Focused Therapies in Children of Incarcerated Parents

Providing alternative therapies accustomed to address the risk factors associated with the imprisoned parents’ children is critical to tackling issues attributed to social and criminal justice. Focused therapies incorporate the provision services such as education and risk factor assessment to improve its effectiveness in addressing the issues affecting children with imprisoned parentages. As such, if children of incarcerated parents were provided more focused therapies, then the risk factors associated with entering the system themselves would be reduced.

Children whose parents have been incarcerated are commonly referred to as the “hidden victims” of crimes, and many at times, the loss of a parent to incarceration can have overwhelmingly adverse effects on the child at home, in school, and afterward. The United States has the world’s largest prison population that is holding more than 1.2 million inmates, of which more than half of them are parents to children under the age of eighteen. As a result, the United States has 2.7 million children who have parents in jail or prison. Children with incarcerated parents experience disrupted living conditions with more than one displacement and a reduction in the quality of care. Many of these children have limited financial resources and lack of contact with their parents. Enduring such conditions is not easy, and this puts them at risk of substance abuse, poor academic achievement, and delinquency. Furthermore, these children also experience the risk of future incarceration, and hence this necessitates the need for additional therapeutic interceptions as they go through shame, instability, and stigma.

Children with incarcerated parents ought to receive trauma-focused therapies because there is a significantly high number of children affected, and imprisonment of their parents impacts their emotions negatively. According to Robinson and Landrum (2013), children affected by parental imprisonment develop symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in an identity crisis scuffle leading to an elongated psychological and emotional dysfunction. PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) is associated with negative effects such as aggression, depression, isolation, anger, and self-harming behaviors.

Children and adolescents of incarcerated parents are a high-risk population for the development of trauma-related symptoms, and this necessitates the use of TF-CBT (Trauma-Focused Cognitive-behavioral Therapy) as an effective treatment and intervention (Morgan-Mullane, 2017) . TF-CBT incorporates the use of family interventions to help children of incarcerated parents overcome the effects of PTSD but also other negative and behavioral responses after trauma such as domestic violence, child sexual abuse, and other forms of maltreatment (Morgan-Mullane, 2017) . TF-CBT helps address distorted and any attributions relating to trauma by providing supportive environments that advocate for children to express their traumatic experiences and acquire the skills that are required to help them to address life stressors (Morgan-Mullane, 2017) . TF-CBT is also used as a treatment method for parents and guardians that helps them cope effectively with their emotional afflictions as well as develop the skills that are needed to support their children.

Unaddressed unstable emotions among incarcerated parents’ children act as a risk factor that can lead to violence and a ticket to the criminal justice system. Parental incarceration presents emotional risk among children as young as three years old, and such children begin to show signs of emotional distress through aggression or finding it difficult to attach to primary caregivers ( Morgan-Mullane, 2017). The emotional distress can be carried into adolescence stage and young adulthood and present with signs such as depression, anxiety, inability to concentrate, social withdrawal, and substance abuse, among other signs. These symptoms can cause adverse effects leading to poor academic attainment, truancy, dropping out of school and poor academic performance. According to Add Health statistics, parental incarceration is strongly related to a high possibility of being arrested before attaining the age of 25 years (Morgan-Mullane, 2017). These findings align with those from many other studies that have examined the impact of parental incarceration on criminal activity risk among children. The incarceration of parents almost triples the risk of criminal activity in the future among affected children when compared to those whose parents are not incarcerated. 

The effects of parental incarceration become worse if the affected children do not have protective factors such as support from the community, therapeutic interventions, close family members and friends with whom they can share their anguish, or living in punitive settings. Evidence shows that there exist racial disparities when it comes to parental incarceration, with most being Blacks and Hispanics. Children of incarcerated parents from Black and Hispanic communities are most likely to be arrested before they are twenty-five years old compared to their White counterparts. Therefore, the implementation of the trauma-focused therapy acts as a mitigation measure to the risk factors before escalation and admittance to the criminal justice system.

