The Children & Families of Inmates

The Incarcerated Parents

• According to the Center for Children of Incarcerated Parents – In 2004, there were more than 2,200,000

inmates in the United States– Sixty-one percent (1,340,000) inmates have

children under the age of eighteen – This means that 2.3 million minors have at

least one incarcerated parent

Sentence Length

State Prison Average sentence length is over 12

years

Forty percent of incarcerated parents reported a sentence length of over 10 years

Federal Prison Average sentence length is over 10

years

Criminal activity

• In both State and Federal prison, a majority of the parents were sentenced for violent crimes or drug related offenses

• More than 4 in 5 parents in State prison reported some type of past drug use

• Most have limited education and poor employment skills.

• The majority do not have a high school diploma and 12% have less than an 8th grade education.

• Some have had a family member incarcerated

• Thirty percent have experienced parental substance abuse of either alcohol or drugs

Typical Male Offender

• Comes from a single-parent home

• Has a history of substance abuse

• Over half have an immediate family member who has been incarcerated

• More than a third will be imprisoned again in 3 years

• Mothers were more likely than fathers to be sentenced for drug offenses

Typical Female Offender

• A majority of incarcerated parents are held more than 100 miles from their last place of residence.

•There are 57% of fathers and 54% of mothers who report never receiving a visit from their children while incarcerated.

Prison Visits

Less than 1year

1-4 years

5-9 years

10-14 years

15-17 years

Twenty-two percent of children with a parent in prison are under 5 years old

The majority of children are under “10”

The averageage is

“8”

The Children

• Children of inmates are six times more likely to go to prison than

their peers

• They are seven times more likely to become involved in the Criminal Justice System.

The Children

• Caregivers often lived with the parents and children prior to arrest and usually share the same experiences regarding illicit activity.

• Often hard to find family members who themselves have not been incarcerated or have a criminal history.

• Parental arrest can be both a trauma and a relief

The Family

The Problem

• Family God• Family Inmate• Family Community

3 Broken Relationships

Broken Relationship

Children & Families

God

Broken Relationship

Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”

Isaiah 59:2 “But your iniquities have separated you from your God”

Broken Relationship

Children & Families

Incarcerated Parent

Broken Relationship

Proverbs 29:15 “The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.”

Proverbs 22:6 “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”

Fatherless homes account for:

• 63% of youth suicides

• 90% of homeless/runaway children

• 85% of children with behavior problems

• 71% of high school dropouts

• 85% of youth in prison

• 50+% of teen mothers

Fatherless homes

Fatherless homes

• 70% of juveniles in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes. 

• 70% of juveniles in state reform institutions grew up in single- or no-parent situations. 

• 85% of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a fatherless home.

Financial Impact

• Loss of Income/Services Provided

• Difficulty of Communication

• Collect phone calls are expensive

Emotional Impact

• Five basic development stages for a child– Infancy (0 -2 yrs.)– Early Childhood (2 – 6 yrs)– Middle Childhood (7 – 10 yrs.)– Early Adolescence (11 – 14 yrs.)– Late Adolescence (15 – 18 yrs.)

• Parent-child separation or trauma at any of these stages has a diverse affect on the natural development of the child.

Broken Relationship

Children & Families

The Community

Broken Relationship

Matthew 25:42-43 “For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.”

Negative Stigma

• Children of inmates are six times more likely to go to prison than their peers

• This statistic can create a negative stigma on the child within the community

Negative Stigma

Anger and Resentment– The inmate is in a facility with others who have

incurred his same fate; his family, however, receives a negative social stigma that has several repercussions:

• Compelled to deceive coworkers, friends, and family in order to avoid embarrassment

• Harassment from former friends and acquaintances

• Exclusion from events and society

Loss of Income

The loss of a main source of income in the family and the additional costs of communication can lead to impoverished families and add to the negative stigma in the eyes of the community.

