Incarceration: Beyond the Individual…

Some germane points to consider...

*** Incarceration has an indelible impact that goes far beyond the individual. Inmates are also fathers and mothers; husbands and wives. Tragically, the vast majority of current practices to help shrink recidivism and incarceration with adults all share an unworkable, myopic perspective -- they focus on the individual as the sole unit worthy of study and analysis.

*** Statistics show that 52% of state inmates, and 63% of federal inmates, are parents to an estimated 1.7 million minor children. Moreover, 5 million youth, or 7% of all US children, experience parental incarceration at some point prior to reaching the age of 18. These children with an incarcerated parent are significantly more likely to experience homelessness, housing instability, food insecurity, and lower rates of academic achievement.

*** Oftentimes, incarceration creates financial hardships leading to further criminal activity, increased frequency of mental health disturbances in both partners and children, and an overall destabilization of couples and families. Returning home often presents an arduous path that many find impossible to successfully navigate.

*** The daunting challenges routinely confronted by released prisoners, and those who supervise and provide interventions to them -- regarding substance abuse / misuse, physical well-being and optimal mental health, housing stability, and gainful employment / workforce readiness and participation -- must be radically reimagined and addressed as utterly holistic endeavors.