Children of Incarcerated Parents Responding to the Needs : Surveying the Landscape of Programs and S

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Children of Incarcerated ParentsResponding
to the Needs Surveying the Landscape of
Programs and Services
Ann Adalist-Estrin,M.S. Director, NRCCFI / FCN
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Children of the Incarcerated

• Distorted in the telling,
• buried in the untelling
• Randall Robinson on the legacy of
  slavery

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Children of the Incarcerated A Broader Context

• Brain Development Research
• Trauma Research
• Temperament Research
• Attachment Theory Debates

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Trauma

• An incident is traumatic if it carries a threat
  against life, physical well being or personal
  security
• Children always experience the loss of a parent
  as traumatic
• Trauma diverts a childs energies from
  developmental tasks
• Children can be re traumatized by situations
  characterized by additional threats or simple
  uncertainty
• (Mc Allister-Groves,Child Witness to Violence
  Project 2002)

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The Impact of Trauma

• Brain Development Key Points
• The brain is not fully developed at birth
• Massive brain growth occurs in the first year
• There are major spurts of brain growth at 4,7 and
  12 years of age
• Brain development continues through adolescence
  into young adulthood

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The Impact of Trauma

• Different functions ( regulation of mood,
  anxiety, behavior and abstract thought ) develop
  or mature at different times in the life of a
  child
• Early experiences become biology, changing brain
  chemistry thus
• shaping the way people learn ,think, and
  behave for the rest of their lives
• Bruce Perry, MD, PhD.
  www.ChildTrauma.org
• What gets stimulated( the good and the bad) at
  each age , gets hardwired.
• Robert F. Anda, M.D.,M.S. Co-Principal
  Investigator for the ACE Study( Adverse Childhood
  Experiences) www.acestudy.com

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The Impact of Trauma

• Trauma or perceived danger causes the excretion
  of adrenalin and cortisol in amounts that cause
  brain damage and death in laboratory animals.
• (Perry 2004 )
• The presence of parents or other adult
  attachment figures lowers the dangerous levels of
  cortisol
• ( Dozier, 2005)
• Prolonged anxiety and excessive stress disrupts
  the architecture of the developing
• ( National Scientific Council on the
  Developing Brain, Harvard University 2006)

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Positive Stress

• Moderate, short-lived physiological response
• Increased heart rate, higher blood pressure
• Mild elevation of stress hormone, cortisol ,
  levels
• Activated by
• Dealing with frustration, meeting new people
• National Scientific Council on the Developing
  Brain, Harvard University 2006

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Tolerable Stress

• Physiological responses large enough to disrupt
  brain architecture
• Relieved by supportive relationships
• that facilitate coping,
• restore heart rate and stress hormone levels
• reduce childs sense of being overwhelmed
• Activated by
• Death of loved one, divorce, natural disasters
• National Scientific Council
  on the Developing Brain, Harvard University 2006

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Toxic Stress

• Strong prolonged activation of stress response
  systems in the absence of buffering protection of
  adult support
• Recurrent abuse, neglect, severe maternal
  depression, substance abuse, family violence
• Increased susceptibility to cardiovascular
  disease, hypertension, obesity, diabetes and
  mental health problems

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Responding to the NeedsFraming the Issues

• The need for data
• On the themes and variations in the lives of
  children and families of the incarcerated.
  Where do they fall on the continuum of stress?
• Challenge As interest in this research
  grows, how can we advocate for recognizing
  parental incarceration as a risk factor without
  creating automatic labels of pathology and
  further stigmatizing the children and their
  families?

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Children of the Incarcerated A Continuum of
Need?
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Responding to the NeedsFraming the Issues

• The need for an atmosphere of safety and trust
  for children and families of the incarcerated in
  programs, practices and policies.
• Challenge How can we encourage families to
  recognize the impact of parental incarceration on
  child health and development and seek appropriate
  support and services without demoralizing them
  with images of neglect and projections of
  criminality?

