More than 125,000 children in the UK alone are 'sentenced' to separation from their imprisoned parents. This book draws on extensive research and experience to examine the effect this kind of separation can have on the emotional development of a child and on family relationships. They make suggestions for work with prisoners and families.
There are millions of children experiencing parental imprisonment all over the world. This book is about their problems, human rights and how they are treated throughout the justice process from the arrest of a parent to imprisonment and release.
This volume specifically examines current concerns about imprisoned fathers and highlights best practices with a group of children and parents who present significant vulnerabilities. It brings together contemporary works in this area, to share and consolidate knowledge, to encourage comparisons and collaborations across jurisdictions, and to stimulate debate, all with the aim of furthering knowledge and improving practice in this area. Although there is considerable focus on imprisoned mothers, there is limited knowledge or understanding of the needs, experiences, or effective responses to imprisoned fathers and their children, despite men making up the vast majority of the prison population. The ongoing and negative impact of parental incarceration on children is well documented, and includes emotional and behavioural consequences, marginalisation, and stigma, as well as financial and social stresses. However, understanding of these processes, and, importantly, what can assist children and families, is poor. This book seeks to add to the understanding of paternal imprisonment by providing an in-depth exploration of how the arrest, detention, and experiences of fathers during imprisonment can affect their ability to parent and meet the needs of their children. This book was originally published as a special issue of Child Care in Practice.
Over the past 15 years much pioneering work has been done on the social demography of young men's sexual activities, contraceptive use, and fertility experiences. But how do men develop and manage their identities in these areas? In Sex, Men, and Babies, William Marsiglio and Sally Hutchinson provide a compelling and insightful portrait of young men who are capable of anticipating, creating, and fathering human life. Based on in-depth interviews with a diverse sample of 70 single men aged 16-30, this is the most comprehensive, qualitative study of its kind. Through intimate stories and self-reflections, these men talk about sex, romance, relationships, birth control, pregnancies, miscarriages, abortions, visions of fathering, and other issues related to men's self-awareness, and the many ways they construct, explain, and change their identities as potential fathers. The interviews also provide valuable insights about how young men experience responsiblities associated with sex and the full range of procreative events. Accessibly written for a wide audience and raising a host of issues relevant to debates about unplanned pregnancy, childbearing among teens and young adults, and women's and children's well-being, Sex, Men, and Babies is the fullest account available today on how young men conceptualize themselves as procreative beings. Lessons from this study can inform interventions designed to encourage young men to be more aware of their abilities and responsiblities in making babies.
After decades of stability from the 1920s to the early 1970s, the rate of imprisonment in the United States has increased fivefold during the last four decades. The U.S. penal population of 2.2 million adults is by far the largest in the world. Just under one-quarter of the world's prisoners are held in American prisons. The U.S. rate of incarceration, with nearly 1 out of every 100 adults in prison or jail, is 5 to 10 times higher than the rates in Western Europe and other democracies. The U.S. prison population is largely drawn from the most disadvantaged part of the nation's population: mostly men under age 40, disproportionately minority, and poorly educated. Prisoners often carry additional deficits of drug and alcohol addictions, mental and physical illnesses, and lack of work preparation or experience. The growth of incarceration in the United States during four decades has prompted numerous critiques and a growing body of scientific knowledge about what prompted the rise and what its consequences have been for the people imprisoned, their families and communities, and for U.S. society. The Growth of Incarceration in the United States examines research and analysis of the dramatic rise of incarceration rates and its affects. This study makes the case that the United States has gone far past the point where the numbers of people in prison can be justified by social benefits and has reached a level where these high rates of incarceration themselves constitute a source of injustice and social harm. The Growth of Incarceration in the United States examines policy changes that created an increasingly punitive political climate and offers specific policy advice in sentencing policy, prison policy, and social policy. The report also identifies important research questions that must be answered to provide a firmer basis for policy. This report is a call for change in the way society views criminals, punishment, and prison. This landmark study assesses the evidence and its implications for public policy to inform an extensive and thoughtful public debate about and reconsideration of policies.
Children of the Prison Boom describes the devastating effects of America's experiment in mass incarceration for a generation of vulnerable children. Wakefield and Wildeman find that parental imprisonment leads to increased mental health and behavioral problems, infant mortality, and child homelessness which translate into large-scale increases in racial inequality.
"This book is for counselors, social workers, psychologists and teachers who work with children ages 7-12 who have a parent who is in jail or prison. It is designed so that work can be done individually or in small groups. Each chapter includes a brief literature review, suggestions for additional supports, discussion questions, fictional letters between a boy and his incarcerated father, activities, and reproducible worksheets."--Back cover.
This book is a memoir charting the journey of an incarcerated African American father faced with the dilemma of parenting from prison. Coping with the loss of his freedom and struggling to find ways to continue to communicate with his children, provide for them financially, manage stress, provide emotional support, and dealing with the addition of new children. Hundreds of miles away from his children, family and friends, removed from a life of so-called normalcy to one filled with so much uncertainty. Still faced with issues like abandonment, acceptance and visitation are other struggles he must also face in this new world as an incarcerated father. Through all that was a struggle became strength. With an undying love for his children, his energy was focused in continuing to fulfill his duties as a father. With the help of family, friends, community and a desire to truly be a better father, he was able to remain a staple in the fabric of his children's lives until his release from incarceration.
This collaborative work articulates the pressing challenges facing children of incarcerated parents and the diverse family circumstances under which these challenges may be met.
