ABSTRACT
Regrettably, prisons have created a drain on families and communities. There is a great deal of evidence that a prison sentence may actually reinforce a cyclical pattern of incarceration for prisoners. Instead of being rehabilitated in prison, a majority of them will return to disadvantaged communities only to be arrested and sent back to prison. Beyond the cyclical and individual impact of prison life, the ongoing generational impact of criminal behavior also contributes to the growing prison population epidemic. When a parent is incarcerated, the lives of children can be disrupted in tragic ways. Children of prisoners represent one of the most at-risk populations for alcohol and drug abuse, delinquency and crime, gang involvement, and subsequent incarceration. Beyond the human drain, there is an enormous financial drain on society as a result of an overreliance on incarceration. The comprehensive cost of incarceration in the context of the efficacy of the US prison system is unfortunately far more pervasive and consequential than many scholars and policy-makers have understood.
