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Family & Corrections Network |
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October 10-12, 1993 Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
IMPRISONED MOTHERS AND THEIR CHILDREN: MAINTAINING FAMILY TIES/ Les meres detenues et leurs enfants: comment maintenir les liens de famille Barbara Bloom P.O. Box 866, Petaluma, CA 94953, (707) 778-7270 Sont presentes les resultats et les recommandations figurant dans une etude sur les enfants de femmes emprisonnees faite recemment par le National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD). L'etude, intitulee Why Punish the Children? A Reappraisal of the Children of Incarcerated Mothers in America, traite d'un groupe neglige de jeunes dont la vie est perturbee, et souvent pis, par l'experience de la separation d'avec leur mere emprisonnee. L'etude presente des donnees tirees d'une enquete aupres de meres detenues dans des prisons locales et des penitenciers de huit Etats et du district de Columbia. On y trouve egalement des entrevues avec des meres, des fournisseurs de soins, des administrateurs de systemes correctionnels et le personnel d'organismes de protection de l'enfance. L'etude presente les recommandations suivantes: 1. plus de solutions de rechange a l'incarceration pour les detenues 2. de meilleures politiques, procedures et interventions concernant les enfants de meres emprisonnees 3. adoption de programmes, de politiques et de procedures qui encouragent et renforcent la relation mere-enfant 4. reunification des familles 5. coordination des politiques entre les responsables de la justice penale et ceux de la protection de l'enfance. Parents who are in prison face many problems in maintaining meaningful relationships with their children. This is especially true for incarcerated mothers. Indeed, families are more likely to be disrupted by women's incarceration than by men's (Baugh 1985; Datesman and Cales 1983). The United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reported that 76 percent of incarcerated women in America were mothers in 1986. Nine out of ten of these mothers had children under the age of eighteen, and six out of ten had more than one child. By its very nature, imprisonment has an adverse impact on mother-infant bonding. In most instances, mothers are allowed to spend only several days with their babies after delivery. Essential bonding cannot occur in such a short period of time, and this has serious deleterious implications on the future mother-child relationship (McGowan and Blumenthal 1978; Bloom, 1988). The children of incarcerated mothers also experience special problems. In most cases where mothers are living with their children prior to incarceration, the separation caused by imprisonment is a major trauma for the children. Separation between mothers and their young children may lead to emotional, psychological, and physical problems for the children (McGowan and Blumenthal 1978). A Disturbing Trend The number of women in state and federal prisons has nearly tripled over the past decade. In 1980, there were 12,331 women in our nation's prisons. By 1989, that number has grown to 40,566, an increase of 229 percent (BJS 1991). Approximately 87,000 women are currently incarcerated in America's jails and prisons. Most women in United States prisons and jails are women of color. According to BJS, Black women accounted for 46 percent and Hispanic women, 12 percent of the total female prison population in 1986. Additionally, incarcerated women were young (25-29 years old), unmarried, poor, undereducated with sporadic employment histories (ACA 1990; BJS 1991). Most children of inmate mothers live with relatives, particularly maternal grandparents, during their mother's imprisonment. Some children, however, are placed in non-relative foster homes and institutions. In certain cases, siblings may be separated by out-of-family placements. A major impediment to the maintenance of mother-child relationships is that women's prisons, like most, are located in remote areas with little or no public transportation available. As a result, many prisoner mothers receive few, if any visits from their children. Distance from and lack of transportation to correctional facilities pose hardships for relative caregivers, many of whom do not have the financial resources to support frequent visitation. Additionally, many foster parents are reluctant to bring children to visit their mothers because of negative feelings about the "criminal" behavior of the mother or views that prisons are no place for children. Recent Studies of Women Offenders and Their Children In 1978, the National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) published a study, entitled Why Punish the Children? The study offered a comprehensive and critical view of the nation's treatment of children whose mothers were incarcerated in United States jails and prisons. It documented a neglected and forgotten class of young people whose lives were disrupted and often damaged by the experience of isolation from their imprisoned mothers. The present NCCD study, released in January 1993, addresses the current issues and problems faced by incarcerated women, their children, and the children's caretakers. It also discusses the roles and responsibilities of correctional and child welfare agencies and offers an agenda for reform. There are an estimated 1.5 million children of incarcerated parents in the United States (Center for Children of Incarcerated Parents 1992). Although no "official" data