When caregivers provide their child with dependable and reliable information about his or her parent’s incarceration, they lay the foundation for developing resilience. The disclosure fosters a trusting relationship between the caregiver and child, creating a comfortable environment for the child to ask difficult questions while grieving his or her loss and adjusting to a new reality.
PARENTAL INCARCERATION IMPACTS
Although each child’s circumstances are unique, every path on the parental incarceration journey leads to forcible loss of a parent, an adverse childhood experience, and shame and stigma. Parental incarceration affects the places where children live, learn, grow, and play. For more detailed information, click here.
Caregivers can support children as they navigate through the challenges by encouraging them to develop survival skills. These skills create resilience and allow children to thrive in the face of parental incarceration.

Parental Incarceration Impacts. A KidsMates Graphic.