NCJ Number
222486
Date Published
August 2007
Length
181 pages
Annotation
This report presents findings of a survey of the health, needs, risks, and successes of Wyoming children whose parents are incarcerated, and it recommends support services for these children.
Abstract
The majority of the children were White/Caucasian, and the incarcerated parent was the father for 68 percent of the children, the mother for 21 percent of the children, and both parents for 11 percent of the children. Caregivers ranged in age from 19 to 70 years old and were most often females directly related to the child. The caregiver was a biological parent for 58 percent of the children and a grandparent for 33 percent of the children. Approximately one-third of the children lived in a household with a single adult; approximately half of the households had two adults. Most of the household adult wage earners were employed full time. One-third of the caregivers received food stamps in the last 30 days; few received "welfare" cash assistance in the last 30 days. One-fourth of the caregivers received social security. Approximately half of the children lived with their parents immediately before the parent was arrested. Approximately one-third of the children were too young to be in school. Just over one-third of the children received counseling or special services in school, and more than one-third received counseling or special services outside of school. Most of the children had good or excellent health. Approximately one-fourth of the adolescents described themselves as current smokers. Most of the young children had never had an alcoholic drink, but 75 percent of the adolescents had an alcoholic drink at least once in their lives. The report advises that because of the self-selection of the sample, it is likely that these results are biased toward better-functioning families. 34 tables, 5 figures, 14 references, and appended caregiver survey and responses, adolescent survey and responses, caregiver survey, and adolescent survey