2.7 Million Children Under the Age of 18 Have a Parent in Prison or Jail-WE NEED REFORM NOW!

http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/27-million-children-under-age-18-have-parent-prison-or-jail

By the best estimates, about 2.7 million children under the age of 18 have a parent in prison or jail. According to sociologists Bruce Western and Becky Petit (pdf), that means one in 28 kids in the United States (as of 2010) has a mother or father, or both, in lockup – a dramatic change from the one in 125 rate a quarter of a century ago. Approximately one in nine black children have an imprisoned parent, four times as many 25 years ago. Furthermore, 14,000 or more children of the imprisoned annually enter foster care, while an undetermined number enter juvenile detention and adult prisons.

The losses children experience from of an imprisoned parent are many (pdf). While imprisoned, governments deprive parents of consistent contact and engagement with their children. Their kids rarely visit them in prison because these parents are often isolated at great distances from their communities. A sad example is the recent decision of the federal bureau of prisons to relocate their inmates to prisons scattered around the country, making visitation impossible for many.

Even phone calls become difficult and rare because of exorbitant telephone rates. Some imprisoned parents with long sentences may even permanently lose their parental rights.