exist, NCCD conservatively estimates that on any given day in 1991, there were over 167,000 children whose mothers were behind bars. Approximately three-fourths of all these children, or more than 125,000 young people, were under the age of eighteen. The harm done to children by this experience can be sudden and substantial. There are immediate and sometimes long-lasting psychological effects. Peer relations and school performance may suffer. The mother-child relationship may be permanently damaged, and the child may be placed at greater risk of future incarceration by the criminal justice system. A recent study by The Center for Children of Incarcerated Parents in Pasadena, California found that over 78% of the participants in its Therapeutic Intervention Project (TIP), had a parent who was previously, or is currently in jail or prison. Recent studies estimate that the children of inmates are five to six times more likely than their peers to become incarcerated themselves (Aid to Imprisoned Mothers, 1990). Unfortunately, there continues to be a glaring lack of awareness and concern for these invisible victims. The punishment that these children suffer may not be intentional, but the effect is often the same. These children have unique problems and special needs. They are often traumatized by the arrest and imprisonment of their mothers. Additionally, in many cases, the forced separation from their mothers due to imprisonment, is itself a cause of trauma to children (Bowlby, 1969, 1973, 1980). Methodology Data for the NCCD study were gathered from questionnaires completed by 439 inmate mothers in jails and prisons located in California, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia (housing Washington, D.C. inmates). Collectively, these respondents reported having 870 children under the age of eighteen. The questionnaires solicited information regarding the mother's background, children's background, mother-child relationship and children's caretakers. Questionnaires were also completed by a limited number of caretakers of the children of incarcerated women, child welfare agencies, community-based providers and correctional administrators. This information was supplemented by a series of face-to-face and/or telephone interviews with the mothers, correctional administrators, caretakers, and child welfare agency staff. Profile of the Mothers The women who participated in the study were in their early thirties, unmarried, and mothers of two or more children. Thirty-nine percent were African American, 34% were White, 16% were Hispanic and 8% were Native American. The majority of the women did not complete high school, were unemployed and had incomes below $10,000 per year. Forty-two percent received Aid to Families With Dependent Children. Nearly two-thirds of the women were incarcerated for nonviolent, drug violations and property crimes. Approximately 40% of all women participating in the survey were incarcerated for a drug related offense. The average number of prior incarcerations reported as an adult was 4.1. Sixty-five percent reported regular use of alcohol and/or other drugs. A disturbing 53% reported physical abuse and 42% reported sexual abuse at some time in their lives. Profile of the Children Questionnaires completed by mothers provided data for 870 children. The average number of children per mother was 2.6. The majority of children were under the age of ten, with an average age of 7.8 years. Gender of the children was 52% female and 48% male. African American children represented the largest percentage (43%), followed by White (24%), Hispanic (20%), and Native American (7%) children. Although 73% of the incarcerated mothers reported that they had custody of their children at the time of arrest, only 67% stated that they had lived with their children prior to incarceration. Only 58% of the jailed women had custody of their children at the time of arrest, versus 76% of women in prison, and 55% stated that they lived with their children at the time of arrest, versus 70% of women in prison. This finding is consistent with a study of women in jail (Hairston 1991) wherein 60% of the mothers reported that one or more of their children lived with them prior to arrest. Children's Caregivers Information about caregivers for children of incarcerated women has been limited, at best. For the most part, when a mother is convicted, her children are placed with relatives or friends. NCCD received completed surveys from 35 caregivers, reporting a total of 66 children of incarcerated mothers in their care. Our data illustrated that the majority of children of incarcerated women were living with relatives (in 80% of the cases). Maternal grandmothers over 50 years old were the most frequent caretakers, followed by other relatives, and the children's fathers. Over 7% of the children were in non relative foster care. Of the nearly 9% of women prisoners who gave birth while incarcerated, 67% stated that their infants went to live with relatives. A small percentage were placed in foster care (3.5%) or adopted (1.8%). Relative caregivers experience both financial and emotional adjustments when they assume care for these children. Two-thirds of the caregivers reported that the amount of financial support they received was not enough to meet the necessary expenses of the child. They provided support for the children in their care primarily from Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), and their own personal incomes. Grandparents expressed difficulty in assuming the parental role at a time in their