One third of caregivers or families of children with incarcerated parents will tell the children that their parents are away in…

Military Service Hospital School

… any where other than prison

Dishonesty

Broken Relationship

We in the Church are human and many times don’t respond the way God has called us to. Many times we don’t accurately reflect Christ to the least of these in our midst.

The Solution

Bridging the Gap

Reconciliation

Children & Family

Many children and families do not have a relationship with God. They have not placed their faith in Jesus and find themselves separated from their Heavenly Father.

God

God loves these children and families. His heart goes out to them and he understands their pain and difficult decision. He desires an intimate relationship with them now and for eternity.

Bridging the Gap

Reconciliation

Romans 3:23-24 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God… and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Psalm 68:5 “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.”

Reconciliation

2 Corinthians 5:18-20 “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”

Reconciliation

God can and wants to use us, the Church, to help reconcile others, including the

children and families of inmates, back to Himself

We are His vessel and plan to accomplish His purposes of

reconciliation.

Reconciliation

Children & Family

Many inmates choose not to have their children visit them in prison or to be involved in their child’s daily life.

Inmate

Children always think that their relationship with their parent is significant whether or not their parent agrees.

Bridging the Gap

Luke 1:17 “And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous – to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Reconciliation

Reconciliation

• Reconciliation: a spiritual process by which two or more individuals resolve past hurts, offenses, bitterness and unforgiveness.

• Restoration: a rejoining (physically) of the affected individuals living harmoniously in the same household. 6

Reconciliation

• Reconciliation involves– Families discussing their hurt, anger,

and bitterness

• Reconciliation produces:– An understanding of their loved one’s

pain and being willing to forgive them for wrongs incurred

Responsibility

For the Inmate

• Take Responsibility

• Take Steps to Change Behavior

• Positive Steps:– Drug or Alcohol Rehabilitation– Education– Job Training

For the Spouse, Caregiver or Other Family Members – Find a Support System

• Family Members/Friends• Community Services• Local Church

– Express Honest Feelings to the Incarcerated Family Member

Responsibility

Responsibility

For the Child– Respecting the age and maturity level of the

child, children should be told the truth about their parent’s incarceration

– Children should have the opportunity to express and discuss their feelings regarding the incarceration.

– Children should maintain contact with the incarcerated parent.

Child’s needs

Provide a means to build:• Relationships• Confidence • Competence • Faith

Impact

When supported by their families after release, ex-inmates are less likely to use drugs, and more willing to seek out the medical and social services that they need in order to make positive strides toward becoming contributing members of society.

Impact

The Church can help in fostering this very important relationship

The relationship between a child and his or her parent is significant and can

have a huge impact on the life and future of that child.

Reconciliation

Children & Family

There are times when the children and families dealing with incarceration do not feel welcomed by the community and even the Church at times.

CommunityGod desires His Church to have compassion for and look after those that are missing parents in their lives and those that have lost their spouse.

Bridging the Gap

Reconciliation

James 1:27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

Hebrews 13:3 “Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow inmates, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.”

Reconciliation

Romans 15:7 “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”

• Research confirms the positive impact of healthy relationships in the life of a inmate’s child– Relationships greater than 12 months have significant

positive impacts– Relationships lasting 3 – 6 months had no measurable

impacts– Relationships lasting less than 3 months have

significant negative impacts

Long-term commitment

Our response

• Welcome inmates and their families into the congregation

• Provide necessary services or connect them with appropriate resources

• Provide a place where inmates’ families feel welcome

Working Together

• The inmates and their children and families need many groups of people in their lives.

• Churches, volunteers, and organization in each community need to come together to embrace and help the families.

The Results

Reconciliation

The Results

• Inmates are reconciled with their families• Transformation occurs in the lives of the

parents and their children • The families are accepted and enfolded

into the life of the church and society

The Results

Transformation Transformation

Opportunity

How can you and your church help bridge these gaps?