Supporting Children Of Incarcerated Parents In Schools

Drawing on qualitative research conducted with young people in New York, this volume highlights the unique experiences of children of incarcerated parents (COIP) and counters deficit-based narratives to consider how young people’s voices can inform and improve educational support services. Supporting Children of Incarcerated Parents in Schools combines the author’s original research and personal experiences with an analysis of existing scholarship to provide unique insight into how COIP experience schooling in the United States. With a focus on the benefits of qualitative research for providing a more nuanced portrayal of these children and their experiences, the text foregrounds youth voices and emphasizes the resilience, maturity, and compassion which these young people demonstrate. By calling attention to the challenges that COIP face in and out of school, and also addressing associated issues around race and racism, the book offers large and small-scale changes that educators and other allies can use to better support children of incarcerated parents. This volume will be of interest to scholars and researchers interested in the sociology of education, race and urban education, and the impacts of parental incarceration specifically. It will also be of benefit to educators and school leaders who are supporting young people affected by these issues.

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In this volume, prominent scholars from multiple disciplines examine how parental incarceration affects children and what can be done to help them. In the United States today, roughly 1 in 25 children has a parent behind bars. This insightful volume provides an authoritative, multidisciplinary analysis of how parental incarceration affects children and what can be done to help them. Contributors to this book bring a wide array of tools for studying the children of incarcerated adults. Sociologists and demographers apply sophisticated techniques for conducting descriptive and causal analyses, with a strong focus on social inequality. Developmental psychologists and family scientists explore how proximal processes, such as parent-child relationships and micro-level family interactions, may mediate or moderate the consequences of parental incarceration. Criminologists offer important insights into the consequences of parental criminality and incarceration. And practitioners who design and evaluate interventions review a variety of programs targeting parents, children, the criminal justice system, and the plight of poor children more broadly. Given the vast implications of mass incarceration for individual children and their families, as well as the future of inequality in the United States, this book will serve as a definitive resource for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers.

Parental Incarceration makes available personal stories by adults who have had the childhood experience of parental incarceration. These stories help readers better understand the complex circumstances that influence these children’s health and development, as well as their high risk for intergenerational crime and incarceration. Denise Johnston examines her own children’s experience of her incarceration within the context of what the research and her 30 years of practice with prisoners and their children has taught her, arguing that it is imperative to attempt to understand parental incarceration within a developmental framework. Megan Sullivan, a scholar in the Humanities, examines the effects of her father’s incarceration on her family, and underscores the importance of the reentry process for families. The number of arrested, jailed, and imprisoned persons in the United States has increased since 1960, most dramatically between 1985 and 2000. As the majority of these incarcerated persons are parents, the number of minor children with an incarcerated parent has increased alongside, peaking at an estimated 2.9 million in 2006. The impact of the experience of parental incarceration has garnered attention by researchers, but to date attention has been focused on the period when parents are actually in jail or prison. This work goes beyond that to examine the developmental impact of children’s experiences that extend long beyond that timeframe. A valuable resource for students in corrections, human services, social work, counseling, and related courses, as well as practitioners, program/agency administrators, policymakers, advocates, and others involved with families of the incarcerated, this book is testimony that the consequences of mass incarceration reach far beyond just the offender.

