ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a family perspective of how parental incarceration and subsequent reentry impacts families across and between generations. Our coverage of proximal processes suggests key intervention points involve strengthening the identities and competencies of incarcerated parents, enhancing in-person visitation and promoting cooperative co-parenting when possible during confinement and beyond, and the provision of support and resources for children's non-incarcerated caregivers. The chapter begins the examination of how parental incarceration influences processes at the intra-individual level by focusing on the psychological effects of incarceration on parents in prison. Contact during confinement influences how families and offenders adjust to incarceration as well as the nature of family relationships after release. Findings pertaining to maternal incarceration point to the diverse experiences of families who interface with the criminal justice system. Incarceration constitutes a profound identity interruption, and parents may perceive themselves as losing their place with respect to their children.
