The Direct Financial Costs of Family Member Incarceration

• In Event: The Financial Toll of Incarceration for Individuals, Families, and Communities

Abstract

Using original data from the Family Incarceration Costs Survey, we present the first national estimates of the direct financial costs of family member incarceration. We find that most Americans with an incarcerated family member provide them direct financial support. The median monthly expenses among those who contribute is $172 (6% of household income). On average, African Americans and Hispanics incur higher expenses than Whites despite lower household incomes. Men and women contribute similar amounts, but these expenses reflect a larger share of women’s household income. Poor families’ expenses are comparable to those of affluent families and are similar to their spending on healthcare, utilities, and car-related costs (insurance and gas). Together, these results suggest that familial incarceration is a prominent line item that strains marginalized families’ already-tight household budgets and is a significant yet under-appreciated mechanism through which mass incarceration has reshaped the texture of American poverty in recent decades.

Author

• Christopher Wildeman, Duke University