Although once viewed by policymakers, human services agencies and even prison reform advocates as an individual issue, incarceration is now recognized by diverse publics as a family matter. When a person goes to prison his or her children and other family members are also affected. Prisoners are not only the numbers assigned to them as inmates, but are also sons, daughters, parents, spouses and partners. They had family roles prior to incarceration, often as primary financial providers, caregivers, protectors, and sources of social and emotional support. They had longstanding relationships with family members and significant others and family commitments, obligations, and expectations. Whereas many prisoners are viewed favorably by their kin, others engaged in pre incarceration behaviors that created family tension, stress and harm. Their “being away” provides relief rather than a longing for their return. Whether viewed as good people or “bad apples,” however, it is clear from both the academic literature and personal stories that prisoners are not lone individuals whose incarceration can, or should, be viewed in isolation when developing social policies, programs, and services.
There are numerous articles, books, and other information resources on the impact of incarceration and correctional supervision on families, both when persons are in prison and when they return home. Changes in family income and social status, the high costs of collect phone calls from prison and expenses related to prisons visiting, children’s wellbeing and the disruption in their living arrangements, and the emotional stress related to stigma and secrecy are among the topics often covered. Intimate partner and parental relationship dissolution and the personal challenges of managing separation and family ties, though seldom explored in depth, are also topics that are frequently discussed.
This double issue of the Journal of Offender Rehabilitation reports data and findings from one of the most extensive studies conducted to date on men in prison and their family roles and relationships. This multi-state, longitudinal study included close to 1500 incarcerated fathers who were married or in a committed or co-parenting relationship. The study evaluated family strengthening programs offered in prisons and gathered information about the experiences of families from couples during fathers’ incarceration and following their release from prison. Data were gathered at baseline and over a three year follow-up period.
The seven articles presented here provide information on program impact and families’ experiences and were written by members of the study’s research team. Each article was selected for publication following blind review and critique by scholars and practitioners with expertise and knowledge of family dynamics and criminal justice processing. The lead article, “Whose Punishment, Whose Crime? Understanding Parenting and Partnership in a Time of Mass Incarceration,” presents a review of the literature on families and incarceration as context for the multi-site study. The article that follows “The Multisite Family Study on Incarceration, Partnering, and Parenting: Design and Sample,” provides an overview of the study’s goals, design and methods. Subsequent articles focus on fathers’ parenting relationships prior to and during incarceration, the impact of participation in family programs during incarceration, factors that affect father-child relationships after a father’s release from prison, children’s wellbeing following a father’s return home, and couples’ relationships during reentry.
This study was conducted by RTI International (RTI) with funding from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. Many thanks and much appreciation go to Tasseli McKay, Social Science Researcher at RTI for her leadership in identifying topics and inviting potential authors for this special issue and Linda Mellgren, formerly Senior Social Science Analyst in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for her ongoing support of family-oriented correctional programs and research.