incarcerated parents
DESCRIPTION
Research presentation for Child-Family-Community course for Cerro Coso Community CollegeTRANSCRIPT
Incarcerated Parents and the Children Who Wait for Them
Barbara LiebermanCHDV C115 70101
Cerro Coso Community CollegeFall 2009
October 28, 2009
"When my mother was sentenced, I felt that I was sentenced. She was sentenced to prison‐to be away
from her kids and family. I was sentenced as a child, to be without my mother"
Bernstein, N., All Alone in the World, Children of the Incarcerated, 2005
1 in
100
1 in
100 2 million
1 in
100 2 million
2%
1 in
100 2 million
2%
9 times
1 in
100 2 million
2%
9 times
3 times
1 in
100 2 million
2%
9 times
3 times
8 years old
1 in
100 2 million
2%
9 times
3 times
8 years oldUNDER FIVE
YEARS OLD
The Children
• Separation from sole caregiver• Fear• Anxiety• Anger• Sadness• Depression• Guilt• Lack of stable home/security• Emotional withdrawal• Failure in school• Delinquency• Risk of intergenerational incarceration
• Grief• Loss, helplessness, and additional trauma• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder• Social stigma• Emotional, psychological distress• Difficult restoration of relationship upon release• Impaired ability to cope with future stress /trauma• Potential for addiction/self-medicating behaviors
• Negative perceptions of police and authority figures
The Parents
• Guilt• Fear • Isolation• Disconnection• Hopelessness• Helplessness
The Caregivers
• Stigma• Shame• Financial strain• Physical/emotional stress• Lack of external resources• Fear of losing children to “the system”• Prisons/jails can be inaccessible• Phone calls expensive
Schools and community
Teachers
Schools and community
TeachersNeighbors
Schools and community
TeachersNeighbors
Caregivers
Schools and community
TeachersNeighbors
CaregiversFriends
Schools and community
TeachersNeighbors
CaregiversFriends
Church family
Schools and community
TeachersNeighbors
CaregiversFriends
Church familyCoaches
Schools and community
TeachersNeighbors
CaregiversFriends
Church familyCoaches
Social workers
H
H o
H o p
H o p
e
National Bill of Rights
Right #1: I have a right to be kept safe and informed at the time of my parent’s arrest.Right #2: I have a right to be heard when decisions are made about me.Right #3: I have a right to be considered when decisions are made about my parent.Right #4: I have a right to be well-cared for during my parent’s incarceration. Right #5: I have a right to see, feel, and touch my parent.Right #6: I have a right to support as I
face my parent’s incarceration.Right #7: I have a right not to be judged,
blamed or labeled because my parent is incarcerated.
Right #8: I have the right to a lifelong relationship with my parent.
County Jail in Independence, CA
Visiting Room (similar to the one in Independence)
Suggestions for Helping Incarcerated Parents Make the Most of Visits with their Children
Infants and toddlers (0-3 years old)•Play Peek-a-boo, patty cake, talk, hold and cuddle them (if allowed).•Draw pictures, count with them, play the face game (e.g., make a happy face, sad face, surprised face, etc.).•Tell/read them a story.•Tell them you love them.• Preschoolers and kindergarteners (4-6 years old)•Draw pictures for your children to color.•Make up short stories using their names as the main characters.•Recite poems and nursery rhymes.•Have them practice their numbers and the alphabet.•Read them a story.•Talk about favorite things you’ve shared with them.•Listen, listen, listen, listen.•Tell them you love them.
School age (7-10 years old)•Make up word puzzles.•Develop ongoing games and stories in which both you and your children can participate.•Play cards, dominoes, Legos, read books, use material available at the prison.•Draw pictures, and encourage your children to do the same.•Listen, listen, listen, listen.•Tell them you love them.
Early teenage years (11-14 years old)•Talk with them. Communication is one of the most important things you have to offer.•Ask them about what’s going on in their life (e.g., school,•friends, activities).•Ask how they are feeling and what you can do to help support them, especially if they help care for younger siblings.•Participate in games, cards, whatever is furnished by your facility.•Listen, listen, listen, listen.•Tell them you love them.
Later teenage years (15-18 years old)•Ask about how they are doing in school and about any plans for college.•Talk with them about their future plans for work, living on•their own, and other “real life” issues like drugs or alcohol and relationships.•If possible, you might try and visit with your teenager alone so that you have some time to talk privately with them.•Listen, listen, listen, listen.•Tell them you love them.
Books for Parents, Caregivers and Professionals to Read with Children of Prisoners
What is Jail, Mommy? By Jackie A. Stanglin and illustrated by Cierra Jade McGuckie, Lifevest Publishing, Centennial, CO. 2006. ISBN 159879248-2
A Visit to the Big House by Oliver Butterworth. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1993, ISBN #0-395-52805-4.
I Know How You Feel Because This Happened to Me. Center for Children with Incarcerated Parents, Pacific Oaks College and Children’s Programs, 714 West California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91105.
Just for You – Children with Incarcerated Parents. Center for Children with Incarcerated Parents, Pacific Oaks College and Children’s Programs, 714 West California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91105.
Mama Loves Me from Away by Pat Brisson, illustrated by Laurie Caple. Boyds Mills Press, 815 Church Street, Honesdale, PA 18431, www.boydsmillspress.com, 2004, ISBN# 1-56397-966-7.
My Mother and I Are Growing Stronger by Inez Maury. New Seed Press, PO Box 9488, Berkeley, CA 947099, ISBN# 0-938678-06-X.
Two in Every Hundred: A special workbook for children with a parent in prison Reconciliation, 702 51st Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37209,
Visiting Day by Jacqueline Woodson, James Ransome (Illustrator), Scholastic Press; 1st edition (October 1, 2002).
When Andy’s Father Went to Prison by Martha Whitmore Hickman. Albert Whitman and Company, 5747 Howard Street, Niles, IL 606487-4012.
A novel for 10-14 year olds: The Same Stuff as Stars by Katherine Paterson, Clarion Books, NY, 2002, ISBN 0-618-24744-0.
Training videos for working effectively with children of incarcerated parents, the parents, and the caregivers:
http://www.dshs.wa.gov/ca/fosterparents/videoCFIP.asp
Resources
Bernstein, Nell. All Alone in the World: Children of the Incarcerated. New Press: New York. 2005.
“Bill of Rights Project”. The National Resource Center on Children and Families of the Incarcerated at Families and Corrections Network. 2009. <http://fcnetwork.org/bill-of-rights-project-is-concluded.php>
“Children of Incarcerated Parents Fact Sheet”. The Anne E Casey Foundation. 9 October 2009.http://www.fcnetwork.org/AECFChildren%20of%20Incarcerated%20Parents%20Factsheet.pdf
Martone, Cynthia. Loving Through Bars: Children with Parents in Prison. Santa Monica Press: Santa Monica, CA. 2005.
Phillips, Susan D. “Overview and Commentary”. The National Resource Center on Children and Families of the Incarcerated at Families and Corrections Network. 2009. 9 October 2009. http://fcnetwork.org/research-review/overview-commentary
“Reaching Out”. Northern California Training Academy. The Center for Human Services, UC Davis Extension. Spring 2008.
Richards, Linda, RN. Telephone Interview. Inyo County Jail. Independence, CA. October 20. 2009.
Simmons, Charlene Wear. “Children of Incarcerated Parents”. March 2000. California Research Bureau. Note Vol. 7, No. 2. 9 October 2009.
Background music: “Ambiences” by Christopher Fryman Open Source license information: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/
All photographs and images from www.photobucket.com