Bridging the Gap between Research and Practice: The Role of Science in Addressing the Effects of Incarceration on Family Life

Rising rates of incarceration, coupled with the cycling of individuals in and out of prisons, have led to an array of unintended consequences for inmates, family systems, and communities (National Research Council 2014). A key and distinguishing feature of these consequences is their impact on society’s most vulnerable communities; in particular, racial and ethnic minority communities plagued by economic deprivation, residential mobility, family disruption, and high crime rates (Pratt and Cullen 2005; Sampson and Loeffler 2010; Wakefield and Uggen 2010; Western 2006). Put simply, the removal of residents from highly segregated, predominantly minority communities due to jail and prison stints has compounded the life adversities of community members and significantly altered the way of life for those most vulnerable to structural inequities and society’s ills (Foster and Hagan 2007; Rose and Clear 1998). For this subpopulation, family fragmentation, direct and indirect exposure to violence, and criminal justice intervention are not only expected but have become a way of life (Maruna 2011; Massey 2007).