Imprisoned Fathers: Responding to a Growing Concern

This volume specifically examines current concerns about imprisoned fathers and highlights best practices with a group of children and parents who present significant vulnerabilities. It brings together contemporary works in this area, to share and consolidate knowledge, to encourage comparisons and collaborations across jurisdictions, and to stimulate debate, all with the aim of furthering knowledge and improving practice in this area.

Although there is considerable focus on imprisoned mothers, there is limited knowledge or understanding of the needs, experiences, or effective responses to imprisoned fathers and their children, despite men making up the vast majority of the prison population. The ongoing and negative impact of parental incarceration on children is well documented, and includes emotional and behavioural consequences, marginalisation, and stigma, as well as financial and social stresses. However, understanding of these processes, and, importantly, what can assist children and families, is poor.

This book seeks to add to the understanding of paternal imprisonment by providing an in-depth exploration of how the arrest, detention, and experiences of fathers during imprisonment can affect their ability to parent and meet the needs of their children. This book was originally published as a special issue of Child Care in Practice.

Catherine Flynn is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Social Work at Monash University, Australia. Her core research area is the intersection of criminal justice and social work. She has a keen interest in understanding and addressing the wider and unintended consequences of criminal justice policy on families.

Michelle Butler is a Lecturer in Criminology at the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work at Queen’s University Belfast, UK. Her core research areas include penology, parental imprisonment, penal reform, and criminological psychology.