Incarcerated parents’ children are predisposed to social and economic issues that contribute to the risk factors of admission to the system in the future. They may cause long term emotional and psychological functioning. There is a 75 percent probability of the children getting booked into the criminal justice system if adequate mitigating measures are not implanted (Morgan-Mullane, 2018). Moreover, the primacy of parental imprisonment has been allied to the increased homeless levels in America. As such, the incorporation of focused therapy as an intervention measure facilitates earlier interception to address the social and economic needs of the children before they become risk factors that could lead them to jail.

There exists data that correlates the prevalence of imprisonment of parents with the rate the risk factors affects the children. The rate of parental imprisonment in the United States affects more than 2 million children who have one or both parents imprisoned at state or federal facilities, whereas local jails detain more parents together with those attached to corrective measures such as probation and parole (Casey, Shlafer and Masten, 2015). It contributed to the doubling of incarcerated parents’ children between 1991 and 2007, where 60 percent of the children are aged from 5 years to 14 years. Thus, the incarceration of parents affects a significantly large number of children who are underdeveloped and had formed connections with their parents. The separation contributes to the development of PTSD symptoms and trauma.

The culture of over-prosecution and mass incarceration has devastating impacts on the welfare of children. The collateral consequences of convictions do not only affect children and their families but also communities (Brown & Gibbons, 2017) . Child protective services and policymakers must understand the implications of parental involvement with the criminal justice system. A majority of convicted adults in the United States are parents of minors, and according to the Pew Research Center, more than 15,000 children are placed into foster care annually when their parents are incarcerated (Brown & Gibbons, 2017) . After their sentences have been served, and parents return home, their criminal records act as barriers to opportunities such as educational advancement, employment, eligibility for safety net programs and housing. Child protective services working with convicted parents often than not are entwined in the criminal justice system and the long-established experiences of collateral consequences that result from criminal convictions (Brown & Gibbons, 2017) . Basically, people with criminal records in the United States are disadvantaged when it comes to employment opportunities, experience difficulties in the management of competing demands from multiple branches of the criminal justice system (law enforcement, correctional agencies, employment agencies, and courts) and their efforts to overcome the trauma of criminal records and related barriers to opportunities.

Another reason for providing incarcerated parents’ children with focused therapy is to uphold the social justice principles establish and expected from society. Hibbert (2017) reiterates that the fundamental opinion for the vulnerable and the poor, dignity of the human race and the primacy of the common good are some of the principles of social justice. These principles aim at addressing social and economic issues affecting a given population such as incarcerated parents’ children, advocates upholding their dignity and the primacy of the common good. The implementation of focused therapy to address the affected children’s trauma and PTSD symptoms is an incentive towards achieving these principles of social justice.

Existing cultural and diversity issues affecting parental imprisonment also play a crucial role in influencing the prevalence of risk factors among the affected children. The current disparities in parental incarceration in terms of gender as 92 percent of paternal incarceration is experienced as compared to maternal imprisonment. Given fathers are the primary breadwinners in most families, especially among the minority communities, the children are affected by homelessness, poor academic performance, home instability and food uncertainty (Tadros et al. 2019). The issues raised by the existing disparities fuel the risk factors and increase the probability of engaging in crime to fend for their basic needs.

The employment restrictions currently being experienced by previously incarcerated individuals cost the United States economy more than $70 billion annually in terms of GDP (Meyers, 2018). The impacts of incarceration on parents are diverse as they do not only impact their economic opportunities but as well as other obligations that may be impossible to manage or may interfere with their aspirations to be reunited with their families. Besides, previously convicted individuals’ certain conditions made by parole and supervision agencies further impede their engagement in employment, educational, or rehabilitative opportunities (Meyers, 2018). Parents with criminal records experience legal challenges that directly or indirectly negatively affect their families. Therefore, child protective services must understand the collateral consequences of convictions experienced by these parents and should offer the required assistance as well as connect them to community support and re-entry programs that support people with previous convictions.

