Community News
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“Family unity and stability have profound impacts on children’s lifelong health,” according to a health impact assessment of Proposition 47 released today by Human Impact Partners (HIP), a nonprofit that analyzes the effects of current and proposed public policies on community health. Proposition 47, “The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act,” will appear on the November 4 statewide ballot and would reduce California’s reliance on incarceration for nonviolent crimes.
HIP’s study estimates that over 10,000 children could be affected by the measure due to a resentencing option for parents who are currently incarcerated. Moreover, as many as 5,800 children a year may not have to see their parent go to prison for a nonviolent crime in the future.
The CBP’s own analysis of Proposition 47, released earlier this month, discussed the negative health impact of incarceration on individuals and their communities. As parents experience periods of incarceration, their children can be exposed to persistent poverty, food insecurity, frequent relocations, and repeated abandonment. This often leads to childhood behavioral difficulties, lower academic test scores, and an increased likelihood of contact with the juvenile justice system.
Incarcerating parents increases children’s likelihood of developing health problems, even when other risk factors — such as chronic poverty, access to health care, and the safety of the neighborhood — are taken into account. In a new study, Kristin Turney, assistant professor at the University of California, Irvine, found that childhood learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD), behavioral problems, developmental delays, and speech or language problems are all significantly related to parental incarceration. Having a parent incarcerated was in some cases more detrimental than divorce or the death of a parent.
As these youth transition into adulthood, many play a supporting role for their parents, which can put a strain on their own lives. Children of Re-Entry is a youth-led New America Media project that is working to document the stories of young people as they grapple with their parents’ incarceration and subsequent return home. In 21-year-old Alisha’s words:
A part of me knows that I’m my mom’s backbone, almost. When I’m around she tries harder. But sometimes that’s not good enough. I don’t want to look over my shoulder all the time. Like, I don’t want to worry about coming home and finding my mom not okay.
Addressing the health needs of children with incarcerated parents is a common-sense public safety approach. Untreated and unaddressed health issues as children can lead to future problems, such as drug addiction, that are prevalent in the criminal justice population. Supporting family stability would likely improve health outcomes and educational and employment prospects for these youth. Reducing unnecessary incarceration for nonviolent crimes could be one way to support family stability and thereby strengthen the long-term well-being of our communities.
— Selena Teji
By Carla María Guerrero
After leaving prison, Stacy Johnson (left) and Lori Hogg found the services they needed at A New Way of Life to stay off the streets and reintegrate into the community. (Photo by Joshua H. Busch)
Stacy Johnson had no idea what to expect when she was dropped off last August in front of a well-kept home in a quiet neighborhood in South Los Angeles. The 45-year-old had just been released early from serving her third prison sentence. She arrived at A New Way of Life Reentry Project hoping to make a fresh beginning after what had been a tumultuous twenty years.
Every year thousands of men and women like Johnson leave California prisons and return to South L.A. in need of jobs, housing and other supportive services. Their numbers could grow even higher under the state’s new prison “realignment” law, which transfers responsibility for “nonviolent, nonsexual, nonserious” felony offenders from state to county authorities.
According to Los Angeles County’s Criminal Justice Committee, an estimated 9,000 men and women who have served their prison sentences will be released to the county’s supervision by midyear and nearly 15,000 by mid-2013.
At the same time, the end of the Iraq War means the return of a significant number of veterans to the community. They share many of the same critical needs for jobs, housing and health services as those exiting prison. For both populations, locating these services in a community affected by deep budget cuts and the economic recession can be difficult.
But once found, these services can make a huge difference in whether an individual coming back from war or prison successfully reintegrates into the community.
Crucial Help
For Johnson, connecting with A New Way of Life and its founder, Susan Burton, has already changed her life immeasurably. She is in school full time and has been sober for almost three years. Eventually she would like to find a full time job and get her own place.
“I owe [Burton] everything. I came out of prison with nothing. I would’ve been back on the streets, probably using [drugs] again and staying in motels,” said Johnson, who knows firsthand how easy it is to fall prey to addiction.
At 22, Johnson started using crack cocaine and her life started unraveling. That same year, she was convicted of voluntary manslaughter after she picked up a knife to protect herself from being raped. Her assailant died and Johnson got twelve years in prison. After leaving prison she tried to rebuild her life around a new job and a new boyfriend. But he was abusive. She turned to drugs again, lost her job and her freedom, and gained one strike.
After serving two years, she lived in motels or on the streets and took drugs to numb the desolation. “When you are on drugs, you are weak. You are so vulnerable,” Johnson said. She went to jail a third time after being arrested for crack cocaine possession.
According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the state has one of the highest recidivism rates in the country. Nearly seven in ten former inmates will return to prison within three years.
Realign Priorities
For Cpl. Lauren Johnson, a 28-year-old African-American veteran of the Iraq War, knowing about the services and support available is key to successfully reintegrating back into communities.
“My experience was different from most veterans returning home because I was knowledgeable about the resources and services available to me,” she said. Originally from a Texas community with a strong military presence and culture, Lauren Johnson knew what benefits to tap into to help pay for school after her tour in Iraq.
Now working for Congresswoman Karen Bass, Lauren Johnson connects veterans with resources and services in South L.A., including referrals to Veterans Affairs and local organizations that provide housing, employment training and other services.
“It is imperative for us to mobilize for veterans once they come home. They’re used to unit cohesion and sometimes it can be a bit scary when you no longer have that camaraderie and that network you’ve been used to,” she said.
Social service advocates fear additional budget cuts will further erode the safety net in South L.A. at one of the most crucial moments.
“There needs to be an investment in housing, prevention, intervention and education … instead of systems of supervision and further incarceration,” A New Way of Life founder Burton said. “There needs to be a realignment of investment into people and communities so that crime won’t rise but opportunities for jobs and training programs will.”
Carla María Guerrero is the communications assistant at Community Coalition
