From Vera Institute for Justice:
Imprisoning parents hurts children. It increases children’s likelihood of special education placement, being held back in school, or dropping out entirely. It also increases their likelihood of homelessness, developing substance use disorders, and becoming involved in the criminal legal system themselves. Yet, the United States continues to unnecessarily separate millions of children from their parents through incarceration—even though better options exist.
“Those kids are missing and lacking so much,” said Dunasha Payne. Her daughter was two years old when Payne went to prison, and she spent seven years passing through barbed wire gates for visits that were always too short. “When she would see me, it would be all tears, all the time. She had so much pent-up emotion that she couldn’t express…. Not only is their family member incarcerated; the family is incarcerated too.”
The United States spends a staggering $80 billion a year incarcerating people, often in dehumanizing conditions. This does not make us safer and, in fact, is sowing seeds of harm into future generations. To promote true public health and safety, we need to free more people and address the root causes of criminal legal system contact, instead of reacting to crime after it happens. Rather than falling back on the status quo, lawmakers have the power to lower jail and prison populations by directing resources into schooling, health care, housing, jobs programs, and other alternatives to incarceration that will ultimately help communities heal and thrive. Services like community-based housing programs that provide mental health services and restorative justice programs repair rather than punish. Continue reading >>>
|
|
|
|
