Resources from the former CWLA Federal Resource Center for Children of Prisoners:

An Overview of Statistics

I. Prisoners

• More than 2 million people are incarcerated in our nation's prisons and jails. ¹
• Since 1995, the number of incarcerated individuals has grown by nearly 433,648, an average annual increase of 3.8%. ²
• At midyear 2002, one in every 142 U.S. residents was incarcerated. ³
• More than half of state and federal prison inmates are between the ages of 18 and 34. ⁴
• In 2002, 43.8% of state and federal prisoners were white, and 39.8% were black. Hispanic inmates comprised an estimated 14.7% of the inmate population. ⁵
• At the end of 1998, state prisons operated at between 1% and 16% above capacity, and federal prisons at 31% above capacity. ⁶
• Over 40% of the growth in the prison population occurred in the federal system. ⁷
• During 2001, more than 500,000 sentenced prisoners were released from state prisons, an increase of 8.6%. ⁸
• In 2002, 215,450 parole violators were returned to prison. ⁹
• Between 1990 and 1998, the number of returned parole violators increased 54%, while the number of new court commitments increased 7%. ¹⁰
• Approximately 3.8 million people in this country are on probation or parole. ¹¹

II. Women in Prison

• At the end of 2002, 96,099 women were under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, an increase of 1.9% from 2001, compared with a 1.4% increase for men. ¹²
• Since 1995, the number of women inmates has grown at an average annual rate of 5.4%, higher than the 3.6% average increase for male inmates. ¹³
  1. Family Characteristics and Background
     • The typical female offender comes from a single-parent home in which other family members have been incarcerated. One in five has lived in a family foster home or group care facility while growing up. ¹⁴
     • Nearly 6 in women 10 in state prisons report having experienced physical or sexual abuse in the past; for many, the abuse occurred before age 18. ¹⁵
     • Most women in prison have limited education and poor employment skills; less than half have completed high school. ¹⁶
  2. Incarcerated Women and Drugs
     • In 1996, more than 1/3 of female offenders were serving time for drug-related offenses. ¹⁷
     • From 1990 to 1996, the number of women incarcerated for drug-related offenses doubled. ¹⁸
     • Sixty-five percent of women in prison report having used drugs regularly. ¹⁹
  3. Incarcerated Mothers
     • Approximately 75% of incarcerated women are mothers, and two-thirds have children under age 18. ²⁰
     • Seventy-two percent of women prisoners with children under age 18 lived with those children before entering prison. ²¹
     • Six percent of women entering prison are pregnant. ²²
     • From 1990 to 2000, the number of mothers in prison grew 87%, while fathers increased by 61%. ²³
     • Fifty- four percent of mothers in state prisons said they never had visits from their children. ²⁴
     • Sixty-five percent of mothers report using drugs in the month before the offense. ²⁵
     • Forty-three percent of mothers report being under the influence of drugs when committing their crime. ²⁶
     • Twenty-nine percent of mothers report committing their crime under the influence of alcohol. ²⁷
     • Twenty-three percent of mothers report indications of mental illness. ²⁸
     • Eighteen percent of mothers report having been homeless in the year before arrest. ²⁹

III. Men in Prison

• By midyear 2002, more than 1.8 million men were incarcerated in state and federal prisons and local jails. ³⁰
• Since 1995, the number of male inmates has increased at an average annual rate of 3.6%. ³¹
  1. Family Characteristics and Background
     • The typical male inmate grew up in a single-parent home and has at least one family member who has been incarcerated. More than 1/3 have experienced the incarceration of an immediate family member. ³²
     • One in seven was raised by relatives; 17% spent time in out-of-home care. ³³
     • Thirty percent experienced parental substance abuse as children, and 12% report they were physically or sexually abused in childhood. ³⁴
     • Most male offenders have limited education and poor employment skills. At the time of their arrest, 90% had an income below $25,000, and 69% had an income below poverty level. ³⁵
  2. Incarcerated Fathers
     • Approximately 55% of incarcerated men are fathers of children younger than 18. ³⁶
     • Thirty-two percent of men in prison have two or more children under the age of 18. ³⁷
     • On any given day, more than 500,000 fathers are in prison. ³⁸
     • Fifty-seven percent of fathers in state prisons report never having visits from their children. ³⁹
     • Fifty-eight percent of fathers report drug use in the month before their offense. ⁴⁰
     • Thirty-three percent of fathers report being under the influence of drugs at the time of the offense. ⁴¹
     • Thirty-seven percent of fathers report being under the influence of alcohol at the time of the offense. ⁴²
     • Thirteen percent of fathers report indications of mental illness. ⁴³
     • Eight percent of fathers report homelessness in the year before arrest. ⁴⁴

IV. Children with Parents in Prison

• The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that 2.3 children are affected by the 1.1 million parents incarcerated in prisons or jails, up from 500,000 children in 1991. ⁴⁵
• More than 7 million children have a parent under some form of correctional supervision. ⁴⁶
• With the nation's annual average incarcerated population growing at a rate of 3.8% annually, the number of children with parents in prison will likely continue to increase. ⁴⁷
• Racial disparity in children affected by incarceration: ⁴⁸

  African American children,7.0%

  Hispanic children, 2.6%

  White children, 0.8%

• Fifty-eight percent of children are younger than 10. Their average age is 8. ⁴⁹
  1. Children with Incarcerated Fathers
     • Ninety percent of children with incarcerated fathers are living with their mothers. ⁵⁰
     • Thirteen percent are living with grandparents. ⁵¹
     • Five percent are living with relatives or other friends. ⁵²
     • Two percent are living in a foster home or institution. ⁵³
  2. Children with Incarcerated Mothers
     • More than half of children with incarcerated mothers are living with their grandparents. ⁵⁴
     • One quarter are living with other relatives or friends. ⁵⁵
     • One quarter are living with their fathers. ⁵⁶
     • Ten percent are living in a foster home or institution. ⁵⁷
  3. Children with Incarcerated Parents and the Child Welfare System
     • Approximately 10% of the children of female prisoners and 2% of the children of male prisoners are in a foster home or institution. ⁵⁸
     • We don't know how many of these children were already in the child welfare system when their parents became incarcerated--and how many entered the system specifically because no one was able to care for them when their parents were incarcerated.

Notes