Preview

The Prisoner's Wife: Incarcerated Parents

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1152 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Prisoner's Wife: Incarcerated Parents
Abstract

My papers purpose is to inform the reader of the ever increasing number of U.S children with incarcerated parents. According to Department of Justice data African American children are nine time more likely than white children to have incarcerated parents, A number double that of what was reported in 1991 Most children of incarcerated parents live in poverty before, during and after their paren't incarceration( Johnston 1995).The social consequences of not meeting the need of these children and their non incarcerated parent will come to the attention of social workers in array of fields of practice. This includes child welfare, mental health and child development, crimminal justice , schools and the juvenile justice system.

Included in this paper is current litature on the social problem associated with rising numbers of incarcerated parents. Information on programs that could assist this vulnerable population as well as a review of the book The Prisoner's Wife : A Memoir which discusses the problem from a wife's point of view.

The Prisoner's Wife: A Memoir is a love story set in a brutal prison in upstate New York. Where a lifer Rashad meets Asha at a poetry reading. After the encounter they continued to interact due to Asha volunteer work at the prison. Where she was treated differently because she was not a family member or girlfriend. A change occured in Asha life when she sacrifed companionship and married Rashad. Though she is not a convicted felon but, a hard working author and poet the book tells her story of injustice and humiliation due to her connection to a convicted felon. Whom she later conceives a child with during one of their many conjucal visits. The book goes in depth of the problems associated with her descion to marry and have a child by a man who will spend the rest of his life in the prison system. In the book she discusses the three primary ways to be present in a prison relationship; visits, phone calls and letters.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Children of imprisoned parents are the next example of difficult transition. When a mother or father goes to prison, their children are negatively affected, sometimes ends up into foster care.Their relationships with the imprisoned parent and others around them frequently suffer. They may have to move to a new area, a new home or a new school because of imprisonment. These students…

    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Criminal Justice

    • 5917 Words
    • 24 Pages

    Delcour, J. (2005). Children of misfortune: 7 million have jailed parents. World Editorial Writer, Tulsa World, G6.…

    • 5917 Words
    • 24 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    I believe that the United States needs to take a look into law enforcement and not give police officers so much power. Also, shortening the sentences of these “criminals” would give them a proper rehabilitation as well as break down the barriers of re-entering society. Throughout this paper I will look at the impact prison has on a person as well as that person’s family. First I will provide information and statistics about mass incarceration and the effects it has on a society. With further investigation into mass incarceration, there are obvious positive and negative effects it has on a community. It is also important to focus on individualism. Next I will look at a single family, such as my own, and provide…

    • 4364 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Mass Incarceration Theory

    • 2083 Words
    • 9 Pages

    “A Conceptual Framework for Understanding the Stigmatization of Children of Incarcerated Parents” by Susan Phillips and Trevor Gates, explains the how stigmatization affects the families of the incarcerated by instigating financial hardships and delinquent behavior. “Mass Incarceration, Family Complexity, and the Reproduction of Childhood Disadvantage” by B.L. Sykes and B. Pettit talks about the concept of multiple partner fertility as a form of family complexity, and how this outwardly affects the nuclear family decline. And “Young Adult Outcomes and the Life-Course Penalties of Parental Incarceration” by Daniel P. Mears and Sonja E. Siennick introduce the turning point theory and how it provides further explanation of the perpetuation of intergenerational incarceration. All of the articles address the subject of mass incarceration, and how it disproportionately affects families of color. These theories all support the idea that parental incarceration affects the decline of the nuclear family among minorities in the United States by creating current problems for the families involved with the system, and also perpetuating a cycle that is bound to affect future generations. The perpetuation of the cycle is what keeps the incarceration rates up and the nuclear family rates down over…

    • 2083 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The issue of women’s imprisonment is cyclic. Many incarcerated women have been victimized or have seen violence as a child. Many have grown up in homes where one or more parent was in prison during their adolescence. Growing up with a parent, especially a mother, in prison has extremely detrimental effects on children.…

    • 2076 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    RICHIE, B. (2002) “Families and Incarceration”, in Marc Mauer and Meda Chesney-Lind, Invisible Punishment: The collateral Consequences of Mass imprisonment, New York: The New press, pp.136-149.…

    • 4809 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Incarceration Effects

    • 858 Words
    • 4 Pages

    This initial physical separation due to incarceration introduces a host of distinctive stressors that not only can contribute to damaging the well-being of the mother but also damaging the relationship quality (Wildeman, Schnittker, Turney, 4). The incarceration of a partner causes particularly high distress and loneliness among inmates' wives or partners which can consequentially cause mental health problems among the wives or partners (Wildeman, Schnittker, Turney, 4). This partly is due to mothers increased struggle with managing their households in the father’s absence. Reports show that nearly 70% of fathers in prison contributed financially to their children and families prior to incarceration (Wildeman, Schnittker, Turney, 5). Once these fathers go to prison, the level of support that fathers can provide drops quickly resulting in fewer economic resources that negatively impact co-parents and children’s mental health (Wildeman, Schnittker, Turney, 4). Due to a partner’s incarceration, mothers experience a host of hardships both during and after their partner’s incarceration which helps explain the link between paternal incarceration and depression and life dissatisfaction among the mothers (Wildeman, Schnittker, Turney,…

