Socioeconomic Barriers to Child Contact with Incarcerated Parents

Rubenstein, Batya Y.; Toman, Elisa L.; Cochran, Joshua C.

doi:10.1080/07418825.2019.1606270

Cited by 30 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 87 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Carers often did not bring the children for visits due to the distance to the prison and resulting financial cost. This economic disadvantage creates further barriers for maintenance of the relationship between mothers and children (Rubenstein, Toman & Cochran, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal incarceration: Impact on parent–child relationships

Fowler

Rossiter

Power

et al. 2021

J Child Health Care

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Female incarceration is rising steeply in Australia and other high-income countries. The majority of incarcerated women are mothers. Their children represent a particularly vulnerable group, often subject to adverse experiences due to their family’s disadvantaged circumstances involving inadequate housing, food insecurity, poverty, poor health, a lack of personal safety due to violence and resulting trauma. This qualitative study explores parenting experiences of incarcerated mothers separated from their children. Interviews involved 65 mothers in three Australian prisons and 19 stakeholders providing correctional services and support for incarcerated women. Data were analysed using interpretive description. Mothers’ accounts highlighted frustrations resulting from trying to maintain relationships with their children, often exacerbating their separation and compounding parenting difficulties. Two major themes emerged from the data: ‘protecting their children’ and ‘at the mercy of the system’. Mothers described how they tried to protect their children from the consequences of their incarceration, yet many of the correctional system processes and procedures made it even harder to maintain connection. Incarcerated mothers need support in their parenting role. Ideally, this support should commence during incarceration. Further, changes within prison routines could enhance mothers’ efforts to keep in contact with their children, through visits and phone calls.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal incarceration: Impact on parent–child relationships

Fowler

Rossiter

Power

et al. 2021

J Child Health Care

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Facilities also vary in the visitation services they provide-some may allow for overnight or conjugal visits-and the visitation environment may be more or less hospitable. Facilities also vary in how accessible they are to visitors who might have to travel long distances or have trouble finding transportation to and from the facility, and distance has repeatedly been touted as a key barrier to visitation (Clark & Duwe, 2016;Rubenstein et al, 2019). The number of transfers between correctional facilities that an inmate is subjected to could also matter because it is likely to cause some disturbance in set visitation patterns-at the very least because visitation permits tend to be facility-specific, leading to a delay in access for some period of time (generally about two weeks) after each transfer.…”

Section: What Shapes Visitation Patterns?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sentence length could also matter for the time and energy invested in visitation, but studies so far have found no relationship between sentence length and visit frequency (Cochran et al, 2017). Furthermore, prior studies have argued that repeated incarcerations are especially hard on family members and may lead to "visitation fatigue" (Cochran et al, 2017;Connor & Tewksbury, 2015;Rubenstein et al, 2019).…”

Section: What Shapes Visitation Patterns?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Family Visitation Patterns during Incarceration in Denmark

Anker

Wildeman

2021

Journal of Family Issues

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

While qualitative evidence has highlighted psychological benefits of visitation during incarceration, and quantitative evidence has linked visitation to better post-release outcomes for inmates, we know little about heterogeneity in visitation patterns and the factors shaping them. Using Danish administrative data on inmates incarcerated at least a year between 2004 and 2014 ( N = 5,441), we first examine average frequency and duration of family visits across the first year of incarceration and then describe five distinct visitation patterns using latent class analysis. Finally, we investigate what predicts visitation patterns. The findings highlight that (a) there is substantial heterogeneity in the patterns of family visitation and (b) both individual-level and institution-level factors partially predict this heterogeneity. Parenthood, high pre-incarceration income, and long sentences were associated with high levels of visitation and being placed far from home and transferred between facilities were associated with a higher risk of receiving low or decreasing levels of visitation.

show abstract

“…Visits cost about $0.31 per minute (compared with phone calls at $0.21 per minute), which is a drawback. Families often pay exorbitant fees to connect with incarcerated loved ones (e.g., Christian et al, 2006), often resulting in fewer visits for low-income families (e.g., Rubenstein et al, 2019).…”

Section: In-home Video Chat Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Lessons From the Field: Developing and Implementing an Intervention for Jailed Parents and Their Children

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ObjectiveIn this Lesson from the Field, we describe an intervention designed by our transdisciplinary team focusing on opportunities for enhanced parent–child visits when a parent is incarcerated in jail. We present implementation challenges and lessons learned from our pilot feasibility study.BackgroundSeparation from one's parent because of incarceration has become an increasingly common experience for U.S. children, with one in 14 children experiencing a coresident parent leaving for prison or jail. Parental incarceration is associated with elevated risk for less optimal child development outcomes, yet few evidence‐based interventions are available to mitigate this risk.ExperienceOur field experience underscores knowledge about intervention development and lessons learned in four areas: (a) use of visit coaching with jailed parents and caregivers, (b) application of video chat technology, (c) serving families holistically, and (d) developing family‐focused services in jails.Conclusion and ImplicationsOur study highlights the value of integrating multiple perspectives, ensuring flexibility with families, combining technology with enhanced support strategies, and collaborating with community organizations and government agencies. The intervention can be implemented without extensive training and can be useful across different family professionals working with families involved in the criminal justice system.

show abstract

Socioeconomic Barriers to Child Contact with Incarcerated Parents

Cited by 30 publications

References 87 publications

Maternal incarceration: Impact on parent–child relationships

Maternal incarceration: Impact on parent–child relationships

Family Visitation Patterns during Incarceration in Denmark

Lessons From the Field: Developing and Implementing an Intervention for Jailed Parents and Their Children

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About