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7to 10 times more likely?We Need to Stop Saying
This

• Children experience the stigma of having a parent
  in prison
• They experience riskspoverty, racism, trauma,
  inadequate structural support systems
• Often, the same life circumstances that led the
  parent to criminality are present for the child.
• They are at risk for the cycle of trauma,
  addictions, rage, criminality.
• They feel further stigmatized by this message

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Responding to the NeedsFraming the Issues

• The need for public awareness campaigns
• Challenge How can we increase the interest
  in and support for this population without
  demonizing the incarcerated parents and
  increasing the anxiety and loyalty conflicts for
  the children?

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Advocacy that Hurts?

• Kids of Cons
• Their parents are prostitutes and drug addicts
  but they want to do better.
• These children have no one to give them
  affection or guidance.
• Would you want your child to be parented by a
  thug?

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Responding to the NeedsFraming the Issues

• The need for collaboration in the field
• Challenge Now that children of the
  incarcerated are being focused on in many and
  varied settings how can we work together to
  combat the obstacles that interfere with
  effective program and policy development?

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Children and Families of the Incarcerated A
Developing Field

• Decades of programs leading the way
• Pioneer programs still guiding practice
• Recent Federal Initiatives opening doors
• Constantly shifting focal points
• The child Mentoring
• The incarcerated parent Reentry and
  Healthy Marriage
• The programs Federal Resource Center
• The caregiver MCP Caregivers Choice

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The Past as Prologue

• The Federal Resource Center for Children of
  incarcerated parents
• Looked at model programs and practices
• Engaged stakeholders
• Included youth and caregivers
• Developed training materials

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The Past as Prologue

• Family and Corrections Network
• Disseminated current research, ideas and
  information
• Compiled Directories of Services
• Created training materials and provided training
• Compiled information from the requests of
  stakeholders

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The Landscape Now

• The National Resource Center on Children and
  Families of the Incarcerated
• 100 requests per day from
• Programs
• Incarcerated Parents
• Caregivers
• The Media
• Students and Researchers
• Community Organizers

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NRCCFI at FCN

• Training
• Mentoring, Healthy Marriage Initiatives,
  Mental Health and Social Work Professional
  Development, School Districts
• Consultation
• Fatherhood Initiatives, Faith Based
  Initiatives, Media and Public Awareness
  Campaigns, Parenting Programs
• Evaluation of Mentoring Training

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NRCCFI at FCN

• Resource Development
• Fact Sheet, Caregiver Materials, Update of
  Directory of Programs, Bill of Rights Information
  Dissemination
• Speaker and Trainer Development
• Including caregivers, children and adult
  children of the incarcerated and mentors.

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Bill of Rights for Children of the Incarcerated

• Focuses on the child
• In the context of family
• Honoring the significance of the incarcerated
  parent
• Respecting the needs of caregivers
• Advocacy for policy change
• Increased public awareness
• Impacting programs and practices

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What we Know

• Children of the Incarcerated like all humans
  are all at once like all others, like some
  others and like no others.
• 
  Emmanuel Lartey

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RESOURCES

• National Resource Center on Children and Families
  of the Incarcerated at FCN
• Directory of Programs
• Children of incarcerated parents Library
• Responding To Children and Families of
  incarcerated parents A Community Guide by Ann
  Adalist-Estrin and Jim Mustin(2003)
• Telephone Trainings, Conferences and Technical
  Assistance
• fcnetwork.org

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Presenter Contact Information

• To get a copy of this presentation-
• E-mail me
• Adalist_at_fcnetwork.org

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Focusing on the Future Implications for Public
Policy

• After hearing todays discussions and panels,
  what is one thing you might do differently in
  your work?
• When the 2010 White House Conference on Children
  is convened, what points from todays discussion
  would you want to be sure were included?
• What one thing would you want a policy maker to
  take away from this discussion?