The language of family impact is an important theme for activists who work for reform of America’s incarceration system. Since the mis-1990s, groups like Justice for Families and Families Against Mandatory Minimums have worked to publicize the problems of solitary confinement and long sentences by pointing out the effects of these policies on families. This messaging taps into older, typically conservative discourse about the negative impacts of government action on families, repurposing that argument for a reform agenda.
There is evidence that the federal government has become receptive to the message. Earlier this year the Justice Department’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) held grant competitions for programs that would address the specific challenges that incarceration poses for families. Included as part of 2008’s Second Chance Act*, these grants fund efforts to improve familial relationships and decrease recidivism. As part of SCA funding, the federal government targeted over $4million to addressing familial impact through two grants:
- SCA Strengthening Relationships Between Young Fathers and Their Children: A Reentry Mentoring Project, seven awards totaling $2,939,067;
- SCA Strengthening Families and Children of Incarcerated Parents, three awards totaling $1,239,276
These grants reflect reception of the social movement argument that prison hurts families, as well as the message that families should be part of the solution to preventing recidivism.
*A good summary of the SCA and its impact on criminal justice can be found here.
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