When Mom and Dad Go to Jail
Yesterday's "News Gems" featured a story from The Orange County Register profiling a 21-year-old man raising his sister's three children while she is in jail and battling drug addiction. Today I want to highlight two small but wonderful Chicago publications that are shining a light on the broader problem of what happens to children of incarcerated parents. In "Collateral Damage to Kids," Sarah Karp of Catalyst Chicago explores how schools are often ill-equipped to help students whose parents are in prison. Karp writes that some studies estimate that 2 percent or more of the children in the Chicago Public Schools have incarcerated parents. Although these kids often have serious emotional and financial problems, the district has few resources available to help them. Karp fills her story with strong examples and insightful analysis. http://catalyst-chicago.org/news/index.php?item=2184&cat=23&tr=y&auid=2580684
In "Uncounted and Unseen," Jeff Kelly Lowenstein of The Chicago Reporter (Catalyst's sister publication) describes how services for kids of incarcerated parents "resemble a fragile web in which few of the strands connect and through which many children fall." As a result, these children become the invisible victims of crime, increasing the odds they will repeat the mistakes their parents made. What I especially like about this story is that it suggests possible solutions as well as identifying problems. Full disclosure: Jeff was a student of mine many moons ago and we've kept in touch since. Way to go Jeff! www.chicagoreporter.com/2007/3-2007/institution/institution.htm?tr=y&auid=2581050