CLAIM

Photos by Larisa Lynch

On Friday, September 18, the Illinois House of Representatives Youth and Family Committee held a hearing on children of incarcerated parents. The hearing was the culmination of months of hard work by Advocacy Coordinator Darlene Horton in partnership with a coalition convened by the Community Renewal Society. There was standing room only as community members from across the state came to testify and to support our cause. Adult children of incarcerated parents, formerly incarcerated parents, children’s caregivers, service providers, government officials, and advocates testified about the harm that children suffer when they are separated from their parents. They described the lack of police protocols to keep children safe at the time of their parents’ arrest, the distance of prisons from communities and lack of transportation for children’s visits, and restrictive policies that make parent-child visits difficult or impossible. Darlene gave personal testimony about her own arrest in front of her children, the arresting officer’s disregard for the children’s well being and the resulting trauma from which they still suffer. She explained the need for clear arrest protocols that prioritize the welfare of children. Visible Voices members submitted written testimony about their experiences of arrest and incarceration, and about the great value of Haymarket Center and the Women’s Treatment Center in healing their family relationships. One witness read the testimony of a grown woman still traumatized by her mother’s arrest; as an eight-year-old child police left her to fend for herself and to find her way home from downtown Chicago. 
 
Gail Smith discussed the Children of Incarcerated Parents’ Bill of Rights (see www.sfcipp.org). She focused on children’s right to be kept safe and informed at the time of their parents’ arrest; to be considered when decisions are made about their parents; to speak with, see and touch their parents; to be well cared for in their parents’ absence; and to have lifelong relationships with their parents. Gail explained that the single best way to address these rights is to increase the availability of community-based sentencing programs that keep parents and young children together and heal the addiction and trauma that is often at the root of nonviolent crime. She noted that 88% of children of incarcerated fathers stay with the children’s mothers, but just 37% of children whose mothers are in prison live with their fathers, and most have their homes disrupted due to their mothers’ arrests. A growing number of children are permanently separated from their incarcerated mothers by termination of parental rights. Many of these children are never adopted or placed in permanent homes. Gail explained the need for meaningful reunification services, regular parent-child visits, better coordination between foster care and corrections, and the need to extend the timeframe for incarcerated parents to complete the tasks in their service plans.

Legislators expressed understanding of our issues and support for policy change; several shared their own stories of addiction and parental incarceration. We are proud to have taken part in this important event and we look forward to working with the Youth and Family Committee to bring about change for these children and families in the coming year.