Research on the Caretaking of Children of Incarcerated Parents: Findings and Their Service Delivery Implications

Other Adults in the United States: Improving Survey Measures of Youths' Non-Parental Adult Relationships

Objective

This study uses in-depth interview data to investigate the impact of non-parental, "other adults" (OAs) on youth development and highlights the importance of better measuring OAs' contributions through the nation's survey infrastructure.

Background

Extant survey measures of youths' social relationships were developed in an anomalous historical period of nuclear family dominance. We argue that these measures do not capture the demographic and economic shifts of the late 20th century, which likely made OAs more salient in youths' lives.

Method

Analyses draw on life history interviews with 40 youth-primary caregiver dyads sampled from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS). We triangulate interview data with questionnaires from the four major nationally representative surveys used in research on youth outcomes to compare how meaningful social ties were described by interviewees versus operationalized in surveys.

Results

We identified four limitations of extant survey measures in capturing youth-OA relationships. Existing measures typically reproduce the nuclear family model by centering biological and stepparent relationships to the exclusion of OAs; capture OAs' financial contributions but not their socioemotional contributions; neglect harmful OA influences; and treat OAs as aggregates, missing within-group heterogeneity. We illustrated these limitations using the rich interview data.

Conclusion

The FFCWS, drawing on these interviews, has added new measures capturing youth-OA relationships to its year 22 survey wave. Future studies can use these measures to better estimate the population-level effects of OAs and alternative family structures on the outcomes of youth raised in nonnuclear and disadvantaged families.

"The system's not getting my grandchild": A qualitative study of caregiver relationship formation for children born to incarcerated mothers

Women who give birth during their incarceration in most states in the US are separated from their newborns, who are placed with non-maternal caregivers. Infants of incarcerated mothers are a highly vulnerable population for which caregiving relationships may be particularly important for their wellbeing. Despite this, incarcerated mothers may be responsible for selecting a caregiver with no formal guidance. However, this process is poorly understood. The goal of this study was to understand how families form caregiving relationships during a mother's incarceration in state prisons in Georgia. Data were drawn from initial interviews from a mixed methods cohort of children exposed prenatally to incarceration. Thirty-six interviews with caregivers and 13 interviews with mothers released from incarceration were analyzed using thematic analysis. Researchers validated data through focus groups with caregivers and nonprofit staff. Caregivers and formerly incarcerated mothers discussed avoiding child welfare custody when making caregiving decisions. Mothers prioritized caregivers who they believed would help them reunify with the child. Caregivers and mothers discussed keeping the child with a family member if possible; mothers overwhelmingly preferred their own parents as caregivers. When mothers choose between several potential caregivers, they prioritized the safety and security of their infant, rejecting those who were substance users, had a history of incarceration, had serious health issues, or who they deemed irresponsible. These factors were frequently brought up when discussing children's fathers as potential caregivers. Thus, choice of caregivers for infants born during incarceration was motivated by family unity and safety and security. Policymakers should target these children and their families for intensive support through social services.

Perceptions of Crime Severity and Stigma Toward Family Members Grieving the Loss of a Person to Incarceration

Family members of incarcerated persons may experience grief related to the incarceration. We examined laypeople's perceptions of family members grieving the loss of an individual to incarceration. Participants (N = 1,095) were randomized to read vignettes that varied by grief trajectory (prolonged vs. resilient), race (Black vs. White vs. Latine), and crime type (violent vs. non-violent). Participants answered questions assessing grief response appropriateness, comfort providing support to the grieving person, beliefs that the grieving person should seek therapy, and how severe they believed the incarcerated person's crime was. Results indicated that prolonged grief trajectories and greater perceived crime severity were associated with decreased ratings of grief response appropriateness. Participants were more likely to endorse the need for therapy-seeking for individuals with prolonged grief (vs. resilience). Participants were less likely to recommend therapy for Black (vs. White) individuals, and women were more likely to recommend seeking therapy than men. The results suggest stigma might exist toward family members grieving the loss of individuals who committed crimes perceived to be more severe by laypeople, which could contribute to negative bereavement outcomes.

An Assessment of Prisoner Reentry, Legal Financial Obligations and Family Financial Support: A Focus on Fathers

Scholars have found that family support is an important facilitator of successful reentry from prison to the community. At the same time, they have argued that owing court-ordered fines or fees, also called legal financial obligations (LFOs), can act as an additional barrier to reentry, especially for parents. There remains a need to test how LFOs impact the financial support formerly incarcerated parents receive from their families. The current study responds to this gap by employing logistic regression analyses of the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI) data to test whether owing court fees is associated with formerly incarcerated fathers’ (1) perceptions of available financial support from family and (2) receipt of financial support from family. We find that owing court fees is not associated with perceptions of available financial support. However, owing court fees has a positive, statistically significant association with receiving financial support from family during the first three months after prison release. This relationship remains after accounting for whether the person owes child support or sees their children monthly. Our results suggest that LFOs may create a greater need for financial support among formerly incarcerated fathers, making the financial challenges of reentry a consequence not just for those who were incarcerated but for their loved ones as well.

