The Toll of Separation on Incarcerated Mothers and Their Children

In her Sunday best, adorned with pink ruffled sleeves and a rainbow tulle tutu, Crystal Martinez’s 4-year-old daughter proudly presented her mother with a beautifully crafted bouquet of multicolored tissue paper flowers. With her 5-year-old son nestled on her lap, Martinez held her daughter in a tight embrace, knocking her glasses askew in the process, while expressing her love and appreciation.

Last month, Martinez’s five children, ranging in ages from 13 to 6, embarked on a three-hour journey from Chicago to visit her at Logan Correctional, the largest state prison for women and transgender individuals in Illinois. They participated in the Reunification Ride, a donation-dependent initiative that transports prisoners’ family members 180 miles (290 km) from the city to Logan every month, allowing them to spend precious time with their mothers and grandmothers.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of incarcerated women in the United States declined significantly. However, as the criminal justice system returns to normalcy and prison populations increase, more children are being separated from their mothers. This separation places them at a higher risk of facing health issues, behavioral problems, and susceptibility to abuse and displacement.

The impact of family separation due to incarceration disproportionately affects Black and Hispanic women, who are more likely to be imprisoned compared to their white counterparts.

For the women held at Logan, the Reunification Ride is an invaluable lifeline. Described as one of the increasingly scarce and underfunded programs aimed at keeping families together, this initiative provides hope and connection to incarcerated mothers.

Joshlyn Allen, whose 5- and 3-year-old children visited her with their grandmother, expressed gratitude for the opportunity to see her kids at least once a month, acknowledging that some people don’t have that privilege.

The Reunification Ride begins early in the morning, as the children and their caregivers gather at a South Side big box store parking lot. Despite their fatigue, they carry an air of excitement. Organizers distribute snacks, games, water, and coloring supplies before they embark on their journey.

Three hours later, a charter bus arrives at the facility’s gates, its windows filled with children eagerly peering out. As families navigate the security procedures, the prison gym, adorned with handmade decorations, echoes with joyous shouts of “Mommy!” and delighted squeals.

The prisoners themselves create decorations for these visits, including colorful paper flowers, butterflies, family photos framed with construction paper, and the bouquet presented to Crystal Martinez by her daughter. Families are restricted from bringing anything besides essential items such as diapers.

According to data from the U.S. Department of Justice, the number of incarcerated women in the U.S. decreased by approximately 30%, to 146,000, from 2019 to 2020. The nonprofit Prison Policy Initiative attributes this decline to court slowdowns, temporary process changes, and efforts to reduce prison populations during the pandemic. However, female prison and jail populations are now returning to pre-pandemic levels.

Alexis Mansfield, the coordinator for the Reunification Ride at the Women’s Justice Institute, laments the increasing number of separated families. She emphasizes that women in state or federal prisons who are parents of minor children account for about 58% of incarcerated women. Black and Latina women face higher incarceration rates compared to white women and are equally or more likely to be parents, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

While women are less likely to be incarcerated than men, the consequences of their imprisonment on families are often profound. Mansfield has witnessed children reuniting with their incarcerated mothers after extended periods of separation, only to disclose immediate challenges such as abuse or difficulties at school.

The bond between mothers and children is incredibly strong, and without the presence of their mothers, children often find themselves in vulnerable situations with no one to turn to, Mansfield explains.

Gina Fedock, a professor at the University of Chicago’s Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice, specializes in researching the well-being of marginalized women, particularly those behind bars.

Fedock states that programs like the Reunification Ride, which provide recurring visits, are rare in the United States. She highlights the lack of consistent resources, particularly transportation programs like this, in most states. She mentions Hour Children in New York as the only similar initiative found in a nationwide search.

Incarcerated women are typically the primary caregivers and often the main breadwinners. Consequently, when mothers are imprisoned, their children often face displacement or end up in the child welfare system. This kind of “ambiguous loss” of a parent can lead to increased health risks, developmental delays, behavioral problems, and educational challenges, as sudden changes in caregivers often necessitate abrupt school transfers.

Fedock stresses that maintaining the maternal bond can mitigate the traumatic effects of parental incarceration on children and their families. She emphasizes that any constraint on the parent also constrains the parent-child relationship.

For Nyia Pritchett, visiting her mother Latonyia Dextra would have been impossible without the Reunification Ride. Pritchett, now 27, had not seen her mother in person for three years prior to the trip. Living an hour outside of Chicago, she woke up at 4 a.m. to catch the bus, emphasizing the significance of these moments despite the long separation from her mother.

Dextra, serving a 28-year sentence and having been incarcerated since Pritchett was a child, braided her daughter’s vibrant red curls into a crown during the visit. The experience evoked memories of their time together when Pritchett was a little girl.

Reflecting on the time spent without her mother, Pritchett couldn’t hold back her tears. Dextra comforted her, holding her and wiping away her tears.

Dextra finds hope in her children and expresses deep gratitude for the Reunification Ride program, which means a great deal to her.

The Reunification Ride, previously funded by public resources that ceased during Illinois’ two-year budget impasse in 2015, has now been adopted by nonprofits relying on crowdsourcing and volunteers to sustain the program. Each trip costs approximately $3,000 to $3,500.

Recognizing its crucial importance, Alexis Mansfield affirms that the program was deemed too vital to discontinue.

Erika Ray, currently serving a 42-year sentence for armed robbery and murder, reunites with her 23-year-old daughter Jada Lesure during these visits. Lesure was just 7 when her mother was charged. Now, she brings her 4-year-old son along to see his grandmother.

These programs provide a child-friendly and welcoming environment, contrasting with the stringent rules of typical prison visits conducted behind glass or in small visitor spaces, where children struggle to stay still without any form of entertainment or food, as explained by Ray.

When Jada was a child, there were no programs like this available. Ray watches her grandson happily exploring the gym and acknowledges the immense value of such initiatives.

However, Ray understands that it will be a long time before she can return home, expressing her concern about how punishing a parent inevitably punishes the child as well.

Note: This rewritten text is an adaptation of the original, retaining the essential information while rephrasing the content to provide a fresh perspective.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about family separation

More about family separation

• Women’s Justice Institute – The official website of the Women’s Justice Institute, which coordinates the Reunification Ride program.
• Bureau of Justice Statistics – The Bureau of Justice Statistics provides data and reports on various aspects of the criminal justice system, including information on incarceration rates and parental status.
• Prison Policy Initiative – The Prison Policy Initiative is a nonprofit organization that conducts research and advocacy related to incarceration in the United States, offering insights into trends and policy implications.
• University of Chicago – Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice – The official website of the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice at the University of Chicago, which conducts research on marginalized women and their well-being.
• Report for America – Report for America is a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. It aims to address the information gaps in communities across the United States.