Helping Families Navigate Incarceration
A nationally recognized institute on the Rutgers–Camden campus focuses on supporting families impacted by the criminal justice system.
The negative impacts of prison sentences can extend well beyond the loss of individual freedom: job loss, housing insecurity, and financial struggles are all common problems for incarcerated individuals. When they have children and families, these effects expand and multiply. Rutgers–Camden researchers are working to ensure the families of incarcerated individuals have support in facing these challenges.
"Mass incarceration in the United States is fundamentally an issue of inequality, which extends well beyond those who are incarcerated to include the communities, partners, and children who are left behind,” said Laura Napolitano, department chair and associate professor of sociology, anthropology, and criminal justice at Rutgers–Camden.
“Of the nearly 2 million people who are incarcerated in both jails and prisons in the United States, nearly half are thought to be parents,” said Napolitano, noting that data is not entirely clear. Many individuals do disclose that they are parents when they are incarcerated, fearful that their parental rights will be taken from them.
It is the population of parents, caregivers, and children that Napolitano and the team at the National Resource Center on Children and Families of the Incarcerated (NRCCFI) hope to help with their programs, collaborations, and research.
The resource center evolved from the Federal Resource Center for Prisoners' Children, created during the Clinton Administration. In 2006, it joined forces with the Family and Corrections Network, the first national organization in the United States focused on families of the incarcerated, and was later renamed the National Resource Center on Children and Families of the Incarcerated. In October 2013, it became part of the Rutgers University–Camden campus.
For over three decades, the resource center has worked to raise awareness about the needs of the children of the incarcerated and their families by offering evidence-based training and other technical assistance to those working in the field, as well as resources for affected families.
“Caregivers and children experience a variety of challenges that come as a collateral consequence of incarceration,” said Napolitano. "We hope that the work we are doing creates an awareness of these challenges and drives innovative programs that maintain and strengthen relationships during a family member's incarceration."
Currently, one area of research and program development that NRCCFI and Rutgers researchers—including Napolitano, Jane Siegel, professor of criminal justice, and, until her recent passing, Ann Adalist–Estrin, longtime director of the NRCCFI—are working on focuses on in-person visits.
In-person visits help families maintain and strengthen relationships during an individual's incarceration. Visits help children cope with their parents’ incarceration and potentially minimize the negative impact on behavioral and mental health outcomes. For incarcerated parents, visits help to maintain familial connections and positively influence reunification, community reintegration, and long-term recidivism.
The researchers’ current work, in collaboration with the Camden County Correctional Facility (CCCF), is designed to better understand the population of incarcerated individuals who are also parents, develop child-sensitive visiting environments, create caregiver tip sheets highlighting best practices in caring for children with incarcerated parents, and design training for CCCF correctional and civilian staff.
“This work can have a direct and positive impact on the entire family during the period of incarceration and beyond," said Napolitano, who expects the study to be complete within the next year. "The ultimate goal is to ensure the best possible outcome for families. This benefits both the families and the larger communities they call home."
In Memoriam: Ann Adalist-Estrin
On April 11, 2024, the NRCCFI lost its longtime director, Ann Adalist-Estrin. A trailblazing and tireless advocate for children and families of the incarcerated, Adalist-Estrin dedicated her life to supporting children and families impacted by all phases of the criminal justice system that touched children, from arrest through pre-trial and trial and then through incarceration and reentry. As director of NRCCFI, she increased awareness and drove change in the policies and practices affecting the families of incarcerated individuals.
As a leader in her field, she was a consultant on various nationwide initiatives, including Sesame Workshop’s "Little Children, Big Challenges" Campaign, the Echoes of Incarceration video project, and the Osborne Association’s See Us, Support Us campaign. In 2013, President Obama recognized her as a White House Champion of Change.
While Adalist-Estrin was honored to be recognized, her real passion was helping families facing the challenges of incarceration.
“I think for the longest time it was a silent epidemic, and the system and the services were not supportive, and so families weren't going to come forward on their own,” Adalist-Estrin said in a 2023 interview. “But people with this lived experience are everywhere – not just one zip code, not just one neighborhood. And it’s important to acknowledge that there are common themes that all the families facing parental incarceration go through.”
