When Moms Are Incarcerated: The Needs of Children, Mothers, and Caregivers

Maternal incarceration increasingly contributes to the number of children placed in kinship care arrangements. The needs of incarcerated women, their children, and the children's caregivers have historically been dealt with in isolation. Practitioners across substantive areas of corrections, child welfare, and aging must think creatively and collaboratively about ways to positively assist these families. This paper examines the needs of children, imprisoned women, and the children's kinship caregivers from an ecological theoretical perspective. Key findings from evaluation studies of programs designed to strengthen families affected by maternal incarceration are discussed. Finally, interventions that increase adaptive exchanges between incarcerated women, their children, and the children's caregivers are suggested.