Linking parental incarceration and family dynamics associated with intergenerational transmission: A life-course perspective

Children experiencing parental incarceration face numerous additional disadvantages, but researchers have often relied on these other co-occurring factors primarily as controls. In this article, we focus on the intimate links between crime and incarceration, as well as on the broader family context within which parental incarceration often unfolds. Thus, parents' drug use and criminal behavior that precedes and may follow incarceration periods may be ongoing stressors that directly affect child well-being. We also use our analyses to foreground mechanisms associated with social learning theories, including observations and communications that increase the child's risk for criminal involvement and other problem outcomes. These related family experiences often channel the child's own developing network ties (peers, romantic partners) that then serve as proximal influences. We explore these processes by drawing on qualitative and quantitative data from a study of the lives of a sample of respondents followed from adolescence to young adulthood, as well as on records searches of parents' incarceration histories. Through our analyses, we find evidence that 1) some effects attributed to parental incarceration likely connect to unmeasured features of the broader family context, and b) together parental incarceration and the broader climate often constitute a tightly coupled package of family-related risks linked to intergenerational continuities in criminal behavior and other forms of social disadvantage.

Linking parental incarceration and family dynamics associated with intergenerational transmission: A life-course perspective

Children experiencing parental incarceration face numerous additional disadvantages, but researchers have often relied on these other co-occurring factors primarily as controls. In this article, we focus on the intimate links between crime and incarceration, as well as on the broader family context within which parental incarceration often unfolds. Thus, parents' drug use and criminal behavior that precedes and may follow incarceration periods may be ongoing stressors that directly affect child well-being. We also use our analyses to foreground mechanisms associated with social learning theories, including observations and communications that increase the child's risk for criminal involvement and other problem outcomes. These related family experiences often channel the child's own developing network ties (peers, romantic partners) that then serve as proximal influences. We explore these processes by drawing on qualitative and quantitative data from a study of the lives of a sample of respondents followed from adolescence to young adulthood, as well as on records searches of parents' incarceration histories. Through our analyses, we find evidence that 1) some effects attributed to parental incarceration likely connect to unmeasured features of the broader family context, and b) together parental incarceration and the broader climate often constitute a tightly coupled package of family-related risks linked to intergenerational continuities in criminal behavior and other forms of social disadvantage.

Sex, Parental Incarceration, and Violence Perpetration Among a Sample of Young Adults

Limited attention has been directed at adult children with a history of parental incarceration. The goal of the current study is to expand our understanding of the gendered effects of imprisonment on the adult offspring of incarcerated parents through the exploration of violence perpetration among a sample of young adults. Congruent with problem behavior theory, it is hypothesized that young adults who have been affected by parental incarceration will report greater aversive outcomes (i.e., more risk factors and violence perpetration) than their peers without a history of parental incarceration. Furthermore, it is hypothesized that parental incarceration predicts violent perpetration even after controlling for individual and familial risk factors and demographic characteristics. A series of bivariate and multivariate statistical models utilizing self-report data from 534 college students were generated to test said hypotheses. In addition, the moderating effects of students' sex and exposure to parental incarceration on the relationship between violence perpetration and risk factors were explored through the utilization of split logistic regression models. Roughly 1 in 10 (13.3%) students surveyed had experienced parental incarceration. As expected, students affected by parental incarceration were significantly more likely to perpetrate violence than their peers not affected by parental incarceration, net individual and familial risk. Although only a small percentage of students had experienced the imprisonment of a parent, parental incarceration predicted violence perpetration in young adulthood. These findings highlight the need to explore the long-lasting effects of parental incarceration on prisoners' offspring across the life course.

Strengthening Incarcerated Families: Evaluating a Pilot Program for Children of Incarcerated Parents and Their Caregivers

Parental incarceration can be devastating for families. Children may experience difficulties, and the stress on caregivers who take on unexpected childrearing is high. We implemented and evaluated a family-level intervention with caregivers and children experiencing parental (typically maternal) incarceration, in a community setting. We partnered with a community-based organization serving families with an incarcerated parent to conduct a pilot trial of the Strengthening Families Program (SFP). Process evaluation indicated high implementation fidelity, satisfaction, engagement, and attendance. Outcome evaluation results indicated positive changes in family-level functioning, caregivers' positive parenting, and caregiver depression symptoms from pre- to post-intervention, with some changes retained at follow-up 4 months later. Implications for preventive interventions with children of incarcerated parents, and their caregivers, are discussed.

Characteristics of Incarcerated Fathers and Mothers: Implications for Preventive Interventions Targeting Children and Families

The number of children of incarcerated parents in the U.S. has grown dramatically in recent years. These children appear to be at risk for various problems, and a number of family-focused preventive efforts have been attempted. The current study examines differences between incarcerated mothers, incarcerated fathers, and their families on factors that might be important to consider when creating the content and process of preventive intervention programs. Participants were 359 inmates (54% women; 41% minority) who were parents of children between the ages of 3 and 11 years and who parented their children prior to imprisonment. Mothers and fathers were similar on a number of dimensions including age, education-level, number and age of children, and family criminal history, but differences were observed on key variables relevant to outcomes for children and families, including employment history and income, substance use, mental health, trauma experiences and criminal history. Implications for prevention programs are discussed.

