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How does incarceration shape the prospects of adults who are imprisoned? Please refer to the book Children of the Prison Boom: Mass Incarceration...

On page 17 of Children of the Prison Boom, Wakefield and Wildeman cite several statistics about the effects of incarceration on the adults who are imprisoned. They cite research that suggests having a criminal record leads to a 10% to 30% reduction in earnings, in part because employers do not want to hire someone with a record. For African-American men, the result of imprisonment is particularly harsh, as there is evidence (cited by the...

On page 17 of Children of the Prison Boom, Wakefield and Wildeman cite several statistics about the effects of incarceration on the adults who are imprisoned. They cite research that suggests having a criminal record leads to a 10% to 30% reduction in earnings, in part because employers do not want to hire someone with a record. For African-American men, the result of imprisonment is particularly harsh, as there is evidence (cited by the authors) that suggests that employers prefer hiring white men with a felony conviction over African-Americans without any convictions. Therefore, African-American men with convictions are hit particularly hard, and they often have to hold low-paying, temporary jobs when they leave prison.


As a result, people with criminal records face financial hardships, as they earn low wages. The cost of imprisonment is also high because their families have to pay to visit them, in addition to losing the income and support of the person who is imprisoned. Families also have to pay for legal costs and for expenses such as receiving collect calls from prison. Families with imprisoned members, usually fathers, also struggle to keep their families intact, as imprisonment often leads to divorce or separation. 

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