lives when they had been looking forward to retirement. Some of the children in their care are experiencing emotional and health problems which require stamina, and resources that some grandparents feel unable to provide. Perceptions of Children's Problems A number of studies have documented that children of incarcerated parents suffer emotional stress related to the separation caused by a parent's imprisonment (Sack, et. al. 1977; McGowan and Blumenthal 1978; Stanton 1980; Sametz 1980; Fishman 1982). They often exhibit behavior patterns which include anxiety, depression, aggression and learning disorders. More recent research (Kampfner 1990) indicates that some children of prisoners may suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome. Information about the children in our study was limited to responses received from inmate mothers and children's caregivers. The incarcerated mothers perceived that their children had problems primarily related to learning and school performance (18% of the children), and behavior (16%). The children's caretakers tended to report higher levels of disturbance among the children than did the mothers. The caretakers reported problems among the children related to learning or school performance (29% of the children in their care), and behavior (27%). The Center for Children of Incarcerated Parents (1992) reported that children of offenders are "by history and current behavior, the most likely among their peers to enter the criminal justice system". The study found that these children begin to demonstrate emotional reactions to the events of their lives at a very young age. Many express anger, defiance, irritability and aggression. By preadolescence, these children express their reactive behavior in the classroom through disruption, poor performance and truancy. The Center for Children of Incarcerated Parents data suggests that there may be three major factors that place these children at greater risk in comparison with their peers (1) they are traumatized by events relating to parental crime and arrest; (2) they are more vulnerable as a result of separation from their parents; and, (3) they experience an inadequate quality of care due to extreme poverty. Contact Between Imprisoned Mothers and Their Children Despite their concerns about maintaining contact with their children, the women in the NCCD study seldom saw their children while incarcerated. Over 54% of the children had never visited their mothers during this term of imprisonment. Seven percent of the children visited once a year or less. Twelve percent visited every four to six months, and 17% visited once a month. Only 10% of the children visited once or more per week. Distance from the correctional facility was the main reason most often cited for lack of contact between the mothers and their children. Most respondents (62%) stated that their children lived over 100 miles from the correctional facility. Forty-seven percent of the children or jailed mothers lived between 21 and 100 miles away from the facility. Women in jails were visited more frequently than women in prisons (more visits of once or more per week). However, 60% of the children of women in jail never visited their mothers while incarcerated. Letters were the main form of contact between mother and children, followed by telephone calls, and visits. In spite of the lack of contact with their children during incarceration, the majority of mothers planned to re-establish a home for all of their children upon release. The Role of Corrections While there are some correctional institutions with model programs for women inmates and their families, many departments of correction have failed to develop adequate policies and programs for incarcerated mothers and their children. One-third of the mothers responding to the NCCD survey reported an absence of programs at the institutions where they were incarcerated. Issues that merit the attention of jail and prison administrators include the following: choice of placement for the inmate mother, programs for pregnant prisoners, the nature and quality of permitted contacts between mothers and their children, the development of services to enhance family unity upon release, and cooperation with child welfare and other agencies that share responsibility for the inmate mother and her children. Most state correctional agencies have the discretion to select the place of incarceration. Depending on the laws of the state, this administrative choice may include the option of placement in a community corrections program. Community corrections programs are becoming a viable intermediate sanction for inmate mothers and mothers-to-be. NCCD gathered information on community-based residential programs for incarcerated mothers in the states of California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. Some of these programs only accept pregnant women, others serve women with young children and are more broadly focused on the maintenance of family ties and on successful community re-entry. While there are some excellent models of community-based alternatives to incarceration for pregnant women, such as Neil J. Houston House in Boston, and mothers of young children, such as the Community Prisoner Mother programs in California, these programs are too few, and are only able to serve a very small proportion of the women who meet their eligibility criteria. There are community-based programs who work with correctional agencies in some states to facilitate prison visits and to provide family support services. For