NCJ Number
236086
Date Published
September 2011
Length
78 pages
Annotation
This report to Congress by the U.S. Government Accountability Office examined the problem of children in foster care with incarcerated parents.
Abstract
Three main questions were explored in this report: how many children in foster care have an incarcerated parent; what strategies have child welfare and corrections agencies in selected States used that could support contact or reunification between these children and their parents; and in what ways do the U.S. Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Health and Human Services (HHS) help child welfare and corrections agencies in working with these children and their incarcerated parents? Data from HHS reveals that foster care children with an incarcerated parent are not a well defined population, but the numbers indicate that the size of this population is in the thousands. In 2009, approximately 8 percent of children entering foster care were placed there due to an incarcerated parent. However, this number does not take into account those children who enter foster care under different circumstances. In addition, not all States submit the necessary data required by HHS that indicate the reasons a child was placed in foster care. Inmate surveys conducted by DOJ indicate that a significantly higher number of incarcerated parents have at least one child in foster care. This report identifies several strategies that agencies use to preserve families. These strategies include delaying the termination of parental rights for incarcerated parents, making reasonable efforts to reunify foster children with their incarcerated parents before filing for termination, and providing guidance and training to agencies to involve incarcerated parents more actively in the case and to contact their children. This report also identifies resources and assistance available from HHS and DOJ to help State agencies and organizations that work with foster children with incarcerated parents. Recommendations for improving assistance to foster children with incarcerated parents are discussed. Figures, tables, and appendixes