According to a recent study, one in ten African-American students in the United States has an incarcerated parent (Robinson and Landrum, 2013). The research also asserts that one in four students has a parent who is or has been incarcerated. Other findings from the report state that African-American children are six times more likely to their parents imprisoned than white child. The Black community in the United States is discriminated against by the criminal justice system, which is contributing to racial disparities and the racial achievement gap experienced by African-Americans (Robinson and Landrum, 2013). Black Americans in the United States are two and a half times likely to be killed by police officers as white Americans. The police of police killings and incarceration rates in the United States disproportionately affects African-Americans despite the country being racially polarized (Robinson and Landrum, 2013). As part of his campaign strategy, President Donald Trump advocated for the nationwide policy of “stop and frisk,” a practice that is primarily concentrated in low-income neighborhoods that lead to the arrest and imprisonment of African-Americans for minor crimes.

The education policy in the United States for years has advocated for the “school to prison pipeline” where police officers are stationed in educational institutions to arrest students whose offenses can be handled by the schools’ administrations without the involvement of the criminal justice system (Johnsoin et al., 2018). The “school to prison pipeline” is also used by educational institutions to advocate for racially disparate school disciplinary policies that include mandatory expulsions and suspensions for non-violent transgressions. According to a study conducted by Pew Research Centre, students who have been suspended or expelled by school administrations or arrested by school police officers are more likely to serve jail time than students with similar offenses who have been subjected to less harsh forms of discipline (Johnsoin et al., 2018). The problem of incarceration is not a criminal justice issue alone, but educators and policymakers at the local, community and state levels must find solutions to the incarceration of African-Americans as the performance of students is impaired.

The criminal justice system in the United States asserts that mass incarceration is a result of increased crime rates, but little attention is paid to the legislation of policies such as the three strike policies that have increased sentence lengths, or the mandatory minimum policies that require incarceration for some minor crimes (Bystrova and Gottschal, 2015). Contact with the criminal justice system for vulnerable families leads to increased financial instability, mental health problems, and a socioeconomic disadvantage. According to a survey, 45 percent of African-American men and 32 percent of African-American women reported that they have a family member incarcerated, compared to 13 percent of White men and 6 percent of White women (Bystrova and Gottschal, 2015). The study also found out that less than 4 percent of white children would likely experience the incarceration of a parent before their 14 th birthday, compared to 25 percent of African-American children. The increased incarceration rates in the United States are as a result of race relations and the use of unsubstantiated force towards African-Americans in low-income neighborhoods. African-Americans men are more than likely to sell or use drugs when compared to white (Casy, Shlafer and Masten, 2015) men, but they are four times likely to be arrested and sentenced to a jail term that is 60 percent longer than average.

Children with incarcerated parents are more than likely to become poor and experience economic instability as more than half of all inmates were the primary income provides (Casy, Shlafer and Masten, 2015). Even after the release from prison, these parents are unable to cater for their families because their criminal records discriminate them from both formal and informal employment opportunities. Parental income acts as a predictor that children will perform in school as well as grow into adulthood (Casy, Shlafer and Masten, 2015). Policymakers in the United States need to take modest measures in addressing mass incarcerations of African-Americans and prosecutors who seek prison sentences that are excessive even by historical terms and are in no way helpful in preventing crimes. In addition, the outcomes of parental incarceration on children have not received adequate and appropriate attention from researchers, policy, statistics, and the media. The fact that the likely effects of incarceration on young children are not adequately addressed and, in other cases, neglected may lead to very high crime rates in the future. This is an essential likely negative outcome and unintended result of the current criminal justice policies in the country.

Parental incarceration not only increases costs in prisons but the whole society at large. Mass incarceration has caused significant and long term effects on society and, in particular, people of color. Addressing parental incarceration issues within society creates a positive perception of the affected children and how they choose to lead their lives. Morgan-Mullane (2018) say that the utilization of focused therapy models as an intervention measure provides a community-based solution regarding how PTSD symptoms and trauma are attributed to the ethnic and cultural background as well as the perceptions within the community. Addressing parental incarceration included addressing mass incarceration, and the intervention consists of facilitating the downsizing of jails and prisons (Grattet & Bird, 2018). Therefore, addressing issues associated with parental imprisonment creates a positive impact on society in general.

