Children

JS Blog Post November 15, 2016

In 2017 Our Children and Families Will Need Support More Than Ever

Patricia Allard

Impact of Parental Incarceration on Children

Summary:  Over two million children in the United States are lost in a sea of draconian laws that have led to mass incarceration.  Approximately 50 percent of incarcerated individuals in U.S. prisons are parents. Incarceration of parents has devastating effects on their vulnerable children, increasing mental health and behavioural problems, contributing to child homelessness and poverty, and intensifying intergenerational inequalities.  Recent research documenting the harmful impact that parental incarceration visits on children, as well as a growing interest from policymakers and practitioners to mitigate the long-term harms to children and their communities suggests that the time is ripe for policy reform to offer (1) appropriate alternatives to incarceration for parents of young children and/or (2) early release from prison for parents of young children. Read more »

News Article The Root June 19, 2016

#BlackDadsMatter: Mass Incarceration Is Robbing Children of Their Fathers. Here's How to Fix That

In this article, released on Father's Day 2016, Patricia Allard, Senior Research and Policy Analyst with Justice Strategies, and Glenn E. Martin, founder and President of JustLeadership, argue that #BlackDadsMatter, and point to comprehensive policy solutions that can minimize the negative emotional, social and economic consequences of having a dad incarcerated.  Ending mass incarceration for the millions currently in our jails and prisons is receiving more attention in policy circles than ever before.  But, ending the intergenerational legacy of mass incarceration will require that we act now to address the problems and issues confronted by the five million plus children who currently live without their incarcerated parent. 

JS Blog Post June 20, 2016

#BlackDadsMatter: Mass Incarceration is Robbing Children of Their Fathers. Here's How to Fix It.

Patricia Allard & Glenn Martin

#BlackDadsMatter: Mass Incarceration Is Robbing Children of Their Fathers.

JS Blog Post May 31, 2016

Does anyone prioritize the needs of our children?

Patricia Allard

In 2012, the Quaker United Nations Office published Collateral Convicts: Children of incarcerated parents. This report emerged from a day of general discussion convened in 2011 by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. The Committee compiled recommendations and good practices from various countries in the hopes that other governmental stakeholders could see and learn from other jurisdictions that have found a way to prioritize the needs of children whose parents become entangled in the criminal justice system.

While United States continues to be the last holdout of all nations to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child – just a couple years ago the United States and Somalia were the only two states that had not ratified the Convention. That the US government is dragging its feet when it comes to the needs of one of our most cherished national treasures – our children – is frightening, but it does not necessarily come as a surprise given the number of other social values that get thrown under the bus, i.e. health care, education, housing. Read more »

News Article Albuquerque Journal May 14, 2016

Immigration offenders jam federal court in NM

Executive Directors Judy Greene, of Justice Strategies, and Bob Libal, of Grassroots Leadership, offer insights into federal court felony prosecution of immigrants for illegal entry and re-entry in New Mexico in the attached Alququerque Journal article. The number of people apprehended for crossing the border illegally has fallen eighty percent in fifteen years.  However, though fewer people illegally cross the border today, those who are apprehended are more likely to be prosecuted and jailed.  Illegal entry and re-entry prosecutions, especially along the border, have skyrocketed in the last twenty years.  From 2011 to 2015 alone, immigration cases in the New Mexico's federal courts have increased by eighty percent.  New Mexico charges nearly one hundred percent of re-entry cases as felonies, and does not allow defendants to plea down to a lesser charge. 

Recent studies suggest that immigrants who have children or relatives in the U.S. are unlikely to be dissuaded by repeated apprehensions, jail time or deportation.  A 2015 study of eighteen thousand illegal re-entry cases by the U.S. Sentencing Commission found that half of offenders had at least one child living in the United States at the time of their apprehension.  More than two-thirds had relatives other than children in the U.S. Read more »

JS Blog Post April 20, 2016

Breaking the Cycle: A Family-focused Approach to Criminal Sentencing in Illinios

Lauren Feig

 

Breaking the Cycle: A Family-focused Approach to Criminal Sentencing in Illinios

Abstract 

The collateral damage of parental incarceration to children is a hidden cost of current punitive criminal sentencing policies that overlook the needs of children and impose barriers to maintaining strong parent-child bonds. This paper presents a familyfocused approach to criminal sentencing, which aims to promote better outcomes for offenders and their children by aligning sentencing decisions to the severity of the crime committed, the risks and strengths of the offender, and the offender’s family context. It will address existing gaps in federal and state sentencing guidelines and provide policy and practice recommendations to help advance family-focused sentencing in Illinois. 

JS Blog Post March 9, 2016

Make it Quick: The Kids Only Have 24 Hours with Dad

Patricia Allard

Nightline’s Face to Face with Juju Chang presents "One Day with God" -  a prison program that runs in seven states. Fathers have 24 hours to build memories with their children in the prison gymnasium. One father teaches the importance of cursive writing to his son, while another has an intimate moment dancing with his daughter. Chang summarized this precious day as follows: “Throughout the day, it’s clear that the dads are trying to cram years of parenting into a couple of hours.”

In-prison and re-entry programs are critical in maintaining healthy connections between fathers and children. However, we do have the opportunity to further limit the damage visited on children when their parents face a possible prison term. We talk about the best interest of the child but when we consider severing the parent-child bond when a father faces a prison term, we fail to take an inquisitive look at the impact a prison term will have on the family unit, especially children. Read more »

JS Blog Post February 27, 2016

United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent Speaks to the Best Interests of Children of Incarcerated Parents

Patricia Allard

On Thursday, January 21st, 2016, the US Human Rights Network and the Franklin Law Group, P.C. convened a Civil Society Roundtable with the members of the UN Working Group of Experts on People     of African Descent          (UN WGEPAD) during their first official visit to the United States. This convening provided the opportunity for civil society to spotlight persistent issues of racial        discrimination in the United States,    and engage the Working Group on policy recommendations, and   lift up best practices for   replication at the state, national and international levels.   Read more »

JS Blog Post February 23, 2016

Washington Update

Patricia Allard

On January 15, 2016, the Washington State House on Early learning & Human Services Committee, chaired by Rep. Ruth Kagi, held a work session that focused on three distinct issues: (1) Prevocational Services Report, (2) Children of Incarcerated Parents, (3) Executive Session: 2SHB 1999, HB 2323.

The segment of the January 15th work session that addresses the issue of children of incarcerated parents starts at 31.21 minutes.  

http://www.tvw.org/watch/?eventID=2016010089

In brief, during this segment you’ll hear from five speakers addressing the needs and concerns of children who have incarcerated parents. This work session provides important information about developments the state has sought out to address the needs of families entangled with the criminal justice system and child welfare services. Read more »

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