By DEBORAH E. LANS
Sixth in a series
GHENT–The effects of incarceration reach far beyond the incarcerated person, to his family and community. Even witnessing the arrest of a parent can be a deeply traumatic event for a child. In Columbia County, several programs aim to soften the effects of parental incarceration.
A comprehensive study of 14 states, including New York, by the Fines and Fees Justice Center (FFJC) reached a number of striking conclusions about the financial effects of incarceration on a family. Among them: because of the loss of the incarcerated person’s income, roughly two out of every three families were unable to meet their family’s basic needs, with nearly one-half struggling simply to buy food or to pay the rent. In addition, even trying to keep in contact with the incarcerated is expensive, with the cost of phone calls, video and in-person visits often putting families into debt. Court-related fines and costs add to the burden.
Of course, the negative physical and emotional effects are also profound, except in situations where the incarcerated person was an abusive partner or parent. In general, and unsurprisingly, the adult members of the family of an incarcerated person are more likely to experience a shorter life span, obesity, stroke, heart attack, diabetes, PTSD, anxiety and depression. The FFJC in fact says one in every two family members of the incarcerated experience negative health impacts.
Sociologists have adopted a phrase to identify events in a child’s life that can have a significant impact on long-term health and well-bring; it is “adverse childhood experiences” – which, perversely, is abbreviated “ACE.” The imprisonment of a household member and consequent interruption of the parent-child relationship is itself one of the top ten “ACE” events, and it is also “associated with a five-fold increase in exposure to other ACEs,” per a British medical journal study. These others include poverty and housing instability.
While the effects on children obviously vary according to many other circumstances, including the health of other family members, age, other available support systems and individual resiliency, in general many of the children of the incarcerated are condemned to face adversities that include “psychological strain, antisocial behavior, suspension or expulsion from school, economic hardship and criminal activity,” according to a study by the National Institute of Justice. Physical effects include sleep and eating problems, asthma and food insecurity. Attentional and memory capabilities may suffer. As children age, lower grades, aggressive and other risky behaviors (substance use, e.g.) may increase. The financial stresses and housing insecurity of the family as a whole will, of course, also impact the children.
Against these possible outcomes, a child’s continuing contact with an incarcerated parent is an important mitigating factor when the parent-child bond has been a healthy one. Moreover, visits by families and loved ones also reduce misconduct by the incarcerated person, lower recidivism and bolster the re-entry process.
Yet in-person visiting is not always easy. Travel may be complicated, expensive and time-consuming; visiting days and hours are limited; the number of visitors is prescribed; and, the visiting accommodations are often unpleasant. Prisons are increasingly substituting video-visiting for in-person visits, as video visits are easier and are also a source of revenue for them. In the 2024 legislative session a bill that would require prisons to prioritize in-person visits, making video-visits purely supplemental, passed the state Senate but not the Assembly.
The Columbia County Jail, in partnership with Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhood (GHPN), was the first county jail in the state to implement an Enhanced Child Visit Policy and Program. Initially funded by a federal grant, the program dramatically altered the physical context of visits.
Columbia County Jail Administrator Captain Patrick Delaney explained the program to The Columbia Paper this way: the Commissioner of Corrections requires two one-hour visits/week for those who are jailed. (The jail houses arrestees who have been denied bail as they await trial – a cohort that is much smaller as a result of bail reform – those awaiting transfer to state prison post-sentencing and those sentenced to less than a one year confinement.) In a “regular contact visit,” a half-wall separates the incarcerated person from his relative and contact is limited to a kiss or hug.
The “enhanced visit” is in addition to the required time and takes place in a brightly decorated open area, without barriers separating the child and parent. They can hug, kiss, play and read together. GHPN supplies games, toys, books and snacks. A child has the undivided attention of her parent, free from the distractions of television and cell phones. The natural setting reinforces the parental bond. Captain Delaney says that the behavior of the incarcerated persons improves, as the enhanced visits are a privilege that can be revoked. In addition, an “unforeseen benefit is that the corrections officers (COs) come to see the incarcerated individual as a parent, and often the COs join in the play; barriers are broken down.”
With an eye to softening the impact of the moment of arrest, GHPN has also been working with the Hudson Police Department in a joint initiative to safeguard the children of arrested parents. The program was launched in 2022 by then police sergeant, and now Chief of Police, Mishanda Franklin and GHPN. Twenty-five police officers (essentially, all non-administrative personnel) received “trauma-informed training,” as did a number of youth-serving and community organizations, concerning tools and techniques to support the children of arrested parents.
Now, the police actively work to shield children, by making arrests away from their presence and refraining whenever possible from using cuffs. Every police car has a kit with toys and games to distract children if necessary. And, Sergeant Edelman, a pit bull puppy, is being trained to go on calls to provide on-the-spot therapy.
Indeed, where previously GHPN and the community, on the one hand, and the Police Department, on the other, were often considered adversarial, with Chief Franklin’s arrival a different spirit of collaboration is emerging, with a greater focus on the resolution of petty crime through “grace and understanding” and the avoidance of incarceration where appropriate and possible.
To contact reporter Deborah Lans, email deborahlans@icloud.com.
