More than 5 million children in the U.S. have had at least one parent in prison, according to the most recent analysis of the issue, using the National Survey of Children’s Health.

4 Things to do When a Parent is in Prison

Put another way, 7 percent of all children will have a parent who lived with them go to jail or prison.

The latest figure doesn’t account for the number of children who had a parent not living with them who becomes incarcerated – so the total number of kids with an incarcerated parent is most likely higher. And while the total number of incarcerations has leveled since 2013 after climbing steadily, the number of women incarcerated rose more than 700 percent from 26,378 in 1980 to 215,332 in 2014, according to a report from The Sentencing Project and figures from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The reasons for the spike range from expanded law enforcement efforts to stiffer drug sentencing laws. More than 60 percent of women in state prisons have a child under 18.

The Staggering Impact of Having a Parent Locked Up

“We know from research that children who experience incarceration of a parent have more behavioral problems, more mental health problems, more problems in school with their academic achievement and more health problems as well,” says Kristin Turney, an associate professor of sociology at the University of California, Irvine, who’s studied the impact of parental incarceration on children.

About half of dads and moms who go to prison report they are the primary provider for their children, according to the BJS. A parent’s departure can create economic hardship for families often already struggling to make ends meet. “Losing, say, a father’s income or a mother’s income, because he or she is in jail, causes a ton of stress on families,” Turney says. That can put more strain on the whole family. And research finds children of incarcerated parents are more likely to act out – or exhibit externalizing behaviors, such as being more aggressive, getting into fights or being delinquent from school. They’re also more likely to have attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, be anxious and suffer from depression, Turney says.

“The way that a father’s incarceration affects kids is going to be different from the way that a mother’s incarceration affects kids,” she adds. Though each scenario is unique, often when dads are imprisoned, kids stay with their mother, though she may get additional help – such as from a child’s grandparent or another relative. “When a mother goes to jail, the father is not as often the primary caregiver,” she says. So while extended family will often step in regardless, Turney says that’s especially the case when a mother is incarcerated.

Despite that help, kids tend to experience even more profound upheaval when a parent living at home is incarcerated, as compared to when a parent already living outside the home goes to jail. In the case of mothers going to prison, kids may be more likely to struggle with relational issues. “I found that young children with imprisoned mothers are at risk for having insecure attachment relationships with their mothers and caregivers,” says Julie Poehlmann-Tynan, professor of human development and family studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Kids may become ambivalent or anxious about relationships, instead of enjoying the type of secure relationships that help a child flourish.

Most often though, children have dads in prison, given the disproportionate number of men in prison. “When a father is incarcerated, we see these pretty strong effects in the areas of behavior problems and academic functioning,” Poehlmann-Tynan says. In addition to the possibility a child’s grades may suffer, children of incarcerated dads are more likely to act out, even doing things that could get them in trouble with the law themselves, like stealing. They’re also more inclined to engage in high-risk health behaviors, such as having unprotected sex, drinking alcohol beginning at a younger age or trying drugs, she says.

What Caregivers at Home Can Do to Help Kids of Incarcerated Parents

“Particularly when the child is young, but all through childhood, ensure that they have a safe, educationally stimulating, organized household,” Poehlmann-Tynan says. “That includes really positive interactions with whoever’s there.” While that advice holds for any family, experts say working to achieve such stability – including keeping the child in the same home and school, if possible – is particularly important for kids who’ve been through the tumult of having a parent put behind bars.

Here are other ways experts advise caregivers help children weather a parent’s incarceration:

Keep lines of communication open. Talk to children about what’s happened, and help them share their feelings, suggests Jeanette Betancourt, senior vice president of U.S. Social Impact at Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind “Sesame Street,” in New York City. In 2013, Sesame Workshop started an initiative targeting 3- to 8-year-olds called “Little Children Big Challenges: Incarceration” – introducing a Muppet named Alex who has a father in prison – to help children cope with the incarceration of a parent. Caregivers who are urged check out online tools provided through the initiative, including a caregiver guide, to help kids cope.

Access resources. That could be home visiting services offered via federal block grants to states to help pregnant women and families, particularly those considered at high-risk raise kids who are healthy in all ways – physically, socially and emotionally. Learn more about how your rights to get help for a child with developmental delays through Child Find, which is part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Or contact your local departments of social, or child and family services, if you need financial assistance or medical support. Most services aren’t labeled specifically for caregivers of kids with incarcerated parents, says Poehlmann-Tynan – who is also an expert advisor to Sesame Workshop initiative Little Children Big Challenges: Incarceration, so it’s important to avail yourself of any services that could be helpful.

Arrange visits with the incarcerated parent. This isn’t always possible or advised, such as if a parent has abused a child. But where appropriate, regular visitation can help both the child and incarcerated parent cope with the ordeal, experts say. Ensure it’s done in a way that’s comfortable for the child. Some very young children have trouble with “plexiglass visits,” Poehlmann-Tynan notes. “They don’t understand why they can’t touch a parent.” But research find young children don’t struggle with video visits, she adds, which may be more akin to FaceTime or Skype.

Provide more detail as children get older. For younger children, a simple explanation that dad or mom broke a grown-up rule – or were thought to break a grown-up rule (if disputed) – may suffice. However, as kids get older, share more age-appropriate information to aid their understanding of what’s happening. “I advocate for telling things as simply and plainly as possible – not oversharing, not getting into really tough material that might traumatize,” Poehlmann-Tynan says. “Always reassuring the child that it’s not their fault and that the parent still loves them, I think are really important things to communicate to children.”

Source: US News

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