Children's Visits

Scale and Scope of Parental Contact

Although most children have some contact with their incarcerated parents by phone or mail, more [Page 122]than half never visit them in prison. Children who do visit do not see their incarcerated parents regularly or frequently. Long distances to most correctional facilities, lack of transportation, and limited financial resources are the most common reasons why children do not visit their parents in prison. Prisons are often located in remote, rural areas, typically more than 100 miles from the urban areas where most of the prisoners' children reside. Public transportation rarely services these areas and many families do not own a car or have the resources to rent one.

Prisoners' relationships with their children's caregiver also influences whether children will come to see them while they are incarcerated. Approximately 90% of children with an imprisoned father live with their mother, while only about 20% of children whose mother is in prison live with their father. When a mother goes to prison, often the father is absent. Most children of incarcerated mothers live with a grandparent or other relative. Visiting rooms in men's prisons are typically crowded with mothers who bring children to visit their fathers. However, visiting rooms at women's facilities are noticeably sparse with only a few grandmothers, sisters, or other relatives who are able to bring children to visit their mothers.

There has been a seven-fold increase in the number of incarcerated mothers over the past two decades, while the percentage of children who visit their mothers has declined from 92% in 1978 to less than 50% in 1992. The number of children with a mother in prison nearly doubled from 1991 to 1999 and two-thirds of these mothers were their children's primary caregiver before incarceration.

Some caregivers are angry with the parent and may not believe he or she deserves to see the child. In some cases, children do not want to visit their incarcerated parent. In other cases, parents may be ashamed or embarrassed about their criminal activity, may not tell their children where they are, or do not want their children to see them in a prison. Prisoners and caregivers alike debate whether to have children visit because of the stressful entry process, unfriendly environment, and tearful goodbyes.

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