    • 858 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The judicial system automatically labels them as “criminals”, this title gives the perception that those individuals are barbaric and pose a serious threat to the safety of other individuals. Though some of them are, a large number of them are often given harsh sentences that sometimes weigh more than someone who has committed murder. The judicial system is setup to fail those that “fall victim to the system”, when an inmate is released from a lengthy sentence or false charges; there are no programs present to show them how to survive or provide them with housing. It’s also difficult for them to financially support themselves or their family because; on job applications inmates who have been charged with a felon are required to identify that on job applications. With this classification they are less likely to receive the job or are put in positions that don’t support them well; as a result they may revert back to their illegal activities. Unwarranted arrest and sentencing also result in an emotional and social distress to family members and friends; which cause them to act erratically, producing other generations that will violent or participate in illegal activities, resulting in the continuous cycle of incarceration. Coates(2015) describes the absence of a father as leading to “behavior problems, aggression, and…

    • 1151 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The disproportionate number of African-American males incarcerated within the United States is a difficult social dilemma that needs to be more fully understood and addressed. This paper will explore the mass incarceration of African-American men. The paper will look into the prevalence, causes, consequences, and offer solutions to this crisis. Specifically, seeking to find what factors have created such high levels of criminal justice control for African-American males, and explore the impact on the family and community.…

    • 2992 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Most children, especially young children, are in the primary care of their mother when she is arrested. The degree of disruption in these children 's lives upon the arrest of their mothers depends in large part on where they go and who takes care of them while she is incarcerated. Mothers in state prisons report that their children are in the care of the father in just 25% of cases, while the rest go to a grandmother (51%), another relative (20%), a family friend (4%), or a foster home or agency (11%) (US Department of Justice, 1993). Two percent of children under 18 live alone, without adult supervision. (These statistics do not add to 100% because mothers may be reporting on more than one child, and the children may be placed in different settings.) Grandmothers are the largest caregiver group, and the many difficulties they face have been well-documented.…

    • 881 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    When a parent becomes incarcerated inside a prison whether, the offenders are not the only ones affected. The impact of incarcerating a guardian affects the family on the outside. The children and the remaining guardian, if any, face severe consequences. Studies have shown that children whose parent(s) is incarcerated leads to many psychological, emotional and social disturbances. Imprisonment, incarceration for any length of time, is a life-interrupting event that damages society. Prison rates are raising therefore more and more families being subjected to the effects on incarceration. More and more correctional institutions are accepting family pleas for more family visitation programs.…

    • 2262 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Babies Behind Bars

    • 1838 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The rate of women being incarcerated in prisons has dramatically risen over the last decade. While these women are being locked up for crimes ranging from drug possession to murder, they often come into the prison system with children or pregnant. Nationwide, nearly 2 million children have parents in prison. The number of those with incarcerated mothers is growing rapidly. A recent report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that the number of minors with mothers in prison increased by more than 100 percent in the last 15 years [ (Schwartzapfel, 2008) ]. While some women must give up their children before or after they enter prison, a handful of women get to keep their children. These women serve their sentences at one of nine prisons that have prison nurseries. However, not all women are afforded this privilege which comes with strict qualifications.…

    • 1838 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Incarceration has become a norm in our society. Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that prison population exceeded a record-breaking 2 million last year. Considering higher rates of incarceration, we can easily deduce that more parents are incarcerated now than ever before. The children of these parents are undoubtedly affected. Sadly, these children are often considered a collective group with a particular set of needs-- that is, basic needs like food, clothing and shelter (Johnson and Waldfogel, 2002). However, each child of an incarcerated parent has emotional and psychological needs specific to his/her situation that must be met. Meeting these needs will help ensure positive growth and development.…

    • 1586 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    References: Christian, S. (2009, March). Children of incarcerated parents. Retrieved January 30, 2013, from http://www.ncsl.org/documents/cyf/childrenofincarceratedparents.pdf…

    • 1815 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In her article “What About Us?”, Sylvia Harvey maintains that mass incarceration separates millions of kids from their parents. As the author herself puts it “Among the many collateral consequences of mass incarceration is its impact on children, and the number who are affected is staggering.” I’m of two minds about Harvey’s contention that extended family visitation should be reconsidered. On the one hand, Harvey gives some convincing evidence that without extended family visitation, the majority of black families specifically are torn apart.…

    • 277 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays