Prisoners Once Removed: The Impact of Incarceration and Reentry on Children, Families, and Communities

by Jeremy Travis (Editor), Michelle Waul (Editor)

Imprisonment casts a long shadow in the United States. Currently, 1.4 million individuals are behind bars in America's state and federal prisons. For every person who goes to prison, there is a family and community left behind. Despite the huge number of affected families and children, there is little research on the impact of incarceration on American family life. In Prisoners Once Removed, the authors explore this important issue-from the psychological impact of imprisonment on prisoners and the difficulty of reentering free society to the challenges faced by communities who must integrate the prisoners once they return. They look at family functioning during a period of imprisonment, and how families are affected by the return of an incarcerated parent. Finally, they evaluate the current system and suggest ways to improve interaction between the corrections and health and human services to better serve the growing population of children, families, and communities. This book is vital reading for anyone who is concerned about foster care, child development, strengthening families, and post-prison adjustment.

Genres: Nonfiction

410 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2003

Reviews

[Eleña Horvitz]

I’ve got to give a shoutout to this book. I’ve read quite a bit on incarceration and reentry, and this compilation of works stands out in how it situates these social issues within the context of family. It accomplishes the goal of exploring the ripple effects of incarceration, and provides a trauma-informed perspective to re-humanize these issues that plague so many American communities.

[Em]

i always like books by urban institute press and this is no exception. a nice not overly academic introduction to an important topic.