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As described in the book Children of the Prison Boom: Mass Incarceration and the Future of American Inequality, how does mass incarceration in the...

In the book Children of the Prison Boom: Mass Incarceration and the Future of American Inequality, authors Sara Wakefield of Rutgers University and Christopher Wildeman of Yale University explore the effects of high rates of US incarceration, turning their attention to the children of incarcerated parents.


Using data from surveys of children and caregivers and qualitative interview data, Wakefield and Wildeman show how mass incarceration has disproportionately affected black men and their children. The...

In the book Children of the Prison Boom: Mass Incarceration and the Future of American Inequality, authors Sara Wakefield of Rutgers University and Christopher Wildeman of Yale University explore the effects of high rates of US incarceration, turning their attention to the children of incarcerated parents.


Using data from surveys of children and caregivers and qualitative interview data, Wakefield and Wildeman show how mass incarceration has disproportionately affected black men and their children. The researchers conclude that incarceration is “exceedingly racially disparate” and “harmful enough to create and maintain social inequality in child well-being.” Children of incarcerated parents were found to have significantly higher rates of infant mortality, health risks, homelessness, and mental health and behavior problems. These outcomes affect black children at far higher rates than white children.


Wakefield and Wildeman conclude that even if imprisonment rates begin to fall, the children coming of age during the “prison boom” represent a lost generation who will continue to feel the effects of paternal imprisonment into the future, saying the “childhood problems of today will become the adult problems of tomorrow.” Current incarceration policies are propagating the cycle that is disproportionately affecting African Americans. The authors communicate a sense of urgency, recommending policy changes to help prevent and possibly undo this damage.


For more information on what can be done to help at-risk children and prevent this cycle of mass incarceration, see information below from the ACLU on what has been termed the school to prison pipeline.

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