Parental incarceration and kinship care: caregiver experiences, child well-being, and permanency intentions

The number of children who reside with a relative because of parental incarceration has increased over the past two decades. Although these children are at risk for negative outcomes, some protective factors, such as a strong and nurturing caregiver experience, buffer the effect of parental incarceration. This study examined the experiences of 72 caregivers and 127 children to learn whether caregivers' stress and strain, readiness and capacity, perceptions of child well-being, and unmet service needs are associated with permanency intentions. The study found strong inclinations against adoption, high intentions toward guardianship, and strong associations between these permanency choices and caregivers' experiences and their reports of unmet service needs and makes recommendations for policy, practice, and research advocacy.

Maternal Separations During the Reentry Years for 100 Infants Raised in a Prison Nursery

Prison nurseries prevent maternal separations related to incarceration for the small subset of children whose pregnant mothers are incarcerated in states with such programs. For a cohort of 100 children accepted by corrections into one prison nursery, subsequent separation patterns are analyzed. The largest numbers are caused by corrections' removal of infants from the nursery and infants reaching a one-year age limit. Criminal recidivism and substance abuse relapse threaten continued mothering during reentry. Focused and coordinated services are needed during prison stay and reentry years to sustain mothering for women and children accepted into prison nursery programs.

Children's contact with their incarcerated parents: research findings and recommendations

Approximately 1.7 million children have parents who are incarcerated in prison in the United States, and possibly millions of additional children have a parent incarcerated in jail. Many affected children experience increased risk for developing behavior problems, academic failure, and substance abuse. For a growing number of children, incarcerated parents, caregivers, and professionals, parent-child contact during the imprisonment period is a key issue. In this article, we present a conceptual model to provide a framework within which to interpret findings about parent-child contact when parents are incarcerated. We then summarize recent research examining parent-child contact in context. On the basis of the research reviewed, we present initial recommendations for children's contact with incarcerated parents and also suggest areas for future intervention and research with this vulnerable population.

Converging Streams of Opportunity for Prison Nursery Programs in the United States

Prison nursery programs allow departments of correction to positively intervene in the lives of both incarcerated mothers and their infant children. The number of prison nurseries in the United States has risen dramatically in the past decade, yet there remains a significant gap between predominant correctional policy in this area and what is known about parenting and infant development. Using Kingdon's streams metaphor, this article examines the recent convergence of problem, policy, and political events related to incarcerated women with infant children and argues that this has created a window of opportunity for development of prison nursery programs. Aday's policy analysis criteria are also used to analyze available evidence regarding the effectiveness, efficiency, and equity of prison nursery programs as policy alternatives for incarcerated women with infant children.

A Preventive Intervention Program for Urban African American Youth Attending an Alternative Education Program: Background, Implementation, and Feasibility

This paper presents background, implementation, and feasibility findings associated with planning and conducting an after-school intervention program in an alternative education setting designed to prevent the initiation and escalation of violence and substance abuse among urban African American youth at high risk for life-long problem behaviors. Evolving from earlier preventive interventions implemented in clinic and school settings, the program, entitled The Village Model of Care, consisted of structured group mentoring, parental support, and community outreach services administered to alternative education students and their primary caregiver(s) during the school year. Over a two-year intake period, 109 youth participated in the present process evaluation study. Findings from the study not only provided relevant demographic information on the characteristics of youth likely to be included in such programs but also indicated the importance of including the family in the rehabilitation effort and the need for school administrative system support for the underlying alternative education approach. The information presented in this report has a direct bearing on the planning of future prevention efforts conducted in similar settings that are aimed at reducing problem behaviors and promoting positive lifestyles among high-risk youth.

Frequency and seriousness of parental offending and their impact on juvenile offending

The present study investigated to what extent the frequency and seriousness of parental offending were related to their offspring offending. Police officers in one Dutch province completed a form to register risk factors and the actions undertaken when they came into contact with offenders aged 8-14 years. These juveniles were followed for 18 months to establish whether or not they committed more crimes. In addition, the parents of these children were traced in the police criminal record systems. Data were gathered from 577 children and their parents. Of these children, 34% were exposed to parental criminality, of which 33 delinquents had two criminal parents and 163 had one criminal parent. If both parents were criminal, the child had the highest frequency of offending. Further, the frequency of parental offending was positively related to the frequency of the child's offending. Concerning the seriousness of juvenile crimes, the seriousness of the committed offences of the father showed a positive relation with the seriousness of his child's offending. Unexpectedly, a negative association was found between the seriousness of maternal offending and the seriousness of her child offending. These results offered a better understanding of the influence that parents with a criminal history have on their children. Further research is needed to identify mechanisms underlying this relationship in order to provide appropriate prevention and intervention strategies.