ Facilities for Incarcerated Parents: Study

Parental IncarcerationPhillip ReevesJuly 5, 2019The Crime ReportComment

Prisons Need ‘Child-Friendly’ Facilities for Incarcerated Parents: Study

“The researchers focused on methods authorities can take to improve the quality of family engagement, which they defined as “the systemic inclusion of family in activities that promote children’s development and overall well-being, including the planning, structure, implementation and evaluation of these activities.”“

The Crime Report

July 5, 2019

Parental IncarcerationPhillip ReevesJuly 5, 2019The Crime ReportComment

After Prison, I Became a Better Dad

“Sometimes when I visit classes, parents talk about having to choose between buying basic toiletries at commissary or buying envelopes to write to their children. I think: Kids don’t need society to replace their incarcerated parents, they need society to support their incarcerated parents.”

The Marshall Project

June 14, 2019

Parental IncarcerationPhillip ReevesJune 14, 2019The Marshall ProjectComment

I Thought I Knew My Father, Then I Met Him in Prison

“The next day, I was called out of class. When I got to the office, I saw the principal, two police officers and Mr. Moore. I was so scared. Not because of the cops—I just couldn’t handle letting my father down.“

The Marshall Project

June 12, 2019

Parental IncarcerationPhillip ReevesJune 12, 2019The Marshall Project, DCComment

My First Father-Daughter Dance Was in the Prison Gym

“It’s hard for her mother and I to know what to tell her. When she was younger, she thought I lived in a hotel. Now she knows I live in a prison, where I have lived for the past 30 years. When I was just 16, I was sentenced to life without parole. I have no out date. But thanks to a special program, several other incarcerated parents and I got to spend the day playing games with our kids outside of the walls—and rules—of the prison visiting room.“

The Marshall Project

June 10, 2019

Parental IncarcerationPhillip ReevesJune 10, 2019The Marshall ProjectComment

Father and Son, Next Door Neighbors in Prison

“For almost 20 years, Michael and Kenneth have been incarcerated at Stateville Correctional Center, both serving life sentences. Prison officials would not allow the Keys to be interviewed together, but in separate phone conversations, father and son talked to The Marshall Project about rekindling their relationship behind bars. At the time, they were living in cells next to one another. Their interviews have been edited for length and clarity.“

The Marshall Project

June 10, 2019

Parental IncarcerationPhillip ReevesJune 10, 2019The Marshall ProjectComment

A New Moral Panic Targets Moms

“‘We are making a moral judgment of the mom,’ Skenazy said. ‘We think that we’re making a scientific and clear-eyed judgment of the danger, but actually we are always judging the mom’.“

The Appeal

May 30, 2019

Parental Incarceration, Female IncarcerationPhillip ReevesMay 30, 2019The Appeal, PennsylvaniaComment

The children of incarcerated parents live in their own prison

“If we are truly dedicated to holding people who commit crimes accountable and enhancing public safety, we must find ways to end mass incarceration. We must break the cycle, not only of a recidivism rate that hovers around 66 percent but also of intergenerational incarceration. “

San Francisco Examiner

May 28, 2019

Parental IncarcerationPhillip ReevesMay 25, 2019San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco, Chesa BoudinComment

Let’s Make It Easier for Kids to Visit Incarcerated Parents

“We can speak up for children separated from their parents by incarceration—advocating for programs and policies that make it easier for kids to visit their parents in prison. Inmates, institutions and children benefit. Research shows visits help reduce prison misconduct and recidivism. Evidence also suggests that visits can positively affect a child’s well-being and improve the chances that families will remain intact when a former inmate reenters the community.“

The Marshall Project

May 10, 2019

Parental IncarcerationPhillip ReevesMay 10, 2019The Marshall ProjectComment

Jailed moms to get bailed out for Mother’s Day

“Peter Goldberg, the executive director of the Brooklyn Community Bail Fund, described the funds as an ‘active way for communities to push back against a system that is ransoming freedom.’ Just as, during the Civil Rights Movement, an individual would sometimes bail out activists en masse, today, those who question the fairness of the cash bail system on low-income people can take action, he said. “

