A Quantitative Look at Incarcerated Parents and their Parenting Responsibilities in an Urban County Jail

An emerging body of research has shown that parental incarceration can negatively impact the emotional, social, and developmental health of children. However, most of the research has been conducted within prison populations. To better understand the scope and potential impact of parental incarceration in a large urban county jail, we surveyed 1,404 inmates in a county jail on their children, parenting responsibilities, and history of incarceration. Nearly half of respondents stated they were parents of at least one child under the age of 18. Over 90% of the incarcerated parents had been to jail or prison previously, 61% reported being the primary financial support for their child(ren), and 62% lived with their children prior to incarceration. Incarcerated mothers were more likely to be have lived with their children and been the primary financial support for their children prior to incarceration compared to incarcerated fathers. Public health officials should recognize the downstream effects of parental incarceration in local jails and ensure appropriate resources, programs, and policies are in place to meet the needs of impacted children.