Maternal Imprisonment and Family Life From the Caregiver's Perspective : From the Caregiver's Perspective

Exploring the untold experiences of family members and friends caring for the children of female prisoners in England and Wales, this book sheds light on the collateral damage that incarceration causes those who take over caregiving responsibilities for the children of female prisoners. Providing new qualitative research on the lived experiences of caregiving relatives, alongside theoretically informed and policy-relevant insights, the book shows the difficult and damaging consequences of the ‘family sentence’ they serve. Exploring the stigma, scarce statutory support and policy neglect they face, it offers much-needed evidence to encourage the development of a more inclusive, understanding and family-oriented justice system. Front Cover Maternal Imprisonment and Family Life Copyright information Table of contents List of tables Acknowledgments Preface: Linda's story Contextualising Linda’s story: a note on the research One The landscape of maternal imprisonment: caregiving and family life Introduction The landscape of maternal imprisonment: a family affair Caregiving during maternal imprisonment Mothers in contact with the criminal justice system Caregivers: the forgotten family members A closer look at caregivers’ experiences Supporting prisoners’ families: policy, practice and wider society Chapter overview Summary Notes Two Researching the caregiver’s lived experiences Introduction Theoretical framework: ‘family practices’ Applying ‘family practices’ to maternal imprisonment The research study Access and recruitment Data collection and analysis The caregiving kin The caregiving kin: a personal introduction Summary Notes Three Family constructions and caregiving practices Introduction Joint interviews and collective caregiving Supportive collective caregiving practices The nature and extent of collective caregiving practices The strain of collective caregiving Doubly invisible children Caregivers’ dependent children Caregivers’ adult children and grandchildren Family constructions: fathers and paternal kin Fathering roles and practices Active fathering Irregular fathering Absent fathers Fathers in prison Paternal kin Summary Note Four Renegotiating family life: caregiving in the aftermath of the mother’s imprisonment Introduction News of the imprisonment The unexpected sentence: guilty The unexpected sentence: seriousness and mitigation Feeling bereaved The initial response to the mother’s imprisonment: why and how? Why care? Caregiving preparations when children already lived with the caregiver Caregiving preparations when children moved into caregivers’ homes after arrest Caregiving preparations when children moved into caregivers’ homes after imprisonment Moving households Telling the children Longer-term renegotiations Sorting the mother’s affairs Caregiving: adjusted identities and practices Social identity Work commitments and financial considerations Summary Notes Five Navigating the criminal justice system Introduction Court processes Court practices Locating support Re-establishing contact On the telephone Face-to-face contact Maintaining contact The cost of telephoning Booking visits The timing of visits Travel distance and costs Prison visiting processes and environment Postal contact Technology: emails and video-calling MBUs Children housed on an MBU Awaiting places on MBUs Summary Notes Six Social support, familial stigma and release Introduction Legal guardianship and statutory support Challenges of not having legal guardianship ROs Expecting statutory support Locating support from welfare agencies Familial stigma Caregivers’ experiences of media reports Protecting the children from media reports The impact of media reports: experiencing stigma in the community The impact of media reports: experiencing stigma online Fear and management of stigma Experiencing stigma at the prison Expectations for release Uncertainties surrounding the mother’s release date Anxieties about the changes accompanying the mother’s release Starting a new chapter Summary Notes Seven Kin caregiving: occupying a disenfranchised status while serving the family sentence Introduction What has been learned about the family sentence? Doing caregiving Collective caregiving practices What has been learned about caregivers’ disenfranchised social status? Court experiences: separation and exclusion Dissociation from formal support Inadequate financial support Issues maintaining contact Release and the uncertain duration of caregiving Devalued by society: familial stigma Building on what we know: key findings and policy recommendations Recommendation one: identify mothers and children at court Recommendation two: expand the provision of family liaison workers at courts Recommendation three: provide free information packs from the prison Recommendation four: ensure the accountability of provisions via family performance measures Recommendation five: expand Hidden Sentence Training Concluding thoughts Notes Eight Reflections on the research process Introduction Practical challenges: recruitment Ethical challenges: managing withdrawal Reflexivity: the researcher’s identity Summary Notes References Index Back Cover

Exploring the untold experiences of family members and friends caring for the children of female prisoners in England and Wales, this book sheds light on the collateral damage that incarceration causes those who take over caregiving responsibilities for the children of female prisoners. Providing new qualitative research on the lived experiences of caregiving relatives, alongside theoretically informed and policy-relevant insights, Booth shows the difficult and damaging consequences of the 'family sentence' they serve. Exploring the stigma, scarce statutory support and policy neglect they face, she offers much-needed evidence to encourage the development of a more inclusive, understanding and family-oriented justice system.

Exploring the untold experiences of family members and friends caring for the children of female prisoners in England and Wales, this book analyses the complex challenges of the ‘family sentence’ they serve and the realities of their disenfranchised status in society, policy and practice.