Constructing and Coping With Incarceration and Re-Entry: Perspectives From the Field. Summary of Roundtable at National Center on Fathers and Families (NCOFF), November 2001.

Goswami, Samir, Unlocking Options for Women: A survey of women in Cook County Jail (PDF). Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, April 2002.

Hagan, John, The Next Generation: Children of Prisoners, University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill, University of Tornoto.

Hairston, J. Creasie Finney,  Prisoners and Families: Parenting Issues During Incarceration (Research Report), From Prisons to Home Conference, January 30-31, 2002, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Hallbäck, Lill, How Do Mothers of Adult Offenders Experience Gestalt Group Therapy?  Master dissertation, Derby University, UK, July 2004.

Hirsch, Amy E., Sharon M. Dietrich, Rue Landau, Peter D. Schneider, Irv Ackelsberg, Judith Bernstein-Baker, and Joseph Hohenstein, Every Door Closed: Barriers Facing Parents with Criminal Records. A joint publication of CLASP and Community Legal Services, Inc., of Philadelphia, documents the legal challenges these parents will face in successfully caring for their children, finding work, getting safe housing, going to school, and accessing public benefits. May 2002. Also available in PDF.

Holt, N. and Miller, D., Explorations in Inmate-Family Relationships, Research Division, California Department of Corrections, Sacramento, California, January 1972. "The central finding of this research is the strong and consistent positive relationship that exists between parole success and maintaining strong family ties while in prison."

Hostetter, Edwin C. and Jinnah, Dorothea T., Research summary on Families of Adult Prisoners, Prison Fellowship Ministries, 1993.

Incarcerated Parents and Their Children. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Data from the 1997 Surveys of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities concerning inmates with minor children. Link to full study.

Inmate Reentry and Public Health, Journal of Correctional Health Care, No. 10, Issue 3.

Inmates' children: Data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and a link to the full study

Jail Inmates, 2002, Bureau of Justice Statistics survey results - 46% had a family member who had been incarcerated.

Jeffries, John M., Suzanne Menghraj and Creasie Finney Hairston, "Serving Incarcerated and Ex-Offender Fathers and Their Families: A Review of the Field." February 2001. Available under Publications at Vera Institute of Justice.

Johnston, Denise, Children of Criminal Offenders & Foster Care. Center for Children of Incarcerated Parents, data presented at the 1999 Child Welfare League of America National Conference on Research in Seattle, Washington.

Jucovy, Linda, Amachi: Mentoring Children of Prisoners in Philadelphia, Public/Private Ventures, June 2003, http://www.ppv.org/content/reports/amachi.html.

Krisberg, Barry A.  and Temin, Carolyn Engel,  NCCD Focus: The Plight of Children whose Parents are in Prison.

La Vigne, Nancy G., Christy Visher and Jennifer Castro, Chicago Prisoners' Experiences Returning Home, Urban Institute, 2004.  "Families are an important source of both emotional and tangible support for released prisoners."

Lengyel, Thomas E. and Jamie Harris, Emerging Issues for Incarcerated Parents and Their Children:
Hawai’i in a National Perspective, Department of Research and Evaluation Services, Alliance for Children and Families, October 2003.

Lengyel, Thomas E., Spreading the Pain - The Social Cost of Incarcerating Parents, Department of Research and Evaluation Services, Alliance for Children and Families, September 2006.

Maintaining Family Contact When a Family Member Goes to Prison: An Examination of State Policies on Mail, Visiting, and Telephone Access Prepared by the Florida House of Representatives Justice Council Committee on Corrections, Representative Allen Trovillion, Chair, November 1998.

Mendez, G., Incarcerated Men and Their Children: Study Report. Examined the attitudes and perceptions of incarcerated men towards child care and raising children. 2000, Abstract only.

Mother-Child Community Corrections Project, a limited-term project funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, and administered by the Center for Effective Public Policy and the International Community Corrections Association with support from the National Institute of Corrections.

