These informational statistics indicate how environment affects children and their families:
• 43% of U.S. children live without their fathers
• 90% of the homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes
• 80% of rapists are from fatherless homes
• 71% of pregnant teens lack a father
• 63% of youth who commit suicide are from fatherless homes
• 85% of children with behavioral disorders lack a father
• 90% of repeat arsonists are from fatherless homes
• 71% of high school drop-outs lack a father
• 75% of adolescents in chemical abuse centers lack a father
• 70% of juveniles in state institutions lack a father
• 85% of the youth in prison lack a father in the home
• One in 40 children in the United States has a parent in prison.
• During 1999, women incarcerated in federal and state prisons or in county jails were mothers to about 250,000 children. Most of these children were less than 10 years old – approximately 20% were under the age of five.
• It is estimated that the cost to society of allowing just one youth to leave high school to enter a life of crime and drug abuse is $1.7 to $2.3 million.
• Approximately 7 in 10 women under correctional sanction have minor children.
• About 1 in 40 children have an incarcerated father. -- 1 in 359 children have an incarcerated mother.
• Fewer than 1/3 of men in state prison have finished high school.
• Only 1/2 of women in state prison have finished high school
• More than 10 million children in the juvenile system have parents who were imprisoned at some point in their children’s lives.
RESOURCES
[i] Bureau of Justice Statistics (2004). Almost 6.9 Million On Probation Or Parole Or Incarcerated In U.S. Prisons Or Jails. www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/press/ppus03pr.htm
[ii]Children of Prisoners Library (2003), Facts and Issues: CPL 101. Introduction to Children of Prisoners. www.fcnetwork.org
[iii]George, Susan M. (2003). Incarcerated Mothers and Their Children: A Decade Long Overview. Women, Girls & Criminal Justice, 4 (5) 69.
[iv]University of Chicago Magazine (2003). Research:Investigations, Moms behind bars.95 (5).
[v]Family& Corrections Network. Reading Room.
[vi]Butterfield, Fox (December 2003), Women Find a New Arena for Equality: Prison, New York Times.
[vii] Center for Law and Social Policy. Every Door Closed: Facts About Parents with Criminal Records.