Federal law sets timelines for states' decisions about placing foster care children in permanent homes, and, in some cases, for filing to terminate parental rights. Some policymakers have questioned the reasonableness of these timelines for children of incarcerated parents and expressed interest in how states work with these families. GAO was asked to examine: (1) the number of foster care children with incarcerated parents, (2) strategies used by child welfare and corrections agencies in selected states that may support contact or reunification, and (3) how the Department of Health and Human…
Report, Other
This paper discusses three key policy areas regarding incarcerated mothers and fathers in Oregon: prison nurseries and community-based residential parenting programs; foster care laws; and parenting programs for incarcerated fathers. After reviewing background and best practices associated with policy implementation in each area, the paper explores ways in which policymakers, stakeholders, and advocates might address each policy area in Oregon, and suggests the formation of a legislative task force to address these issues. It emphasizes the need for increased policy attention to be focused on…
This report describes the activities and outcomes of the Federal Interagency Reentry Council, a council designed to reduce recidivism among former prisoners and improve outcomes related to employment, education, housing, health, and child welfare. Comprised of more than 20 federal agencies, the Reentry Council coordinates and leverages existing federal resources, dispels myths and clarifies policies, elevates programs and policies that work, and reduces the policy barriers to successful reentry. The following accomplishments of the Reentry Council in its first five years are described:…
This report begins by explaining that since October 2015, the Re-Invest in Supportive Environments (RISE) for Youth Campaign Coalition has strived to reduce the number of youth in Virginia involved in the juvenile justice system, and increase the number of evidence- informed community-based programs and placements. It then lists the principles driving the program and cites statistics on the number of youth incarcerated in Virginia, the recidivism of formerly incarcerated youth, the overrepresentation of African American youth, and the lack of mathematics and English proficiency among…
The Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) project is the first major opportunity to use a behavioral economics lens to examine programs that serve poor and vulnerable families in the United States. The project applies behavioral insights to issues related to the operations, implementation, and efficacy of social service programs and policies. The goal is to learn how tools from behavioral science can be used to deliver programs more effectively and, ultimately, improve the well-being of low-income children, adults, and families. This report presents findings from a…
The vast majority of individuals who are in U.S. jails and prisons will eventually return to the community. Criminal justice policymakers and practitioners everywhere have made it a priority to ensure these individuals, returning in large numbers each year, do not commit new crimes following their release. As part of these efforts, state and local government officials have focused on the need for people released from prison and jail to have jobs, seeing employment as critical to successful reentry. Indeed, incarcerated individuals that have been asked about their post-release plans…
Much of the success of the Federal child support program is contingent upon the ability or willingness of noncustodial parents (NCPs) to provide financial support for their children. As a result, OCSE has an established track record of supporting demonstration and research projects focused on testing innovative program practices that enable NCPs to assume personal responsibility (financial and emotional) for their children. Highlights of numerous demonstration and research projects funded by this office in recent years. This report contains information on projects related to: Fatherhood and…
This chapter addresses the reentry challenges faced by low-skilled men released from U.S. prisons. I empirically characterize the increases in incarceration occurring since 1970 and assess the degree to which these changes result from changes in policy as opposed to changes in criminal behavior. I discuss what is known about the children of inmates and the likelihood that a child in the United States has an incarcerated parent. The chapter then addresses the employment barriers faced by former prison inmates with a particular emphasis on how employers view criminal history records in…
This paper provides an overview of family matters during incarceration as one means of informing public debate and actions in this emerging area of social policy and practice. The problems that families face when a parent is incarcerated and the strategies they use to manage those problems are described. The relevance of the maintenance of prisoners' family and parental relationships to societal and family goals are discussed and the ways in which social policies and administrative practices hinder or support family maintenance are examined. (Author abstract)
This paper explores the number of parents in prisons and jails in the United States and in the State of Hawaii, and unique challenges faced by Hawaiian parents who are incarcerated and their children. The growth in the number of females in the Hawaiian prison population is noted, as well as the State's use of Oklahoma and Arizona private prisons for approximately 24% of its felons. Information is provided on the characteristics of incarcerated parents, Hawaii's prison population profile and trends, negative impact of parental incarceration on children, parents, and families, and problems with…