The empirical evidence on focused therapy as an intervention measure shows how parental incarceration, among other factors, contributes to the development of trauma among the affected children and the impact of the focused therapy. The adoption of focused therapy models facilitates the identification of various origins of trauma in a child’s life and how parental incarceration instigates increased development of PTSD symptoms and trauma in their lives (Morgan-Mullane, 2018). Other factors that can be associated with increased adverse emotional effects include racism, housing uncertainty, and financial instability, among others (Tadros et al. 2019). Therefore, these factors play a crucial role in establishing risk factors in their children with imprisoned parents’ lives.

Having conceptualized how parental imprisonment contributed to the risk factors among the affected children, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT) offers solutions that adequately address their trauma and PTSD symptoms. Morgan-Mullane (2018) explains that the TF-CBT model involves family therapy delivered according to the community settings, such as their ethnic and cultural diversity issues, which are understood to establish the background of the client. These factors are integrated to form a background profile that is best suited to identify various sources of trauma and PTSD symptoms to allow the affected person to speak and get comfortable with them in minimizing their effects. There are different pathways and processes involved in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy leading to improvements. The positive outcomes can be linked to increased hope and optimism during therapy sessions. If an individual shows severe symptom, additional treatment can be recommended.

The effects of TF-CBT on children of incarcerated parents has been touted as positive and the technique is increasingly being prescribed for children showing traumatic symptoms associated with parental incarceration. In a clinical study, 15 randomized controlled trials were evaluated with individuals in the treatment group showing better recovery from PTSD symptoms compared to the control group. Studies involving the use of TF-CBT are however not that many owing to the fact that the technique has not been around for long (Morgan-Mullane, 2018). In an actual case study of the implementation of TF-CBT, a 23-year-old African American woman, Serena, sought the services of professionals to help her 9-year-old daughter, Lelani, who was affected by the incarceration of Serena her mother. TF-CBT was deployed in three phases: (1) the stabilization phase, (2) the trauma narrative phase, and (3) the integration/consolidation phase. It was noted after these phases, Lenani was noted to be less aggressive than before, calm, both her and her mother had better communication and were able to confront their fears and guilt in a positive manner. This stabilization and positivity meant that the symptoms of trauma Lelani experienced earlier that predisposed her to violent behavior had been successfully addressed reducing her chances of going to prison like her mother (Morgan-Mullane, 2018). Continuous therapy was however advised for mother and daughter until a time when they felt they had adequately addressed the issues they were each facing related to the incarceration. More case studies showing the effectiveness of TF-CBT in addressing mental and behavioral issues in children with incarcerated parents will surface as its application increases with time. 

The branches of the criminal justice system have also contributed to the prevalence of risk factors associated with parental detainment. The criminal justice system provides criminal information to the public in a measure to mitigate further crime after incarceration (Meyers, 2018). However, the availability of criminal records allows employers to screen before offering a position in their organization, which limits the possibility of parents with criminal records to get employment. As such, it renders incarcerated parents unemployed even a year after release, thereby further exposing the children to the risk factors caused by social and economic issues.

The separate criminal justice system branches also play a role in increasing the probabilities of children of incarcerated parents finding themselves in the very prisons their parents were in. Law enforcement has in several occasions been cited for employing extra use of force and other intimidation techniques during arrests of adults with children. These children then grow disliking the justice system and display rebellious behaviors that also land them in prisons (Robinson, 2010). The courts have also been accused of sending parents to jail without making appropriate plans of how their children will be taken care of. Most of these children find themselves in foster homes which may not always offer the same refuge, love and guidance they were getting from their parents. This normally results in situations where the children find themselves in a world they are not prepared for and with little trusted guidance thus are easily swayed by negative societal issues making them prime targets of the justice system. Correctional facilities also play a role in increasing the chances of these children being prisoners themselves by creating conditions that strip incarcerated parents of any role model capabilities that they could show their children (Robinson, 2010). The atmosphere during visitations is not conducive for children and can even be traumatic thus ensuring that parents can barely offer any guidance while behind bars leaving the children to their own devices thus higher chances of being on the wrong side of the law and in prison themselves.

