# Presentation: 439578

## Parents Under Correctional Supervision: Past Estimates, New Measures

- Presented by:
-   Christopher J. Mumola
-   Policy Analyst, Bureau of Justice Statistics
-   U.S. Department of Justice

- “Children of Parents in the Criminal Justice System: Children at Risk”
- NIDA Research Meeting
- North Bethesda, MD  -  November 6, 2006

**Notes:**
This afternoon, I will be presenting some findings from an upcoming report on Measures of Length of Stay in State Prisons.  Allen and I hope to release that report by the end of the year.  I will first describe where the new data come from, then present a few preliminary findings from the report, and I will wrap up with some updates to our Trends in State Parole report that came out in 2001.  

## Overview

- Estimates of the scope of the issue across the criminal justice system
- Discussion of data collection challenges
- Profile of incarcerated parents’ backgrounds, based on 1997 BJS data
- Look ahead to updated measures and new report, *Incarcerated Parents, 2004*

## 2002 Estimates

- Number of parents on probation or parole more than double that of incarcerated parents

## Incarcerated Parents and Their Children:1991-2002 Trends

- While substantial, the increase in parents (69%) was actually slower than the growth of other prisoners (75%).
- Parents in State & Federal prison:                                   				  _1991 _	  	   _2002_           					452,500	 765,900
- Minor children of prisoners:      				  			  _1991_ 		   _2002__ _      					936,500    	1,591,600
- The percentage of State and Federal prisoners who had minor children (56%) changed little since 1991 (57%).

## Incarcerated Parents and Their Children:1991-2002 Trends

- Number of parents held in State prison grew by nearly 260,000:                                  		violent offenders* = + 113,000    			drug offenders = + 60,000                       *Admissions data indicate that violent offenders accounted for an even greater share of this growth.
- The number of mothers in prison grew 88%, while fathers increased by 61%.

## Profile of Parents in State Prison

-  While parents were more likely to be female than other inmates, over 90% were fathers.
-  Parents were more likely to be minority inmates (71%) than nonparents (61%).
-  Though parents were twice as likely (23%) as other inmates (9%) to be married, at least half of parents had their children out of wedlock.

## Parents in State Prison: Offenses, Criminal History

-  Parents (44%) were less likely to be violent offenders than nonparents (51%).
-  Half (49%) of parents were arrested while already on probation or parole supervision.
-  60% of parents had multiple prior convictions; 44% had 3+
-  23% of parents were 1st timers; another 4% were drug crime-only recidivists.

## Children of Incarcerated Parents

- 2.2% of the Nation’s 72.5 million minor children had a parent in prison on December 31st, 2002
- Racial disparity (1999 estimates):                                      	African-American children = 7.0%  (1 in 14)       	Hispanic children = 2.6%  (1 in 38)                          	White children = 0.8%  (1 in 125)
- 58% were under 10 years old; mean age = 8 years old

- At yearend 2002, 1 in every 45 minor children in the U.S. had a parent in State or Federal prison

## Impact on Children: Households

- Fewer than 40% of parents in State prison were living with any of their children prior to arrest:    	Fathers = 36%	Mothers = 58%
- In 2002, an estimated 358,300 U.S. households with children were missing a resident parent held in State or Federal prison.

- While not the only measure of parental engagement with children, it is worth noting that most parents in prison were not taken from their children’s homes.

## Impact on Children: Current Caregivers 

- Current caregiver while father is in State prison:                                               	90% = child’s mother     		                                   	13% = child’s grandparents 		                                	  5% = other relatives   	                                          	  2% = foster care / agency / institution
- Current caregiver while mother is in State prison:                                               	28% = child’s father  		                                        	53% = child’s grandparents 		                               	26% = other relatives           		                             	10% = foster care / agency / institution
- Note: Percentages sum to more than 100% because some parents had children in more than one residence.

- The consequences for care of children vary dramatically depending on gender of incarcerated parent

## Impact on Children: Contact with Parents

- Most parents in State prison reported some form of regular contact (phone, mail, or visits):
-  		Monthly: fathers = 62%  mothers = 78%   		 	Weekly:  fathers = 40%  mothers = 62%
- A majority of both fathers (57%) and mothers (54%) in State prison said they never had visits from their children.

- Parents reported frequent telephone/mail contact with their children, but fewer than 1 in 4 reported a monthly visit with their children

## Impact on Children: Prison Time to Serve

- Total time parents expected to serve (mean):                           Fathers = 6 yrs. 10 mos. (55% of sentence)                       Mothers = 4 yrs. 1 month (52% of sentence)
- Expected to serve less than 2 years:                  	Fathers = 18%	Mothers = 38%
- Expected to serve more than 10 years:         	Fathers = 21%	Mothers = 8%

- Given length of prison terms reported by parents, the average parent in State prison will be released before their child reaches 18.

## Parents in State Prison: Substance Abuse

- Any drug use in the month before offense:    	Fathers = 58% 	Mothers = 65% Cocaine/crack:                                            		Fathers = 26% 	Mothers = 45%
- Under the influence of drugs when committing crime:   	Fathers = 33%     Mothers = 43%
- Committed their crime under the influence of alcohol:    	Fathers = 37%	    Mothers = 29%

- Parents reported serious substance abuse histories, slightly higher than other prisoners

## Parents in State Prison: Mental Illness, Homelessness

- Reported indications of mental illness:      		Fathers = 13%	Mothers = 23%
- Homeless in the past year before arrest:      	Fathers = 8% 	Mothers = 18%

- Parents were less likely to report indications of mental illness (14%) or recent experiences of homelessness (9%) than other prisoners (19%, and 12% respectively).

## Upcoming Report: Incarcerated Parents, 2004

- Updated estimates of number of incarcerated parents, and the number of minor children affected will be based on the *Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 2004*.
- Many topics from the 2000 report will be updated, but new measures also available for the first time:
- DSM-IV measures of alcohol/drug dependence and abuse     (see *Drug Use and Dependence, State and Federal Prisoners, 2004*, released in October)
- Improved measures of mental health problems, based on both a recent history of mental health problems, and self-reports of recent symptoms of three major mental health disorders: depression, mania and psychotic disorders (see *Mental Health Problems of Prison and Jail Inmates*)

## Upcoming Report: Incarcerated Parents, 2004

- Report should include an updated count of parents under all forms of correctional supervision:
- New estimates of parents on State and Federal parole can be based on  2004 prisoner survey data
- New estimate of parents in jail can be drawn from the *Survey of Inmates in Local Jails, 2002*
- Release of report expected in early 2007

## Contact Info:	Christopher Mumola			Bureau of Justice Statistics			Phone: 202-307-0765			christopher.mumola@usdoj.gov

- For a copy of the report,
***Incarcerated Parents and Their Children***
- go to:
- http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs