Casey Family Programs, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Marguerite Casey Foundation are working collaboratively to address the challenges faced by children with incarcerated parents. By leveraging our collective resources, the three Caseys will advance strategies to improve the well-being of these children and their caregivers. Our work together will address issues such as permanence and reunification, what supports and services are needed to increase positive outcomes for the children and their families, and what state and federal policymakers can do to support this often invisible population.
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), with support from Casey Family Programs, will publish Children of Incarcerated Parents: Questions for Policymakers in August 2008 to help state legislators address this complex issue by asking the right questions and learning from other states. This fact sheet summarizes that report.
Mitigating the negative effects of parental incarceration on children and their families is becoming an increasingly urgent policy issue in state legislatures across the country. The report will provide legislators with the following:
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Background information about the nature and scope of the problem
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Policy options available to state legislators to protect children’s well-being at each stage of the incarceration process
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The need for state systems, particularly corrections and child welfare, to assess the effects of their policies and programs on children.
For more information, contact Nina Williams-Mbengue at NCSL, or Steve Christian at Casey Family Programs.