Parents In Prison: Children Share the Pain
Posted April 26, 2016 11:25 am | Public News Service
TALLAHASSEE,
FL – Florida has the third-largest number of children in
the nation who have, or have had, a parent in jail or
prison, which experts describe as a "shared sentence"
due to the lifelong impact on kids.
A new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation finds kids with an incarcerated parent are often living under financial stress, and are more likely to be homeless.
Dr. Norin Dollard is the director for Florida Kids Count and she says courts and communities need to come together to support these kids.
"We know that kids who aren't in poverty, it can push them into poverty, and we know that there's a whole host of things that unfortunately come along with that in terms of promoting their development," she says.
The
report recommends policies to help stabilize families
experiencing incarceration, like keeping location in
mind during sentencing so that parents are kept close by
their kids, and providing more job and housing support
for those reentering their communities.
There are more than 5.1 million children in the United
States, and 312,000 in Florida, with a parent who's been
incarcerated.
Scot Spencer, associate director for advocacy and
influence with the Casey Foundation, says losing regular
parental involvement at an early age can be as
devastating to a child as abuse or domestic violence.
"They're losing their parent in those critical years of
child development and so, there are some long-standing
impacts," says Spencer. "It can increase a child's
mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety,
and it can hamper educational achievement in that
child."
Dollard adds the smallest victims often get lost in the
shuffle.
"We get the news about people being arrested, and the
money we spend on prison, which is all well and good,
but we forget the little ones at home," she says. "They
were not responsible for whatever caused their parents
to be arrested."
Photos/graphics, layout, and links added by the Observer | Annie E. Casey Foundation
This piece was reprinted by the Columbia County Observer with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.