Murray, Joseph, The effects of imprisonment on families and children of prisoners in The Effects of Imprisonment, Edited by Alison Liebling (Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge) and Shadd Maruna (Queen's University, Belfast). For information on the entire publication, see http://www.willanpublishing.co.uk/cgi-bin/indexer?product=184392093X

Mustin, Jim, The Family: A Critical Factor for Corrections, November 1987.

Nolan, Claire, Children of Arrested Parents: Strategies to Improve Their Safety and Well-Being, CRB-03-011, July 2003.

Parke, Ross and K. Alison Clarke-Stewart, Effects of Parental Incarceration on Young Children (Research Report), From Prisons to Home Conference, January 30-31, 2002, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Pearson, Jessica and Chris Hardaway, Designing Programs for Incarcerated and Paroled Obligors, Expanded case study.Vol. 1 No. 1, Welfare Information Network, August 2000.

Phillips, Susan D.  and James P. Gleeson, What we Know Now that we Didn’t Know Then about the Criminal Justice System’s Involvement in Families with whom Child Welfare Agencies have Contact. Center for Social Policy and Research, Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of Illinois at Chicago, July, 2007.

Process Evaluation of the Long Distance Dads© Program, Penn State University - Erie, Center for Organizational Research & Evaluation, June 2001

PROJECT SEEK Program Description and Evaluation. This program in Flint, Michigan provides a variety of services to children of prisoners and their families. The evaluation data is encouraging.

Rose, Dina R. ; Todd R. Clear and Judith A. Ryder Addressing the Unintended Consequences of Incarceration Through Community-Oriented Services at the Neighborhood Level. Journal: Corrections Management Quarterly Vol.5 Issue: 3 Date: Summer 2001 Pages: 62-71 (Abstract)

Sachs, Heidi, Support Services for Incarcerated and Released NonCustodial Parents, Vol. 4, No. 6, June 2000, Issue Notes: Welfare Information Network.

Scott, Philippa, The Invisible Sentence Project.  A discussion of major themes from interviews with women who have a partner or family member in prison. Central West Women's Health Centre, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. June 2003.

Services for Families of Prison Inmates, a survey of state and federal departments of corrections. National Institute of Corrections, February 2002 (PDF file).

Sheffer, Susannah and Renny Cushing, Creating More Victims: How Executions Hurt the Families Left Behind © 2006 by the authors and Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights. Reprinted with permission.

Simmons, Charlene Wear, Ph.D., California Law and the Children of Prisoners (CRB 03-003), February 2003. A California Research Bureau report. PDF file.

Simmons, Charlene Wear, Ph.D., Children of Incarcerated Parents (CRB-v7-n2), March 2000. A California Research Bureau report. Abstract and PDF version (281kb).

Travis, Jeremy; Amy Solomon; and Michelle Waul, From Prison to Home: The Dimensions and Consequences of Prisoner Reentry examines prisoner reentry from preparation for release to post-prison supervision.

Travis, Jeremy; Elizabeth M. Cincotta, Amy L. Solomon, Families Left Behind: The Hidden Costs of Incarceration and Reentry

Visher, Christy  and Shannon M. E. Courtney, One Year Out: Experiences of Prisoners Returning to Cleveland, Urban Institute, 2007.

Wagner, Peter, Prison Index: Taking the Pulse of the Crime Control Industry, available from Western Prison Project. Great compilation of facts and figures.

Waiting for Mommy: Giving a Voice to the Hidden Victims of Imprisonment (2003)
A study completed in collaboration with the Centre for Children and Families in the Justice System and funded by the National Crime Prevention Centre (Canada).

Waul, Michelle; Jeremy Travis; and  Amy L. Solomon.  Background Paper: The Effect of Incarceration and Reentry on Children, Families, and Communities (Research Report) From Prisons to Home Conference, January 30-31, 2002, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Weissman, Marsha and Candace Mayer LaRue, Earning Trust from Youths with None to Spare, Child Welfare League of America, Volume 77, 1998; 579–594.

Western, Bruce, Leonard M. Lopoo and Sara McLanahan,  Incarceration and the Bonds Among Parents in Fragile Families, Robert Wood Johnston, December 2002.

