NRFC 

Quick Statistics 

May 2008 

National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse  101 Lake Forest Boulevard, Suite 360  Gaithersburg, MD 20877  

Toll-free: 1 (877) 4DAD411  Fax: (301) 948-4325  www.fatherhood.gov  March 2008 

Incarcerated Fathers 

Estimated Number of State and Federal Prisoners with Minor Children, by Gender, 

 1991 and 1999 

State Prisoners Federal Prisoners 

State and 

Federal 

Prisoners 

Total Male Female Total Male Female Total 

Number of Parents 

1991 413,100 386,500 26,600 39,400 36,500 2,900 452,500 

1999 642,300 593,800 48,500 79,200 74,100 5,100 721,500 

Number of Minor 

Children 

1991 852,300 794,500 57,800 84,200 78,300 5,900 936,500 

1999 1,324,900 1,209,400 115,500 173,500 163,300 10,600 1,498,400 

Source: Adapted from Incarcerated Parents and Their Children. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, NCJ 182335 

 The number of children with incarcerated parents increased greatly in the 1990s. In 

1991, approximately 936,500 children under the age of 18 had a parent in prison; by 

1999, that number had risen to an estimated 1,498,800. 

 In 1999, about 1,372,700 children had fathers who were incarcerated, up from about 

872,800 in 1991. 

Percent of State and Federal Male Prisoners with Minor Children, 1999 

Minor Children 

% State 

Prisoners 

% Federal 

Prisoners 

Any 54.7% 63.4% 

 1 24.0% 24.0% 

 2 15.6% 18.7% 

 3 or more 15.2% 20.8% 

Source: Adapted from Incarcerated Parents and Their Children. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, NCJ 182335 

 In 1999, more than half of male prisoners had minor children (54.7 percent of state 

prisoners and 63.4 percent of federal prisoners). 
 

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 Minor Children with a Parent in Prison by Race/Ethnicity, 1999 

Race/Ethnicity Number Percent 

U.S. Total* 1,498,800 2.1% 

White 384,500 0.8% 

Black 767,200 7.0% 

Hispanic 301,600 2.6% 

*Includes children of other races. 

Source: Adapted from Incarcerated Parents and Their Children. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, NCJ 182335 

 Non-white children are more likely to have a parent in prison. In 1999, 2.1 percent of all 

children in the U.S. had a parent in prison. However, 7 percent of black children and 2.6 

percent of Hispanic children had a parent in prison as compared to only 0.8 percent of 

white children. 

Living Arrangements for Children with Parents in State Prisons, 1997 

Male Female 

Lived with Children Prior to 

Admission 43.8% 64.3% 

Current caregiver 

 Child’s other parent 89.6% 28.0% 

 Child’s grandparent 13.3% 52.9% 

 Other relative 4.9% 25.7% 

 Foster home/agency 1.8% 9.6% 

 Friends/other 4.9% 10.4% 

Source: Adapted from Incarcerated Parents and Their Children. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, NCJ 182335. 

 Less than half (43.8 percent) of incarcerated fathers in state prisons were living with their 

children prior to their admission to jail. 

 The vast majority (89.6 percent) of children with a father in state prison live with their 

mother. By comparison, only 28 percent of children with an incarcerated mother live 

with their father. 
 

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Frequency of Contact (Phone, Mails, Personal Visits) with Children for Parents in State 

Prisons, 1997 

Frequency Fathers Mothers 

Daily or almost daily 9.5% 17.8% 

At least once a week 30.3% 42.4% 

At least once a month 22.6% 18.0% 

Less than once a 

month 16.6% 9.7% 

Never 21.1% 12.2% 

Source: Adapted from Incarcerated Parents and Their Children. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, NCJ 182335. 

 Mothers in state prisons were far more likely than fathers to report contact with their 

children at least once a week or daily/almost daily (60.2 percent as compared with 39.8 

percent). 

 More than one in five fathers in state prisons (21.1 percent) never had contact with their 

children as compared with only 12.2 percent of mothers. 

Frequency of Telephone, Mail, and Personal Contacts with Children for Parents in State 

Prisons, 1997 

Percent of State Inmates Reporting Monthly 

Type of Contact with Their Children, 1997 

Contact Male Female 

Any 62.4% 78.4% 

Phone 42.0% 53.6% 

Mail 49.9% 65.8% 

Personal Visits 21.0% 23.8% 

Source: Adapted from Incarcerated Parents and Their Children. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, NCJ 182335. 

 Parent-child contact in the form of phone, mail, or personal visits while in state prison is 

less for incarcerated fathers than it is for incarcerated mothers; 78.4 percent of mothers 

report monthly contact as compared to 62.4 percent of fathers. 

 Less than one in four incarcerated parents reported having monthly visits with their 

children (21 percent for fathers and 23.8 percent for mothers). 
 

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Age Distribution of Minor Children with Parents in State or Federal Prison, 1997 

Age Range Percent 

<1 year 2.1% 

1-4 years 20.4% 

5-9 years 35.1% 

10-14 years 28.0% 

15-17 years 14.5% 

Source: Adapted from Incarcerated Parents and Their Children. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, NCJ 182335. 

 In 1997, the majority (57.6 percent) of minor children with parents in prison were under 

10 year of age. 

 Of children with incarcerated parents, 22.5 percent were less than 5 years old. 

Maximum Sentence Length for State and Federal Prisoners with Minor Children, by 

Gender, 1997 

State Prisoners Federal Prisoners 

Total Male Female Total Male Female 

Less than 12 

months 3.1% 2.8% 7.3% 2.3% 2.1% 5.1% 

12-35 months 13.1% 12.5% 20.3% 10.6% 9.5% 26.3% 

36-59 months 13.2% 12.7% 19.9% 13.2% 13.0% 16.2% 

60-119 months 22.5% 22.4% 23.2% 30.0% 30.6% 22.4% 

120-179 months 14.0% 14.3% 10.7% 19.6% 19.7% 18.1% 

180-239 months 8.9% 9.1% 6.3% 9.0% 9.2% 5.2% 

240+ months 19.1% 19.9% 9.4% 12.2% 12.7% 5.8% 

Life/death 6.1% 6.3% 2.8% 3.1% 3.3% 0.7% 

Mean 146 mo. 150 mo. 94 mo. 121 mo. 124 mo. 80 mo. 

Source: Adapted from Incarcerated Parents and Their Children. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, NCJ 182335 

 On average incarcerated fathers serve longer sentences than mothers. In 1999, the 

mean sentence length for a father incarcerated in state prison was 150 months as 

compared to 94 months for a mother. In federal prison, fathers averaged 124 months as 

compared to 80 months for mothers. 

 In state prison, almost three out of four fathers (72 percent) were serving sentences 60 

months (5 years) or longer. By comparison only about half (52.4 percent) of mothers 

were served sentences of this length. The same pattern holds for federal prison.