Handbook on Children with Incarcerated Parents: Research, Policy, and Practice

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.

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