Although this peer reviewed research is written about children and families in the US it can be learned from by readers everywhere.
There has been a dramatic rise in rates of imprisonment over the past 20 years and the children of these imprisoned people have become an increasing area of interest. However, these children are only a subgroup of children which child protection agencies encounter as having parents involved in the criminal justice system (CJS). The National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being statistics show that primary caregivers of one in three children in in-home settings have been arrested, but are not currently imprisoned. These households are likely to have higher levels of substance abuse, domestic violence and extreme poverty than households where care-givers have never been arrested. This research agrees with the special considerations when working with families with a parent in prison, but argues that child welfare should not overlook opportunities to improve outcomes related to the safety, permanency, and well-being of children whose parents are involved in the CJS at other points.
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