Children with Incarcerated Mothers: Separation, Loss, and Reunification

Description

This Brief focuses on children with incarcerated mothers, a growing and vulnerable population. It presents five empirical studies, along with an introduction and summary chapter. The five empirical chapters examine new qualitative and quantitative data on: Typical occurrences when pregnant women give birth during incarceration in contrast with the benefits of a prison doula program for mothers and newborns. A mother’s criminal justice involvement for substance abuse crimes and its effects on children’s protective services involvement and foster care placement. How children cope with separation from their mothers because of their incarceration and how that separation continues to affect children's lives following family reunification. Differences in recidivism trajectories between mothers and nonmothers during the 10 years following release from incarceration. Alternatives to incarceration for women in residential drug treatment and how community supervision mandates can affect, contribute to, or extend mother-child separation. The final chapter integrates the information from the empirical studies and summarizes implications for policy and practice. Children with Incarcerated Mothers is an essential resource for policy makers and related professionals, graduate students, and researchers in child and school psychology, family studies, public health, social work, law/criminal justice, and sociology. Acknowledgments Contents Editors and Authors About the Editors About the Authors Introduction to Incarcerated Mothers and Their Children: Separation, Loss, and Reunification Maternal Incarceration and Other Forms of Criminal Justice Involvement in the United States Theoretical Considerations and Unifying Themes Previous Research on Maternal Incarceration and Gaps in the Literature Empirical Studies in This Volume Conclusion References Longitudinal Perspectives on Mother-Child Separation Resulting from Incarceration Contexts of Risk Disrupted Childhoods Method Participants Results Findings at T1: Growing Up with a Mother in Trouble with the Law Parent-Child Separation Poverty and Constrained Social Networks Exposure to Violence Maternal Incarceration and Reentry Findings at T2: Continued Disadvantage Different Time, Same Challenges Growing Up Early Effects of Maternal Incarceration Discussion Policy Implications Limitations Conclusion References The Benefits of Doula Support for Women Who Are Pregnant in Prison and Their Newborns Women Who Are Pregnant and Incarcerated Doula Support for Incarcerated Women Method Data Analysis Results Quantitative Data Participant Characteristics Doula Visits Maternal Reports of Program Satisfaction and Time Spent with Baby Labor and Birth Outcomes Qualitative Themes Women Expressed that the Time with Their Infants Was Not Long Enough Women Savored Every Minute with Their Infants Doulas Observed Strong Maternal-Infant Bonding Discussion Doula Support Labor and Delivery Outcomes Neonatal Outcomes Limitations Policy Implications Conclusions References Maternal Pre- and Post-release Behaviors in a Residential Parenting Program (Prison Nursery) Residential Parenting Programs Overview Potential Metrics of Success During and After Participation in the RPP Behavior During Incarceration Behavior After Release from the RPP Explanatory Factors Associated with Behavioral Outcomes Length of Stay Risk-Level Classification Mothers’ Needs Visits Methods Participants Measures Explanatory Variables Length of Stay Risk Needs Visits Outcome Variables Behavior During RPP Participation Behavior During Supervision Planned Analyses Results Descriptive Statistics for Explanatory Variables Length of Stay Risk-Level Classification Needs Visits Descriptive Statistics for Outcome Variables Recidivism Behavior During Incarceration Behavior After Release Correlational Analyses Factors Associated with Behavior During RPP Participation Factors Associated with Behavior During Supervision Discussion Factors Associated with Behavior During RPP Participation Factors Associated with Behavior During Supervision Implications for Policy and Practice Limitations Conclusions References Maternal Imprisonment and the Timing of Children’s Foster Care Involvement The Timing of Maternal Incarceration and Their Children’s Child Protective Services Involvement Termination of Parental Rights Maternal Incarceration and Children’s Exit from the Foster Care System The Current Study Method Sample Measures Analysis Results Mothers Who Were in Prison: Comparing Mothers with and Without Children in Foster Care Descriptive Characteristics Mother’s Criminal Justice System Involvement Factors Contributing to Child’s Foster Care Placement Timing of Social Services Outcomes for Mothers in Prison with Children in Foster Care Cumulative Incidence of Social Services Involvement Exit from Foster Care Discussion Limitations Conclusions References A Longitudinal Examination of Women’s Criminal Behavior During the 7 Years After Release from Jail Incarcerated Mothers Versus Non-mothers Recidivism Among Women Current Study Method Participants and Procedure Measures Demographics Recidivism Plan of Analysis Results Discussion Implications for Children and Families Strengths, Limitations, and Future Directions Conclusion References Redefining Motherhood: Mothering in Mandated Inpatient Substance Use Treatment Method Participants Procedure Data Analysis Results Parenting Histories Current Supervision Conditions Redefining Motherhood Conserving Limited Parenting Resources for Younger Children Confusing Roles Breaking Supervision Rules to Parent Securing a Safe Caregiver Raising Children from Afar Crafting the Least Upsetting Mothering Role Fighting for Custody Discussion References Incarcerated Mothers and Their Children: Implications for Policy and Practice Attachment, Separation, Loss, and Reunion in Context Lessons from Six New Studies Separation, Loss, Reunion, and Long-Term Implications for Children Separation, Loss, and Resilience in the Context of Doula Care Preventing Mother-Child Separation Through a Prison Nursery Program Separation, Loss, and Reunion and Overlap with Foster Care Separation, Reunion, and Separation Because of Recidivism from Jail Disrupted Motherhood in the Context of Community Supervision Current Issues and Parental Incarceration Recommendations for Policy and Practice Gender-Responsive and Trauma-Informed Care Poverty-Informed Care Child Protective Services Involvement as an Opportunity for Intervention Reentry Support Planning for Reentry Helping Children and Mothers Stay in Contact with Each Other Decreasing Reliance on Incarceration and Community Supervision References Index