This commentary is by state Reps. Mollie S. Burke, D-Brattleboro, and Sara Coffey, D-Guilford, co-chairs of the Women’s Legislative Caucus.
Children of incarcerated parents have committed no crime, yet they pay a steep penalty. They often forfeit their home, their safety, their public status, self-image, and their primary source of comfort and stability.
This biennium, members of the Women’s Legislative Caucus made the issue of parental incarceration a top priority by introducing H.399, legislation that seeks to ensure the fair and compassionate treatment of children whose parents are involved in the criminal justice system. H.399 proposes to afford these children certain basic considerations when decisions are made that affect them, particularly at the time of their parents’ sentencing.
Studies show that separation from a parent because of incarceration qualifies as an “adverse childhood experience,” distinguished from other adverse childhood experiences by the unique combination of trauma, shame and stigma. It jeopardizes a child’s social and emotional well-being, and can result in behavioral problems, academic failure, substance abuse, mental health issues, and incarceration in adulthood.
A Vermont Department of Corrections 2014 Inmate Family Survey Project conducted by the University of Vermont found that 2,000 Vermont children experience parental incarceration on any given day. The yearly number of impacted children is over 6,000.
Data from the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children’s Health and Adverse Family Experiences found that one in 17 children in Vermont had a mother or father in prison.
Research suggests that intervening in the lives of incarcerated parents and their children preserves and strengthens positive family connections that can yield positive societal benefits in the form of reduced recidivism, less intergenerational criminal justice system involvement, and promotion of healthy child development.
Currently, Vermont does not have a formalized process to evaluate an offender’s caregiving responsibilities and potential effects of incarceration on children. If passed into law, H.399 would both require the courts to consider the caregiving status of defendants before sentencing and standardize the way courts consider caregiver status.
This legislation would also help mitigate unintended consequences and support better outcomes for Vermont’s children and lower recidivism for their parents. Other states (Massachusetts, Washington, Illinois, Tennessee and California) have passed similar legislation, and we hope that Vermont will soon join their ranks with H.399.
On March 17, H.399 passed the Vermont House on a unanimous voice vote. The bill is now on its way to the Vermont Senate, and Vermont is one step closer to reforming Vermont’s criminal justice system with a child- and family-centered approach to sentencing.
