School To Prison Pipeline

We have had the unusual experiences of learning how incarceration creates collateral damage. One such unintended problem is that of sex trafficking! Not getting into all of the particulars, we want to create a space where residents can seek help for themselves or someone they know. This campaign is both a part of our school to prison work and a part of a continued effort to educate youth and the community about sex trafficking. Learn to recognize the signs of sex trafficking, which include:

• Running away from home
• Not attending school
• Having large amounts of cash or other unexplained valuable items
• Signs of physical abuse such as burn marks, bruises, or cuts

According to recent estimates (Mumola, 2000), nearly 3.6 million parents are under some form of correctional supervision, including parole. Of these parents, almost 1.1 million are incarcerated in federal, state, or local jails. These parents have an estimated 2.3 million children. Alarmingly, the rate of parental incarceration has gone up sharply in the last decade. In 1991, there were 452,500 parents in state and federal prisons, with 936,500 minor children. By 2000, the number of parents in prisons had nearly doubled to 737,400, and the number of children affected rose by over a third to 1,531,500 (Mumola, 2001). Although the absolute numbers have increased, however, the percentage of state and federal prisoners with minor children has not changed over this time period. In 1991, 57% of prisoners had minor children; in 2000, 56% were in the same situation. 

Moreover, the increase in parents who became prisoners (63%) was similar to the rate of growth for non-parental prisoners (69%) a finding that suggests that being a parent is not necessarily a protective factor in reducing the chances of incarceration. Very unfortunately the number of mothers in prison grew at a faster rate than the number of incarcerated fathers across the decade 1991-2000. There was an 87% increase for mothers, but only a 61% increase for fathers.