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| en.wikipedia.org |
- 1 in 14 children today in the United States have had at least 1 parent in jail.
- 1 in 9 black children have had at least 1 parent in jail
- 3x: the likelihood of poor children compared to others to have had a parent in jail
- >1/2 of those children come from a household affected by divorce
- >1/3 of those children come from a household affected by domestic violence
- 5 million children have had a parent in prison
An article by USA Today reports on a study by the organization Child Trends on how children are influenced and affected by the immense incarceration rates in the United States. Approximately 2.3 million people are in prison in the United States, according to the NAACP. That leaves approximately 2.7 million children with a parent in jail.
Child Trends recommends improving prison visit protocol and facilities, inmate communication freedoms, and inmate training programs to alleviate the stigma and problems that arise in children suffering from parental incarceration. These children, they report, perform worse in school. Yet, school is where they have the best opportunity to be relieved from their situation, which in addition to incarceration often includes divorce and substance and/or domestic abuse.
The incarceration rate in America has increased 500% in 30 years. This is due largely in part to the "war on drugs" as well as an increase in women responding to domestic violence, according to Deborah Jiang-Stein in the USA Today article. Jiang-Stein was born in prison and has spent her life speaking out against the stigma parental incarceration brings.
Okay, so there is some basic information for all of you who (like I) maybe had no idea what the present state of incarceration is in the United States. I was so flabbergasted by all this information that I wanted to know what the presidential candidates thought about this. Disclaimer: I tend to stay away from politics and politicians, so it is a big deal I sought out information on this. What did I find? Well, it was a struggle. I was comforted by this article which had the same impression but did the dirty work research for me. Then there is this stupid listing which acts like it is doing something helpful but really doesn't. It lists quotes that date back years and years, but doesn't actual address policy reform ideas for the present.
I want presidential candidates to write a paper on the pertinent issues so we all know exactly what they think and plan to do, in detail, without someone interrupting them during a debate. Go to Carly Fiorina's website and you will get a lot of information on her accomplishments and her dedication, blah blah blah. In a quick peruse (because that's all most people have time to give, let's be real), you will find NOTHING of relevant substance that helps you decide if she will make the changes in your country that you want to see. She seems bright and moral and wants support. But what does she know? Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, has an issues page and easy-to-navigate website. But prison reform? Nope.
Maybe prison reform isn't the top issue on every body's mind. To be fair, until yesterday morning it wasn't mine either. But just look at those statistics. 1 in 6 black men can expect to spend some time of his life in prison; at the rate incarceration is increasing, that percentage will increase to 1 in 3. That is crazy, America!
We bombard our presidential candidates with questions about Iran, about oil, about immigration. All these questions about people and places that are not American citizens, meanwhile an enormous percentage of American citizens are sitting in jail, wasting their lives and wasting OUR money, and most importantly, as Child Trends is arguing, putting their children's lives on the line as well. These problems are institutional and cyclical. When a poor person can't pay bail and sits in jail or pleads guilty, their children fail in school. When a child fails in school, the options for the future are slim. They will remain where they are, and probably continue to get into the same issues that their parent or parents faced.
We are failing our children and our future if we don't look at these policies and get to the root of the issue. Why are people more violent, if they are? Why are more people in jail? Is it the system or is it them? We need to understand these questions and figure out answers, because never mind will social security exist. At this rate, a significant portion of the population will be in jail and social security will not even be an option.
I don't know what to suggest, or what to say, but I am not running for president. All I know is children deserve better homes and futures, and I want those who want to run this country to think about that and come up with solutions.
Child Trends recommends improving prison visit protocol and facilities, inmate communication freedoms, and inmate training programs to alleviate the stigma and problems that arise in children suffering from parental incarceration. These children, they report, perform worse in school. Yet, school is where they have the best opportunity to be relieved from their situation, which in addition to incarceration often includes divorce and substance and/or domestic abuse.
The incarceration rate in America has increased 500% in 30 years. This is due largely in part to the "war on drugs" as well as an increase in women responding to domestic violence, according to Deborah Jiang-Stein in the USA Today article. Jiang-Stein was born in prison and has spent her life speaking out against the stigma parental incarceration brings.
Okay, so there is some basic information for all of you who (like I) maybe had no idea what the present state of incarceration is in the United States. I was so flabbergasted by all this information that I wanted to know what the presidential candidates thought about this. Disclaimer: I tend to stay away from politics and politicians, so it is a big deal I sought out information on this. What did I find? Well, it was a struggle. I was comforted by this article which had the same impression but did the dirty work research for me. Then there is this stupid listing which acts like it is doing something helpful but really doesn't. It lists quotes that date back years and years, but doesn't actual address policy reform ideas for the present.
I want presidential candidates to write a paper on the pertinent issues so we all know exactly what they think and plan to do, in detail, without someone interrupting them during a debate. Go to Carly Fiorina's website and you will get a lot of information on her accomplishments and her dedication, blah blah blah. In a quick peruse (because that's all most people have time to give, let's be real), you will find NOTHING of relevant substance that helps you decide if she will make the changes in your country that you want to see. She seems bright and moral and wants support. But what does she know? Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, has an issues page and easy-to-navigate website. But prison reform? Nope.
Maybe prison reform isn't the top issue on every body's mind. To be fair, until yesterday morning it wasn't mine either. But just look at those statistics. 1 in 6 black men can expect to spend some time of his life in prison; at the rate incarceration is increasing, that percentage will increase to 1 in 3. That is crazy, America!
We bombard our presidential candidates with questions about Iran, about oil, about immigration. All these questions about people and places that are not American citizens, meanwhile an enormous percentage of American citizens are sitting in jail, wasting their lives and wasting OUR money, and most importantly, as Child Trends is arguing, putting their children's lives on the line as well. These problems are institutional and cyclical. When a poor person can't pay bail and sits in jail or pleads guilty, their children fail in school. When a child fails in school, the options for the future are slim. They will remain where they are, and probably continue to get into the same issues that their parent or parents faced.
We are failing our children and our future if we don't look at these policies and get to the root of the issue. Why are people more violent, if they are? Why are more people in jail? Is it the system or is it them? We need to understand these questions and figure out answers, because never mind will social security exist. At this rate, a significant portion of the population will be in jail and social security will not even be an option.
I don't know what to suggest, or what to say, but I am not running for president. All I know is children deserve better homes and futures, and I want those who want to run this country to think about that and come up with solutions.
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