This brief from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) presents information from a multi-site study of the impact of incarceration on father-child relationships. The findings indicate that fewer fathers lived with or financially supported their children after release than before incarceration. Fathers who had more contact with their children during incarceration were more likely to live with their children after release, as were fathers who had happier relationships with their children’s mothers. Also, fathers of younger children reported higher parental warmth and better relationship quality with their children than fathers of older children.

America’s youth confinement rate dropped across all racial and ethnic groups during the past decade, and fell by 40% overall. However, there is still room for improvement. In 2013, America placed more than 54,000 youth in juvenile detention, correctional facilities, and residential facilities. This release from the Annie E. Casey Foundation highlights data from the KIDS COUNT Data Center regarding youth confinement.

This presentation highlights observations and findings from a yearlong study of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Reentry Employment Opportunities (REO) grant programs, with a focus on strategies for connecting justice-involved youth and adult returning citizens to work, education, and training programs. The presentation, given by ICF International at a congressional briefing on reentry and employment hosted by the Union Theological Seminary, provides a high-level overview of the study’s key findings, methods, existing research bases and promising practices in the areas of career pathways, assessment and case management, and justice collaborations.

More than 5 million U.S. children have had a parent in jail or prison at some point in their lives. The incarceration of a parent can have as much impact on a child’s well-being as abuse or domestic violence. However, while substantial amounts are spent on corrections, few resources exist to support family members left behind. This report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation shares proposals to address the increased poverty and stress experienced by the children of incarcerated parents.

Over half of the 2.3 million inmates in the United States are parents of children under the age of 18. Children with incarcerated parents are more likely to exhibit trauma symptoms than other children, and they are at an increased risk of developing behavior problems, substance abuse, academic difficulties, criminal activity, and physical and mental health conditions. Having regular contact with incarcerated parents through visits, phone calls, and other means of communication is important for family well-being during and following incarceration. This report from the Institute for Research on Poverty highlights research that shows the link between parental incarceration and trauma symptoms can be mediated through quality parental visitation experiences.

Between 70 million and 100 million Americans, or as many as one in three American adults, have some type of criminal record. Furthermore, between 33 million and 36.5 million children in the United States, or nearly half of all American children, have at least one parent with a criminal record. Even a minor criminal record can present obstacles to employment, housing, education, public assistance, financial empowerment, and more. This report advocates for a two-generation approach to address barriers to opportunity associated with having a criminal record. Additionally, the report offers policy recommendations to give parents with criminal records and their children opportunities to succeed.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Re-Integration of Ex-Offenders Program provides three main types of services to ex-offenders: mentoring, including one-on-one and group mentoring; employment services such as work readiness training, job training, job placement, job clubs, transitional employment, and post-placement follow-up; and case management and supportive services. This report summarizes the initial impacts of the RExO program on offender outcomes in four areas: service receipt, labor market success, recidivism, and other outcomes. The findings suggest that RExO significantly increased the number and types of services received by ex-offenders.