Promoting Positive Outcomes for Incarcerated Parents and their Children

Camille Glinton (L) kisses her mother Luz Gonzalez at California Institute for Women state prison in Chino, California May 5, 2012. An annual Mother's Day event, Get On The Bus, brings children in California to visit their mothers in prison.

Camille Glinton kisses her mother Luz Gonzalez at California Institute for Women state prison in Chino, California.

Photo by Algerina Perna / Reuters

A significant portion of inmates incarcerated in the United States are parents of minor children, resulting in approximately 2.7 million children having at least one parent in prison. The rates are disproportionately higher for Black and Hispanic children. Research suggests the incarceration of a parent can put a strain on the parent-child relationship and increase risk for child delinquency, poor academic achievement, and social and emotional problems.

Many U.S. prisons offer services and programs designed to support incarcerated parents and their children; however, little is known about exactly what programs exist, how they are implemented, and the extent to which incarcerated parents participate.

The Promoting Positive Outcomes for Incarcerated Parents and their Children project addressed these gaps by exploring and documenting available prison-based programs for incarcerated parents who have minor children.

Featured Report

Programs for Incarcerated Parents
About 2.7 million U.S. children have a parent in prison. This can strain the parent-child relationship and increase the risk for child delinquency, poor academic achievement, and social and emotional problems. What programs do prisons offer to support families? And are they responsive to needs based on gender and culture?

Research Questions

What prison-based programs exist for incarcerated parents?
What are the key program components, how are programs implemented, and what are the programs' resources?
To what extent do available programs support gender and cultural responsiveness?
What are prison officials' assessments of the efficacy of the programs, and what are their perceptions of the strengths and challenges of implementation?

iara Wiseman, 8, gets a piggy-back ride from her mom, Amanda Cooper during a special mothers-and-daughters time at Maryland Correctional Institution for Women.

Photo by Algerina Perna / Reuters

Key Findings

Most facilities offer at least one program.
Most programs appear to use nationally known—and, in some cases, researched-based—parenting interventions. Programs support parent well-being and nurture positive family relationships through parenting education; reading, writing, and literacy; and visitation supports.
Few parenting programs offer reentry supports, direct supports for children, mental health supports, education and training, or legal supports; however, these services are commonly offered to residents at some correctional facilities.
Most programs employ eligibility criteria to enroll parents, such as a child age requirement. Most administrators noted that programs are open to any caregivers.
Programs meet relatively frequently, and nearly half of the programs surveyed meet one or more times per week.

More Findings and Recommendations