This book centers directly impacted Black children who have lived through parental incarceration. Their stories are told from holistic perspectives incorporating the full range of collateral consequences. Shifting from the Eurocentric and capitalistic viewpoint, they move us beyond negative outcomes to a positive prism by providing insider perspective, strategy, advice, and compelling experiences. We center Black children of incarcerated parents’ (BCOIP’s) rich narratives to show how they are conscious thinkers with perspectives that can help reimagine all Black children’s lives and futures. These stories help readers better understand the importance of exploring the revolutionary ways BCOIP continue to survive, thrive, and transform amid the dynamic challenges surrounding mass incarceration. The book shifts the social dialogue from fear of intergenerational crime and incarceration to resilience, success, Black joy, and self-love, and moves from sympathetic into an empathetic agenda. The book brings to the forefront counter-storytelling through oral narratives that fill a gap in literature that leaves out the voices of children of incarcerated parents who are doctors, lawyers, professional athletes, musicians, community leaders, activists, professors, teachers, bestselling authors, and much more. These are vital experiences to share because not all BCOIP will end up in prison, jail, or a detention center. Black Children of Incarcerated Parents Speak Truth to Power will be of great interest to scholars from the humanistic social sciences and humanities. It is also a timely resource for students (high school, undergraduate, and graduate) in sociology, criminology, corrections, humanities, social work, counseling, education, social justice, and related courses, as well as agency administrators, community organizations servicing families of the incarcerated, specifically incarcerated parents and the children of incarcerated parents, themselves.

The second edition of this handbook examines family life, health, and educational issues that often arise for the millions of children in the United States whose parents are in prison or jail. It details how these youth are more likely to exhibit behavior problems such as aggression, substance abuse, learning difficulties, mental health concerns, and physical health issues. It also examines resilience and how children and families thrive even in the face of multiple challenges related to parental incarceration. Chapters integrate diverse; interdisciplinary; and rapidly expanding literature and synthesizes rigorous scholarship to address the needs of children from multiple perspectives, including child welfare; education; health care; mental health; law enforcement; corrections; and law. The handbook concludes with a chapter that explores new directions in research, policy, and practice to improve the life chances of children with incarcerated parents. Topics featured in this handbook include: Findings from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. How parental incarceration contributes to racial and ethnic disparities and inequality. Parent-child visits when parents are incarcerated in prison or jail. Approaches to empowering incarcerated parents of color and their families. International advances for incarcerated parents and their children. The second edition of the Handbook on Children with Incarcerated Parents is an essential reference for researchers, professors, clinicians/practitioners, and graduate students across developmental psychology, criminology, sociology, law, psychiatry, social work, public health, human development, and family studies. “This important new volume provides a cutting-edge update of research on the impact of incarceration on family life. The book will be an essential reference for researchers and practitioners working at the intersections of criminal justice, poverty, and child development.” Bruce Western, Ph.D., Columbia University “The comprehensive, interdisciplinary focus of this handbook brilliantly showcases the latest research, interventions, programs, and policies relevant to the well-being of children with incarcerated parents. This edition is a ‘must-read’ for students, researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers alike who are dedicated to promoting the health and resilience of children affected by parental incarceration.” Leslie Leve, Ph.D., University of Oregon

Built around the culturally responsive family support model, the fifth edition of Home, School, and Community Collaboration prepares teachers to work empathetically and collaboratively with all families. Through case studies, vignettes, and reflective connections, authors Kathy B. Grant and Julie A. Ray guide readers through changing trends in family engagement. The authors emphasize a strengths-based approach to families throughout the text. This book offers powerful ways to connect with families through online communication, community engagement, and suggestions from parents, in their own words, to improve parent-teacher collaboration. The fifth edition highlights the national and global shifts in family engagement. Each chapter now features an "Impact of a Pandemic" textbox, highlighting a key effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and families and offering resources and support for teachers. Additionally, each chapter now includes learning objectives tied to key topics and new end-of-chapter assessments to match each learning objective. Chapter 10, Teacher as Family Communication Facilitator, is now Chapter 3 in the text to prepare readers earlier to take on this crucial role. Throughout, the latest data, policies, models, and citations give readers up-to-date information and the latest thinking on working with students and families alike.

"This book is for counselors, social workers, psychologists and teachers who work with children ages 7-12 who have a parent who is in jail or prison. It is designed so that work can be done individually or in small groups. Each chapter includes a brief literature review, suggestions for additional supports, discussion questions, fictional letters between a boy and his incarcerated father, activities, and reproducible worksheets."--Back cover.