Blog #1

Issues within a family affect the members of the family, people close to the family, and governmental agencies. Issues include parental imprisonment, spousal abuse, and child abuse.

More than half of state inmates (52%) and almost two thirds (63%) of federal inmates have children under the age of 18.  The 1,706,600 children of these inmates make 2.3% of the U.S. population. The number of imprisoned parents has increased 79% and the number of children with incarcerated parents has increased 80% between 1991 and 2007. The increase of mothers in prison (131%) has been greater than the increase of fathers in prison (77%) (Glaze & Maruschak, 2008).

With one or both parents in prison, there is a large impact on the child. Contact with the parent is important to how the child handles the incarceration. A study by the U.S. Department of Justice in 1993 showed that 20% of mothers in state prisons see their children less than once a month, and 8% see their children once a week (as cited in Parke & Clarke-Stewart, 2001).  Children of incarcerated mothers have a high chance of emotional problems, psychological problems, or poor academic performance (Baunach, 1985; Stanton, 1980; as cited in Parke & Clarke-Stewart, 2001).

Parental imprisonment may be an important factor in family issues, but it is not the one. In terms of violent crimes, in 2007 23% against women and 3% against men were domestic abuse cases (Domestic Abuse). In the years where teenagers are suppose to be learning how to form safe and healthy relationships, 15% of those teens report being a victim of abuse by their boyfriend or girlfriend (Domestic Abuse). In his paper “Child Abuse and Welfare Abuse,” Mark W. Smith states that there is a “strong association between childhood abuse and later use of welfare programs” (p. 90). With nearly six million children being involved with child abuse cases or allegations in 2007 (National Child Abuse), there could be a large reliance on welfare programs when these children are older. Without understanding the impact these issues have on the family, there are repercussions not only for the lives of the family members but governmental agencies also.

References

Domestic violence. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?dbName=DocumentViewer&DocumentID=38711. 

Glaze, L. E., & Maruschak, L. M. (2008). Parents in prison and their minor children. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics (Special Report).

National child abuse statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.childhelp.org/pages/statistics

Parke, R.D., & Clarke-Stewart, K.A. (2001). Effects of Parental Incarceration on Young Children. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (National Policy Conference). Retrieved from http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/prison2home02/parke&stewart.pdf.

Smith, M.W. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, (2004). Child abuse and welfare abuse Retrieved from http://www.aeaweb.org/assa/2005/0107_0800_1201.pdf.