2010-01-29_201012_parentsinprison - It is estimated that between 1 and 2 percent of the nations children age 17 or younger have a parent in the prison

It is estimated that between 1 and 2 percent of the nation’s children age 17 or younger have a parent in the prison system in 1999. In addition, a majority of those children were younger than 10 years old. The imprisoned parents are overwhelmingly male and in a state prison instead of a federal facility, but the number of children with the mother incarcerated (98 percent from 1991 to 1999) are increasing at a faster rate than fathers (58 percent over the same time period). (Mumola) The children are traumatized by the separation from their parents and stigmatized by the experience. They find themselves in situations where they may well be deprived of a regular home, in a household with little or no income, caregivers may shift constantly, they may be separated from any siblings, and they have no parental guidance. “Because of all of this, the children of incarcerated parents should be of special concern to … child welfare workers.” (North Carolina) An emphasis needs to be placed on getting these children into a safe and secure, permanent form of housing. These children may react in different ways to the parental incarceration. According to Wright & Seymour these things can include: ♦ Identification with incarcerated parent, awareness of social stigma ♦ Change in future orientation and intrusive thoughts about their parents ♦ Concerned about outcomes of case, unsure and worried about how to live without mother, concern about an uncertain future ♦ Flashbacks to traumatic events related to arrests ♦ Embarrassment ♦ Fear, anxiety ♦ Anger and hyperarousal ♦ Sadness ♦ Guilt ♦ Low self-esteem ♦ Loneliness, feelings of abandonment, emotional withdrawal from friends and family ♦ Depression ♦ Sleeplessness ♦ Eating and sleeping disorders ♦ Attention disorders and developmental regression ♦ Diminished academic performance, classroom behavior difficulties and truancy ♦ Aggression, acting out, antisocial behaviors, and trauma-reactive behavior leading to early crime involvement All of these will interact, and it will be difficult to tell which factors are the most important with any specific child. In addition, they may result in Developmental Delays