Finding Our Families: The Collateral Consequences of Mass Incarceration for the Blameless

• In Event: Decarceral, Disabled, and Reparative Futures in Higher Education

Abstract

It is Saturday morning at one of the most notorious maximum-security prisons, and the housing unit is unusually quiet. This is because it is approximately 25 minutes prior to the start of visitation and men are busy showering, putting on their best khaki uniform, and lacing up their newest sneakers or boots. The unusual quietness reflects the nerve-wrecking anxiety produced while one is patiently waiting for their name to be called for a visit. So much can go wrong. A family member may be having car trouble or call in sick. Or, a guard may arbitrarily decide that the family member did not meet the dress code requirements of the institution and deny them entry. For those who may have been expecting a visit and were never called, the silence is an eerie reminder of the traumatic effect an incarcerated person undergoes each time they feel left behind.

As a formerly incarcerated person who served 30 consecutive years in prison, I have experienced all of the above first-hand; however, the traumatic events I wish to expose in this study are those experienced by children who have had or currently have an incarcerated parent. At the various institutions where I was housed, children predominately occupied the visiting halls. Parental separation and economic hardship are the most common detrimental impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) regardless of race and ethnicity. It is then no surprise that separation as a result of incarceration exacerbates many of the ACEs children with an incarcerated family member must undergo (Travis, McBride, & Solomon, 2005).

With the prison boom witnessed here in the U.S. in the past 40 years, it is no longer an anomaly for Black and Brown children to have experienced an incarcerated parent. Some estimates suggest that as many as 1 in 10 U.S. children have a currently or formerly incarcerated parent (Travis, McBride, & Solomon, 2005). Studies also suggest that these young people perform poorly on standardized tests, receive poor grades, are less likely to become involved in extracurricular activities during or after school, and are more susceptible to school disciplinary practices because of what is often deemed by school officials as disruptive behavior. Unfortunately, the detrimental consequences for youth with a parent incarcerated often have life-altering impacts. For example, a recent study on the social detriments of health in the Netherlands found that children of incarcerated parents were more likely to die prematurely in adulthood than people whose parents have not been incarcerated (Duran, Schroeder, Anthony-North, 2018).

In an effort to create life-affirming educational spaces, this paper explores how to support justice-impacted communities in K-20 education, specifically the restorative practices currently being implemented in one urban setting in the northeast U.S. in a partnership between a Hispanic Serving Institution and a municipal Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery.

Author

• Samuel David Quiles, Rutgers University