Wright, Kevin, Conjugal Visitation: A U.S. Perspective March 1997.

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Center for Children of Incarcerated Parents

Center for Social Policy and Research

National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS)

National Institute of Corrections (NIC) Information Center

Principles, Policies and Practices

Bush, George W., President Bush's Initiative for Children of Prisoners - an FCN source file.

Children, Families, and Correctional Supervision: Current Policies and New Directions from Jane Addams Center for Social Policy and Research, November 1996.

Getting to Work: How TANF and Support Ex-Offender Parents in the Transition to Self-Sufficiency available free from the Legal Action Center, 236 Massachusetts Avenue, NE, Suite 505, Washington, DC 20002, 202/544-5478, 202/544-5712 Fax, lacdc@lac-dc.org.

Hairston,Creasie Finney, Fathers in Prison and Their Children: Visiting Policy Guidelines, March 1996.

Hoffmann, Avraham, Selected Articles: The Prisoner Rehabilitation Authority, Philosophy and Programs, Jerusalem, September 2002 (PDF file 408 KB).

Justice Sunday -  how the day before M. L. King Day can be a day of service. A special FCN REPORT produced in collaboration with the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice and its National Religious Affairs Association. 

Mazza, Carl, Teaching Parenting Skills To Incarcerated Fathers, Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping, Volume 7, number 4, Fall 2001.

Philadelphia Consensus Group Report on Reentry & Reintegration of Adjudicated Offenders, Search for Common Ground - USA, 1601 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20009, (202) 777-2226, March 2002 (PDF).

Policy Recommendations on Families of Adult Offenders from the First National Leadership Conference on Families of Adult Offenders held in Waynesboro, Virginia May 13-15, 1986.

Policy Recommendations on Families of Adult Offenders from a meeting of the Canadian Families & Corrections Network Steering Committee and family members in February, 1995, at Kananaskis, Alberta.

Position Paper for 2006: Family Unification, the Next Step for Family Values, Virginia CURE. A comprehensive state legislative agenda addressing concerns for prisoners and their families. Also available at www.vacure.org

Proceedings of the First National Conference on the Family and Corrections held in Sacramento, California in 1988. (13 articles)

Proceedings of the Fourth North American Conference on the Family and Corrections held in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada in 1993. (40 articles)

Proceedings of the Fifth North American Conference on the Family and Corrections held in Bethesda, Maryland in 1998. (10 articles)

Proceedings of the First North American Conference on Fathers Behind Bars and on the Street held in Durham, North Carolina, 2000.

Proceedings of the Second North American Conference on Fathers Behind Bars and on the Street held in St. Louis, Missouri, 2002.

Self Assessment for Agencies Serving Children and Families prepared by Family and Corrections Network.

Shapiro, Carol, lntegrating Family-Focused Interventions Into the Criminal Justice System

The Wall reflections of family experiences in poetry and prose.

"You're Arrested..." ?: What the Family Needs to Know, What the Family Can Do When someone you love is arrested, the whole family is affected. This book is written to help Illinois families through the "system" of the legal process and, if necessary, through the transition to prison visiting. Much of the booklet is also useful to folks outside Illinois.

Publications

Join Family and Corrections Network and receive our publication FCN REPORT. Each FCN REPORT focuses on a topic important to working with families of prisoners and is edited by a leader in the field.

Books to read with children of prisoners: titles and publishers.

Children On Hold: Improving the Response to Children Whose Parents Are Arrested and Incarcerated. Report of a federally-funded study on child impact, placement, and visitation issues. 1994. 300 pages. $35.00 (Summary costs $15.00). Order from the ABA Center on Children and the Law (202/662-1743).

Parenting from Prison - A Resource Guide for Parents Incarcerated in Colorado

Working with Children and Families Separated by Incarceration - a handbook from Child Welfare League of America, 2000. Available through Amazon.com

Reading List

Many of these books can be purchased through Amazon.com. To check availability, enter author or title and click "Go".