example, Aid to Imprisoned Mothers in Atlanta, Georgia provides free transportation for family visits, as well as educational and recreational activities for the children of inmate mothers. Models based on California's Prison MATCH Children's Center program have been established at the Chillicothe Correctional Facility in Missouri, Topeka Correctional Facility in Kansas, and in Bexar County, Texas. These types of programs provide inmates with an opportunity to visit with their children in a "child-centered environment," which promotes positive interaction. In general, correctional support programs for incarcerated mothers are scarce, falling short of the overall need. While most corrections agencies have a ways to go in meeting the fundamental needs of imprisoned women and their children, there are limits to the role of corrections. The courts and child welfare agencies have the primary responsibility for decisions affecting the mother's right to legal custody and the children's placement during her term of confinement, and after her release. While the roles of the corrections and child welfare systems are separate, they also overlap to some degree. The Role of Child Welfare Agencies In theory, the children of incarcerated women would seem to be candidates for the benign intervention of child welfare workers delivering family reunification services prescribed by federal and state child welfare reform laws. In practice, the child welfare system, even as reformed, does not respond in any routine manner when a parent is incarcerated. Even when child welfare workers do intervene, their response may be unhelpful to the mother or to her children for a variety of reasons. First, in the absence of a report of abuse or neglect, child welfare workers lack a jurisdictional or legal basis for intervention. This does not imply that these children are beyond the reach of the welfare system; they will become part of the local child welfare caseload if abandonment or neglect is reported. For example, if police officers notify the agency that shelter is needed for the children of an arrested mother, the children are eligible for processing into the welfare system as minors in need of supervision. Most child welfare experts interviewed by NCCD cautioned against a requirement of routine notification. They noted that there may be little reason for child welfare agency intervention when the incarcerated mother has already made suitable arrangements for the care of her children. Additionally, the intervention of the public child welfare agency may actually work to the detriment of the incarcerated mother because she may lose legal custody of her children in court proceedings triggered by an investigation. When the child welfare agency does assume jurisdiction of children whose mothers are imprisoned, it is required to make "reasonable efforts" to provide services that will promote family reunification. The need for reunification services may be especially great in cases where the children are placed in the custody of non-related foster parents, because these caregivers may lack family and emotional ties to the mother. Child welfare agencies have been criticized by some advocates and service providers for failure to deliver mandated reunification services to incarcerated mothers and their children. In some situations, where children are in foster care and the mother is incarcerated at a distance from her children, social workers may find it difficult to facilitate visits to the correctional facility. Social workers may, in some cases, believe that reunification services are unlikely to succeed, based on the mother's past behavior. A child welfare administrator for a large metropolitan city told NCCD that child welfare workers "traditionally view the parents as the source of the problem." Even where the child welfare workers do provide reunification services to incarcerated mothers, those mothers may find it difficult to meet the legal requirements for reunification. For example, child welfare laws provide for termination of parental rights if the parent has failed to maintain an adequate relationship with a child who is in foster care. Imprisonment, by its very nature, poses serious obstacles to the maintenance of mother-child relationships. Although legal and jurisdictional rules keep many children of prisoner mothers out of the child welfare system, there is still much that the system can do once a case falls within its official purview. If the agency is making an initial placement decision, it can exercise the legal preference for placement of the children with extended family members. Another positive approach for child welfare agencies is to ensure that, once involved in the case, they have adequate support services to deliver. For example, the New York City Child Welfare Administration has developed a special program for incarcerated mothers and their children. Their "Family Connectedness Program" facilitates family visits in jail or prison on schedules that encourage maximum family participation. The child welfare workers pick up the children from foster homes and transport them to the various New York correctional institutions. Another way in which child welfare agencies can help in these cases is to acknowledge the needs of the caregivers of the children of incarcerated women. Kinship Care programs, which qualify relative caregivers for foster care payments, are especially beneficial because they deliver higher levels of public support to caregivers in need of greater financial resources. Finally, greater