However, social and criminal justice theories, including the 2005 landmark case of the Supreme Court United States v. Booker influence how parental imprisonment is perceived. Third-party groups, including children with imprisoned parentage, are informed on the development of their parents’ case, including their sentencing, parole, plea and release empowered by the statutory provision ‘Crime Victim’s Rights’ (Boudin, 2013, p. 95). The criminal sentencing guideline procedures that were initially established as mandatory by the Federal Sentencing Act were reviewed using the United States v. Booker case in 2005 and now used as an advisory, therefore, institutionalizing family relationships even after the incarceration of parents. The provision allows the incorporation of intervention measures such as alternative therapies allowing mitigation of risk factors with the family, especially the children.

Each branch of the criminal justice system employs various processes that can be used in facilitating social justice in association with parental incarceration (Robinson, 2010). Law enforcement can establish social justice by upholding the code of conduct in law enforcement, protecting human rights and in the provision of services. The courts, on the other hand, can follow the due process and using sentencing guidelines, whereas the correctional facilities can engage in providing education and vocational training, and providing inmate custody and care. These factors can ensure equal treatment by the justice system despite cultural and racial diversity. The achievement of social justice across the cultural and racial divide means that the rate of incarceration of parental figures driven by racial or cultural bias would also reduce thus less children ‘orphaned’ by the system (Johnson, Matthews, and Ayers, 2018). If parents are not incarcerated, then the chances of their children being incarcerated also reduce. Also, when children feel that there was fairness and justice in the incarceration of their parents, they are less resentful towards the justice system and are bound to act more responsibly thus reducing their chances of committing crimes and joining their parents in prison.

Lastly, social and criminal justice is directly affected by socio-cultural factors affecting the family with incarcerated parents. Achieving criminal and social justice is based on perceived justice by a particular community with regard to the established cultural context and social issues (Johnson, Matthews, and Ayers, 2018). Therefore, the ideologies on social justice existing within the society play a crucial role in determining how children with detained parentage would be treated and how the parents would be perceived after serving their sentences.

Conclusion

The United States is among the countries with the highest rates of incarceration worldwide. Parental incarceration is one of the main factors that cause PTSD and other related symptoms among children, adolescents and young adults. It can result in participation in criminal activities at an early age, and the risk of committing a crime is high among incarcerated parents’ children. Such children are victims of criminal activities by their parents too. Focused therapy is an effective initiative in addressing risk factors in incarcerated parents’ children. Its effectiveness among children whose parents are incarcerated is supported by the existing evidence. Studies show that the therapy is promising and produces positive outcomes in traumatized children who had PTSD or other related symptoms. Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy among children aims to give counseling to the affected child and the family at large. According to SAMHA, the therapy has effective outcomes in multiple treatment settings and is promising in all conditions of its programs. TF-CBT is effective in treating highly vulnerable groups, among them children who have a high risk for violence, committing suicide, and getting involved in drug/substance abuse, among other social ills.

Besides showing positive effects in children, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy is also linked to positive caregiver outcomes; in particular, those dealing with children whose parents are incarcerated. Therefore, its implementation is elaborate in establishing social justice for the affected families and within the society. Various factors contribute to how the effects of parental incarceration are perceived, including the criminal justice system, theories of social and criminal justice, and socio-cultural factors. Focused therapy intervention is an essential measure towards minimizing the risk factors associated with parental incarceration before the children are also admitted to the criminal justice system. It is also an effective measure against the high rates of incarceration in the United States today.

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