User:Sgorantla/sandbox

Proposed Contributions to Wikipedia
My contributions will fall under the parent article “Incarceration in the United States”, whose outline is reproduced below with track changes to display my intended edits. In short, I plan on adding three detailed subsections to the “Effects of parental incarceration on children” subpoint 6.3.

1Overview

2History

3Prison systems

4Prison populations

4.1Duration

4.2Violent and nonviolent crime

4.3Recidivism

4.4Comparison with other countries

4.5Ethnicity

4.6Gender

4.7Youth

4.8Aged

4.9LGBT people

4.10Mental illness

4.11Students

4.12Transfer treaty

5 Operational

5.1Security levels

5.2Correspondence

5.3Conditions

5.4Privatization

5.5Employment

5.6Cost

6Effects of incarceration

6.1Effects on crime rates

6.2Social effects

6.3Effects of parental incarceration on children (significantly edited to summarize the following three subpoints)

6.3.1 Health and behavioral effects

6.3.2 Protections for parent-child relationship

6.3.3 Existing law and policy interventions

6.4Effects on employment

6.5Proposed solutions

7Criticism

7.1Department of Justice Smart on Crime Program

7.2Strip searches and cavity searches

8 References in popular culture

9 Federal prisons

10States and insular areas

11 See also

12 References

13 Further reading

13.1Books

13.2Articles and interviews

Details of Planned Work

The first of the three subsections I plan to add is the health and behavioral effects on the children. This is the most researched aspect of the subpopulation, and this first subsection would include information on detriments to mental health, increased incidence of chronic diseases, and trauma-induced ailments. In addition to being susceptible to a variety of health problems, these children tend to externalize their problems and emotions. Scholars have attempted to understand why children misbehave in school and/or at home when their parent has been away for some time.

Associated references

1. Geller, A., Garfinkel, I., Cooper, C. E., & Mincy, R. B. (2009). Parental incarceration and child well‐being: Implications for urban families. Social science quarterly, 90(5), 1186-1202.

2. Arditti, J. A., Lambert‐Shute, J., & Joest, K. (2003). Saturday morning at the jail: Implications of incarceration for families and children. Family relations, 52(3), 195-204.

The section on existing protections for parent-child relationships is intended to present and analyze the positive steps society is taking to alleviate parent-child separation. For example, the Baby and Mother Bonding Initiative (BAMBI) allows incarcerated mothers to develop meaningful bonds with their newborn baby during a crucial development period. Other measures such as slashing prison phone call rates help parents stay in contact with their children for longer.

Associated references

1. Goshin, L. S., Arditti, J. A., Dallaire, D. H., Shlafer, R. J., & Hollihan, A. (2017). An international human rights perspective on maternal criminal justice involvement in the United States. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 23(1), 53.

2. La Vigne, N. G., Naser, R. L., Brooks, L. E., & Castro, J. L. (2005). Examining the effect of incarceration and in-prison family contact on prisoners' family relationships. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 21(4), 314-335.

The last added subsection on law and policy interventions is meant to provide the legal framework for which the effects of parental separation through incarceration can be mitigated. These laws and policy are typically passed at the local and state level, and so there exists a volume of different practices local government have adopted over the years. Interventions such as increased sensitivity to the children in the arresting phase have proven to be helpful.

Associated references

1. Bloom, B. (1995). Public policy and the children of incarcerated parents. Children of incarcerated parents, 271-284.

2. Poehlmann, J., Dallaire, D., Loper, A. B., & Shear, L. D. (2010). Children's contact with their incarcerated parents: Research findings and recommendations. American Psychologist, 65(6), 575.