ABC

May 10, 2019

Parental IncarcerationPhillip ReevesMay 10, 2019ABC, Mother's DayComment

Indiana Safeguards Rights of Parents in Prison

“At least 32,000 mothers and fathers nationally—none of them accused of child abuse—have permanently lost their children while locked up, often for minor crimes, according to a Marshall Project analysis that was cited in committee hearings for the Indiana legislation.“

The Marshall Project

April 25, 2019

Parental IncarcerationPhillip ReevesApril 25, 2019The Marshall Project, IndianaComment

How Incarcerated Parents Are Losing Their Children Forever

“In about 1 in 8 of these cases, incarcerated parents lose their parental rights, regardless of the seriousness of their offenses, according to the analysis of records maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services between 2006 and 2016. That rate has held steady over time. Female prisoners, whose children are five times more likely than those of male inmates to end up in foster care, have their rights taken away most often.“

The Marshall Project

December 2, 2018

Parental IncarcerationPhillip ReevesDecember 2, 2018The Marshall ProjectComment

We Are Arresting & Incarcerating Moms Who Can't Afford Bail, & The Costs Are Huge

“Currently, there are 219,000 incarcerated women in prison, and 80 percent of those women are mothers. A reported 2.7 million children have an incarcerated parent in the United States, and at least 10 million children have experienced parental incarceration in their lifetimes, so the cost of incarceration has undoubtably impacted mothers, and their children, the most.“

Romper

November 6, 2018

Parental IncarcerationPhillip ReevesNovember 6, 2018RomperComment

Divided IL Supreme Court: Unconstitutional convictions can't be used to end parental rights

"A deeply divided Illinois Supreme Court upheld an appellate court decision in favor of a convicted felon fighting the state’s use of his criminal history to terminate his parental rights. In a strongly worded dissension, three of the seven justices warned of judicial overreach and the unintended consequences of new precedent."

Cook Country Record

August 14, 2018

Parental IncarcerationAnthony BradleyAugust 15, 2018Cook County Record, Illinois

Parents in prison and the lasting health effects on children

"Compared with respondents whose parents were not incarcerated, those who had grown up with an incarcerated mother or father: were less likely to seek medical care when they needed it; were more likely to abuse prescription drugs, smoke cigarettes and have drinking problems; and were more likely to have 10 or more sexual partners."

Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy

July 25, 2018

Parental IncarcerationAnthony BradleyJuly 31, 2018Shorenstein Center

'Prison is not where women need to be': All-female task force wants to cut Illinois’ female prison population in half

"Though their numbers overall are dwarfed by the size of the male prison population, nearly 2,300 women are now serving time in Illinois. With 8 of every 10 female inmates in Illinois a mother and often the primary parent, their removal from society has damaging ripple effects on families and neighborhoods, experts say."

Chicago Tribune

July 18, 2018

Parental IncarcerationAnthony BradleyJuly 31, 2018Chicago Tribunne, Chicago, Illinois

For mothers in jail or prison, being locked up is twice as hard

"People now know mass incarceration is a problem, but less thought is given to children who miss their mothers, who are usually the primary caregivers, when they are locked up."

Press of Atlantic City

July 9, 2018

Parental IncarcerationAnthony BradleyJuly 31, 2018Press of Atlantic City

Children pay the price when counties capitalize on crime, jailing unconvicted moms

"Sixty-one percent of inmates are in pre-trial detention; as they wait to see a judge, mothers who are unable to pay bail sit in jail for months. While they are gone, their children are alienated, they lose their jobs and some lose their housing. The courts should give mothers earlier court dates and waive bail fees for low-income, low-risk offenders. It is hard on kids when either parent goes to prison; but when moms go to jail, it changes their lives."

The Paris Post-Intelligencer

July 2, 2018

Parental IncarcerationAnthony BradleyJuly 30, 2018Paris Post Intelligencer

It’s not just at the border. The U.S. separates families all the time.

"The majority of people held in state and federal prisons are parents of minor children. One in 14 American children , most of them younger than 10, has seen a parent incarcerated. These children are sometimes referred to as the “invisible” victims of mass incarceration, and their suffering has been characterized as its most pernicious ancillary effect."

Washington Post

July 1, 2018

Parental IncarcerationAnthony BradleyJuly 30, 2018Washington Post, Immigration