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Issues in Criminal Justice (JF)
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CBN Reports on the Children of Incarcerated Parents |
An estimated 1.7 million children in the United States currently have a father or mother behind prison bars.
Even though these children have done nothing wrong, they are frequently stigmatized by shame, poverty and family instability. As a result, they often suffer poor school performance and behavioral and emotional problems.
As a former felon, Pat Nolan, vice president of Prison Fellowship, understands firsthand what happens when children suddenly lose a parent to the criminal justice system. In an interview on CBN, Pat describes the many barriers that prevent children from staying connected to their parent and how that can impact their future.
Like many other inmates, Pat was transferred to a prison hundreds of miles from his home. Visits with his family were few and far between. This hardship is exacerbated when prisons charge as much as 10 times the going rate for long distance telephone calls.
A report—Children of Incarcerated Parents: An Action Plan for Federal Policymakers—recently released by the Council of State Governments (CSG) includes several modest and common sense policy changes to increase family contacts during incarceration and reverse unreasonable corrections practices.
Justice Fellowship is working closely with CSG to encourage state and federal policymakers to change these and other prison policies that harm the children of prisoners and make meeting the needs of these often neglected children a priority.
One way Pat was able to stay in touch with his girls was through Angel Tree, Prison Fellowship’s outreach to children of prisoners. After receiving the gifts he had sent them through the program, his then five-year-old daughter said, “I knew Daddy wouldn’t forget us.”
Watch the interview on CBN. |
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