The Damaging Effects of Incarceration on Mothers and Children.

Abstract

Record ID: 295

Award(s): Excellence in Research Mentoring; Excellence in Research Communication

Student Major: Political Science & international Affairs

Project Advisor: Andrew Lewis

Abstract: This project explores the wide-ranging effects of incarceration that ripple beyond the individual, but also touch dependents, family members, and their broader community. Given the stigma associated with being a convicted criminal, research on the criminal justice system is not always focused on the well-being of the incarcerated person and their family. Public safety concerns are generally prioritized, resulting in the punitive carceral system we see today. These negative assumptions lead to a culture of mass incarceration that is not rehabilitative but instead traumatic as children are separated from their parents and communities are torn apart. By interviewing professionals involved in the criminal justice system (public defenders, Ohio Supreme Court Justice, psychologists, etc) and directly impacted mothers who were formerly incarcerated, insight into the realities of the Ohio criminal justice system become transparent. Data taken directly from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction also provides quantitative analyses on currently incarcerated women. The outcome of this project will give those who have not been involved in the criminal justice system access to real stories that humanize the experiences of those who have. Most people can imagine how destabilizing a motherless home could be and how difficult any rehabilitation would become if you were entirely separated from your family and support system. This project seeks to inspire further research into the societal costs of the American carceral system.