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Mentoring Children of Prisoners

Who are the children?

An estimated two million children between the ages of five and eighteen have a parent who is behind bars. With the incarcerated population growing at a rate of 6% a year, this number continues to rise (Mumola, 2000).

Half of the parents are African American (49.4%), and, although most are fathers (93%), the number of incarcerated mothers has risen in the past decade.
An estimated 65 of female inmates have children (Mumola, 2000); 6 or more of female inmates are pregnant (Beck & Karberg, 2001).
Over 60% of mothers in prison are incarcerated more than 100 miles away from their children (Seymour, 1998; Mumola, 2000).
Most children whose mothers are behind bars are placed with other family members (79%) (Mumola, 2000).

What challenges do children of prisoners face?

A parent's incarceration rarely signals the beginning of a child's or adolescent's difficulties (Travis & Waul, 2004). Instead, it adds to the stress of a family already struggling with such life circumstances as poverty, discrimination, instability, violence and limited access to sources of support.

In some instances, imprisonment can actually bring relief to a family—particularly when the parent was the source of financial strain, abuse, domestic strife or neglect. (Travis & Waul, 2004). But, for the most part, the stigmatization and stress associated with parental arrest, imprisonment and separation are very difficult for children.

Stigma

Unless the incarceration is seen as a direct result of racism, feelings of being stigmatized by peers, teachers and society in general are common among children of prisoners (Gabel 1992; Gaudin & Sutphen, 1993).

Children of prisoners are often haunted by cultural beliefs that they are destined for illicit activities themselves (Eddy & Reid, 2004; Hairston, 2004)

Unseen victims

Clark (1995) has noted how children of prisoners become the unseen victims of their parent's incarceration, rarely getting the support they need. In particular, many children of prisoners do not tell even their closest friends or potentially helpful adults of their parent's imprisonment—out of shame and fear of rejection (Hairston, 2004; Fishman, 1990; Koenig, 1985).

As a result, children of prisoners are often denied the attention and support that others receive when separated from a parent because of death, divorce or military deployment.

Financial burdens

The families of prisoners often face the loss of a breadwinner—and, in many cases, incur additional transportation, legal and long-distance telephone costs (Mumola, 2000).

Family instability

Family relationships and stability are often strained by the incarceration, with children experiencing multiple changes in caregivers and/or living arrangements, loss of parental socialization through role modeling, support and supervision

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