Children visiting their parents in jail: observations of carceral staff interactions with children

Incarcerated parent-child visits can strengthen relationships but may also be challenging, in part because of the carceral environment and how carceral staff may interact with children and families, in addition to issues related to ambiguous loss. To examine carceral staff interactions and children’s behaviors during visits with incarcerated parents, researchers observed visits at four midwestern jails. The sample included 118 children between 3 and 17 years (mean = 7.49, SD = 3.73) and their at-home caregivers and incarcerated parents. Children were White (39.83%), Black/African American (21.18%), Hispanic/Latine (17.79%), Multiracial (16.1%), and Asian or Native American (1.69%). Most jailed parents were fathers (87.3%), and most children (65.3%) were cared for by their mothers. Multiple regression analyses indicated that when staff interacted more negatively with children during wait time, children exhibited more behavioral dysregulation throughout their time in the jail. Carceral staff interactions during entry, wait time, and visiting improved at one jail over time, but not at the others. Results suggest a need for training carceral staff and child-friendly visiting programs.