Children endure significant challenges when a family member is in custody, including the trauma of being separated from a parent. Children often have to change homes and schools following parental imprisonment, and siblings may be separated. Friendship groups and support networks are disrupted. Some children become homeless and may be placed in dangerous or abusive situations (McGinley and Jones, 2018).
This talk will discuss nationwide provision in the UK for children who have a family member in prison, and the barriers that currently exist with regards to early identification of these children so that support can be put in place when it is critically needed. This talk will also discuss introduce key findings from the new report ‘From arrest to release, helping families feel less alone: An evaluation of a Worcestershire pilot support project for families affected by parental imprisonment’ (Cooper, Payler, Bennett & Taylor, 2023). Current provision within the criminal justice system focuses on supporting and rehabilitating the imprisoned adult and fails to consider much broader and intergenerational needs of families.
Our project evaluation research indicates that the type and quality of support that parents, children, and young people can access from charities can provide a ‘lifeline’ of support. The children and young people of today with imprisoned parents need support to help them to deal with the trauma and distress surrounding parental imprisonment, to continue to grow, and to engage fully in their education, relationships and futures.
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Dr Stephanie Bennett
Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Forensic Psychology, University of Chichester, The Open University, England, United Kingdom
Dr Stephanie Jane Bennett is a Lecturer in Criminology and Forensic Psychology at the University of Chichester, where she is course leader for new course BSc. Criminology. Stephanie received her PhD in Psychology from the University of Plymouth in 2012. Stephanie has been working in Psychology and allied disciplines for over 20 years, with experience of working for the NHS, NGOs as well as extensive experience of teaching and researching Psychology and Criminology in academic settings. Stephanie is a specialist in quantitative research methods, in particular survey design and analyzing survey data using descriptive and inferential methods.
Stephanie's research themes include developmental disability, educational intervention, police wellbeing, wellbeing of children and young people during the pandemic, interventions for families who have a parent in prison and investigative interviewing of children who have been trafficked into the UK.
