Children of the jailed suffer a lifetime of sorrows

New Hampshire State Prison for Women

With the millions of people in jails, what happens to their children? The question poses multiple ones, in fact, as children without parenting can have problems. Then there are those who are children themselves and are in prison. Both sets of children end up suffering for many years, and perhaps a lifetime, from the stigma of or time in jail or being without a parent.

What researchers have found is those children who have or have had a parent in prison go through the same experiences of bereavement as occurs when a parent dies. This includes a deterioration in both physical and mental health, problems with money, school difficulties, problems with housing and care arrangements, susceptibility to victimization and the risk of future offending. In fact the children of those who have been in prison are more likely than other children to also become prisoners.

There have also been many children who were sentenced themselves to die in prison. The Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that it is unconstitutional to execute a child. On the other hand, children were still sentenced to live out their lives in prison until that too was declared unconstitutional in 2009. Nevertheless there remain many juveniles in prison, whose lives become a revolving prison door. Among those who were imprisoned as children, a high percentage return to prison during adulthood. In addition, those who have been in prison have reduced incomes during their lifetimes and other social problems as well, including more frequent physical and mental health problems. 

Those who face prison terms face the loss of contact with their children. So the losses for the child are also part of a parent's loss, reflecting the fact that with the great numbers of people in American prisons, the future of those there will likely be passed to future generations, making prison reform even more difficult if that becomes true and prison populations continue to rise.