The Report > Review of the Re-Entry Process > Prison and Jail

B: Prison and Jail

Policy Statement 13: Children and Families

Make available services and supports for family members and children of prisoners, and, when appropriate, help to establish, re-establish, expand, and strengthen relationships between prisoners and their families.

Men and women who are incarcerated have a range of personal networks in the community, including family members who may rely on them for financial and other support and family members who can be a powerful support to them during incarceration and after release. Inmates should be assessed as early as possible to determine their family responsibilities and the strengths upon which they can draw (see Policy Statement 8, Development of Intake Procedure). Information gathered during the assessment process should help to shape each individual's programming assignments while incarcerated (see Policy Statement 9, Development of Programming Plan) and, in the aggregate, should help corrections administrators to determine what policies and programs should be offered to strengthen family support networks. This policy statement recommends expanding institutional parenting and family-focused programs and strategies to support the broad needs of inmates' children and family members of different ages. Effective prison- and jail-based family policies and programs help prepare prisoners and their families for release and the subsequent re-entry period (see Policy Statement 23, Victims, Families, and Communities).

Defining Family

Family is a broad term. It covers the relationship between the incarcerated individual and:
  • His/her children, both dependent and adult
  • His/her current spouse or partner
  • His/her former spouse(s) or partner(s) including the parent(s) of any dependent children and young adults
  • Current caregiver for any children
  • Family of origin-parents, siblings, extended kin
  • "Family of choice" (friends that are so close that they act like family)

    • Recommendations:

    1.
    In 1999, 1.5 million children had a parent in prison-up 50 percent from the previous decade.
    A.
    Provide parenting and other programs to address a range of family needs and responsibilities of people in prison or jail.
    2.
    About half of all corrections agencies report policies or programs that benefit inmate relationships with their families.
    B.
    Facilitate contact between inmates and their children and other family members during the period of incarceration, when appropriate.
    C.
    Increase collaboration between departments of corrections and child-support agencies to promote information about and access to the child-support process by incarcerated parents and their families.
    3.
    The challenges correctional institutions and other service agencies face in helping incarcerated parents stay connected to their children are considerable.
    4.
    Parenting, even from prison and jail, can have a positive impact on outcomes for both children and parents.