cooperation is needed between child welfare and corrections systems in cases involving incarcerated parents and their children. In particular, these agencies need to devise better mechanisms to coordinate prison and jail visits, and to establish in-house correctional programs relating to parenting and family reunification. Conclusion If the rate of women's imprisonment continues to climb as it has during the past decade, increasing numbers of families will suffer. When mothers are incarcerated they do not automatically relinquish their parental roles, obligations or concerns. Although they may be separated, they continue to care about the well-being of their children, and ultimately, most reunite with their families upon release. Consequently, it is of vital importance to maintain the integrity of the family whenever possible. The NCCD study represents one effort to broaden national awareness of the problems faced by incarcerated mothers and their children, and to establish an agenda for reform. While it can help, no single study can provide ongoing momentum for change. Unless this issue is embraced by policy makers throughout the country, and a reform agenda is implemented, the necessary change will not occur. Our society cannot afford to continue to ignore the plight of the children of incarcerated women, because, as a result, generations to come will suffer the consequences. References: American Correctional Association. The Female Offender: What Does the Future Hold? Washington, D.C.: St. Mary's Press. 1990. Assembly Office of Research. "Children of Incarcerated Parents." A Report to the California Legislature. Sacramento, California. May, 1992. Austin, James, Barbara Bloom and Trish Donahue. 1992. Female Offenders in the Community: An Analysis of Innovative Strategies and Programs. NCCD. Washington, D.C.: National Institute of Corrections. Barnhill, Sandra, and Paul Dressel. 1991. Three Generations At Risk. Atlanta, Georiga: Aid to Imprisoned Mothers. Barry, Ellen. "Pregnant, Addicted, and Sentenced." ABA Criminal Justice Journal. Winter, 1991. 23-27. Baugh, Constance. 1985. Women in Jail and Prison: A Training Manual for Volunteers and Advocates. New York: National Council of Churches. Baunach, Phyllis Jo. 1985. Mothers in Prison. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books. Bertram, Janine, Carla Lowenberg, Carolyn McCall, and Louise Rosenkrantz. 1982. "My Real Prison is Being Separated From My Children." San Francisco, CA: Prison Match, NCCD. Bloom, Barbara. 1989. "Mothers in Prison: A Neglected Population." Centreforce Journal, 18:7. Bloom, Barbara and David Steinhart. 1993. Why Punish the Children? A Reappraisal of the Children of Incarcerated Mothers in America. San Francisco: NCCD. Bowlby, John. 1980. Attachment and Loss. New York: Basic Books. California Blue Ribbon Commission on Inmate Population Management. 1990. Final Report. Sacramento, California. California Department of Corrections. 1990. California Prisoners and Parolees. Sacramento, California. Center for Children of Incarcerated Parents. 1992. "Report No. 6: Children of Offenders." Pasadena: Pacific Oaks College and Children's Programs. Datesman, Susan K. and Gloria L. Cales. 1983. "I'm Still the Same Mommy: Maintaining the Mother/Child Relationship in Prison." The Prison Journal, 143-154. Fishman, Susan Hoffman. 1982. "The Impact of Incarceration on Children of Offenders." Journal of Children in Contemporary Society, 15, 89-99. Fritsch, Travis A. and John D. Burkhead. 1982. "Behavioral Reactions of Children to Parental Absence Due to Imprisonment." Family Relations, 30, 83-88. Hairston, Creasie Finney. 1991. "Mothers in Jail: Parent-Child Separation and Jail Visitation." Affilia, 6:2, 9-27. Immarigeon, Russ and Meda Chesney-Lind. 1992. "Women's Prisons: Overcrowded and Overused." San Francisco, CA: NCCD. Kampfner, Christina Jose. 1990. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in the Children that Witnessed Their Mother's Arrest. Unpublished. Kiser, George C. 1991. "Female Inmates and Their Families." Federal Probation, 56-63. LaPointe, Velma et. al. 1985. "Enforced Family Separation: A Descriptive Analysis of Some Experiences of Children of Black Imprisoned Mothers." Beginnings: The Social and Affective Development of Black Children. Lays, Julie. "Babies Behind Bars." State Legislatures Magazine. May, 1992. LeClair, Daniel. 1990. "The Incarcerated Female Offender: Victim or Villain." Massachusetts Division of Correctional Research Division. McGowan, Brenda G., and Karen L. Blumenthal. 1978. Why Punish the Children? A Study of Children of Women Prisoners. Hackensack, NJ: NCCD. Poe, Lenora Madison. 1992. Black Grandparents as Parents. Berkeley CA: Lenora Madison Poe. Sack, William H., Jack Seidler, and Susan Thomas. 1976. "The Children of Imprisoned Parents: A Psycho social Explanation." American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 46, 618-628. Sametz, Lynn. 1980. "Children of Incarcerated Women." Social Work, 25, 298-303. Stanton, Ann M. 1980. When Mothers Go to Jail., Lexington, MA: Lexington Books. U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics. 1992. Jail Inmates in 1991. Washington, D.C. U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics. 1992. Special Report on Women in Jail 1989. Washington, D.C. U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics. 1991. Special Report on Women in Prison. Washington, D.C. U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics. 1992. Prisoners in 1991. Washington, D.C. |
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