Effects of Parental Incarceration on Young Children

As part of their project, From Prison to Home: The Effects of Incarceration and Reentry on Children, Families and Communities, The Department of Health and Human Services funded a comprehensive brief, Effects of Parental Incarceration on Young Children that addresses the reactions of chldren with incarcerated parents, as well as: ways of modifying those effects, programs that can help both the parent and the child, how to adopt a whole family approach and why this discussion should inform research and policy issues. 

Different topics are accessible through the table of contents here: 

• Scope of the Problem
• The Impact of Incarceration on Children
• Short-term Effects
• Long-term Effects
• Modifiers of Children’s Reactions to Incarceration
• Programs for Incarcerated Parents
• Beyond the Incarcerated Parent:  The Family Unit as a Target of Intervention
• Visitation Programs
• Co-detention:  Raising Children in Prison
• Alternatives to Incarceration
• Programs for Children of Incarcerated Parents
• Parental Re-entry: The Implication for Children
• Problems Associated with Intervention and Evaluation Efforts
• Theoretical Perspectives to Guide Research and Policy
• Research and Policy Issues: A Look Ahead