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Anderson, Elijah, Code of the Street: Decency, Violence, and the Moral Life of the Inner City, W. W. Norton & Company, August 1999, ISBN 03-930402-32

Anderson, Elijah, Streetwise: Race, Class, and Change in an Urban Community, University of Chicago Press, 1990, ISBN 0226018164

Bloom, Barbara and Steinhart, D. (1993). Why Punish the Children? San Francisco, CA. Council on Crime & Delinquency; ISBN: 9993022268

Butterfield, Fox, All God's Children, Avon Books, ISBN 0-380-72862-1

Cole, David, No Equal Justice, The New Press, NY, ISBN 1565845668

Cyan-Brock, T.K., Prisoners of Love, Dreamcatcher Books, 2000, ISBN: 0-9707070-0-2.

Edenfield, Ann, Family Arrested: How to Survive the Incarceration of a Loved One. http://www.wingsministry.org/  ISBN: 1-58943-060-3.

Friskies-Warren, Mary F., Considering Marriage -  A Practical Workbook for Couples Separated by Incarceration, 1994, ISBN 1569910022.

Gadsden, Vivian L. (Editor), Wagner, Daniel A. (Editor), Literacy Among African American Youth: Issues in Learning, Teaching, and Schooling (Literacy-Research, Policy, and Practice), Hampton Press, January 1995, ISBN: 18-813032-76

Gaines, Patrice; Laughing in the Dark, Anchor, ISBN 0-385-48027-X

Garbarino, James, Raising Children in a Socially Toxic Environment, Jossey-Bass, September 1999, ISBN # 07-879504-24

Garbarino, James, Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them, Free Press, May 1999. ISBN 06-848590-84

Garbarino, James, Children in Danger: Coping with the Consequences of Community Violence (Jossey-Bass Social and Behavioral Science Series) Jossey-Bass, October 1998, ISBN 07-879465-40s

Gilens, Martin, Why Americans Hate Welfare: Race, Media, and the Politics of Anti-poverty Policy, Univ of Chicago Pr (Trd); ISBN: 0226293645

Gilmore, Mikal; Shot in the Heart, Anchor Books, ISBN 0-385-47800-3

Girshick, Lori, No Safe Haven: Stories of Women in Prison. Northeastern University Press, c/o CUP Services, Box 6525, Ithaca, NY 14851

Franklin and Franklin; Boys Into Men, Dutton, ISBN 0-525-944966

Johnston, Denise (1996). Children of Incarcerated Parents. Pacific Oaks, California. Center for Children of Incarcerated Parents, (May 1995). Lexington Books; ISBN: 0029110424

Karr-Morse, Robin and Meridith S. Wiley, Ghosts from the Nursery, (February 1999)
Atlantic Monthly Pr; ISBN: 0871137348

Katz, Mark, On Playing a Poor Hand Well, (February 1997) W.W. Norton & Co (Sd); ISBN: 0393702324

Mauer, Mark, The Race to Incarcerate, (August 1999), New Press; ISBN: 1565844297

McCall, Nathan; Makes Me Wanna Hollar, Vintage, ISBN, 0-679-41268-9

Mincy, Ronald B. (Editor), Nurturing Young Black Males: Challenges to Agencies, Programs, and Social Policy, Urban Institute Press, February 1994 ISBN 08-776659-82

Morley, Patrick and R. C. Sproul, The Man in the Mirror, ISBN: 031023493X

O'Brien, Patricia, Making it in the "Free World" -  Women in Transition from Prison. State University of New York Press, 2001, ISBN: 0-7914-4861-4.

Rasheed, Mikal M. and Janice M., Social Work Practice with African American Men: The Invisible Presence, (May 1999) Corwin Pr; ISBN: 0761911162

Seymour, C., Creasie Finney Hairston, C.F. (Editors), Children With Parents in Prison: Child Welfare Policy, Program, and Practice Issues (March 2000)
Transaction Pub; ISBN: 076580719X

Weissbourne, Richard, The Vulnerable Child, (April 1997) Perseus Pr; ISBN: 0201920808