#17. Not Fabulous: The Children of Incarcerated Parents

Today, the folks on Where We Live, an NPR show, dedicated the entirety of the episode to the children of incarcerated parents. According to the 2007 Sentencing Project report,

1. In 2007, 1.7 million minor children had a parent in prison, an 82% increase since 1991.
2. One in 43 American children has a parent in prison, with particularly broad racial/ethnic variation.
3. One in 15 black children and 1 in 42 Latino children has a parent in prison, compared to 1 in 111 white children.
4. In 2007, there were 809,800 parents incarcerated in U.S. state and federal prisons, an increase of 79% since 1991.
5. In 2007, half (52%) of all incarcerated men and women were parents.
6. In 2004, 59% of parents in a state correctional facility and 45% of parents in a federal correctional facility reported never having had a personal visit from their child(ren).
7. Two-thirds of the incarcerated parent population is non-white.
8. From 1991 to 2007, the number of incarcerated mothers increased by 122%, compared to a rise of 76% for incarcerated fathers.

These are some scary statistics. We know that more citizens are currently incarcerated than ever before, but we don't tend to think about what happens to their children while they're serving time.

To learn about mentoring a child with incarcerated parents, click here.

(from a public defender)