[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 322 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 322

    Recognizing the importance of providing services to children of 
                         incarcerated parents.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 17, 2015

 Mr. Carson of Indiana (for himself, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Clay, 
Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Clyburn, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, 
 Mr. Ellison, Mr. Fattah, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Hastings, Ms. Norton, Ms. 
  Jackson Lee, Mr. Jeffries, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Ms. 
  Kelly of Illinois, Ms. Lee, Mr. Lewis, Mr. Payne, Ms. Plaskett, Mr. 
   Rangel, Mr. Richmond, Mr. Rush, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. 
 Veasey, Ms. Maxine Waters of California, Mrs. Watson Coleman, and Ms. 
   Wilson of Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was 
        referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Recognizing the importance of providing services to children of 
                         incarcerated parents.

Whereas the number of children with an incarcerated parent has increased nearly 
        80 percent in the past 20 years;
Whereas an estimated 2,000,000 to 5,000,000 children have a parent in State or 
        Federal prison, yet few resources exist to support young children and 
        families coping with this life-changing circumstance;
Whereas studies suggest that 30 to 50 percent of incarcerated fathers do not see 
        their children while they are in prison;
Whereas research suggests that children of incarcerated parents may struggle 
        more with academic achievement and behavioral problems than their peers 
        who do not have a parent in the criminal justice system;
Whereas children of incarcerated parents are 6 times more likely than their 
        peers to be incarcerated themselves at some point throughout their 
        lives;
Whereas children of incarcerated parents need guidance on how to express 
        emotions related to absent parents, while their caregivers need help 
        maintaining routines and establishing age-appropriate communication 
        around incarceration; and
Whereas providing children with coping strategies and additional emotional 
        resources, such as mentors, trained teachers, skilled counselors, and 
        strong foster families can help them feel comforted and secure 
        throughout this difficult time: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the unique challenges facing children who 
        are growing up with one or both parents in prison;
            (2) recognizes the need for more research and guidance on 
        the impact of children interacting with the criminal justice 
        system;
            (3) recognizes that more resources and services, such as 
        schools, afterschool programs, mentors, health care providers, 
        and the juvenile justice system need to target the specific 
        needs of children of incarcerated parents in order to reduce 
        the cycle of families in the criminal justice system;
            (4) recognizes the needs for capacity-building training for 
        service providers to address the needs of this population;
            (5) supports research and the building of community 
        partnerships to provide a comprehensive plan to meet the needs 
        of individual children struggling to balance the difficulties 
        of academic, social, and economic stability while a parent is 
        incarcerated;
            (6) supports law enforcement training programs that will 
        factor in the emotional and physical well-being of children 
        when their parents are arrested;
            (7) recognizes the needs to provide parents with 
        constructive skill building programs so that, when appropriate, 
        they can maintain a healthy relationship with their children 
        while in prison and after release;
            (8) supports strengthening the access parents have to 
        health care, education, housing, and job training services so 
        that they can be productive role models for their children 
        post-release from a correctional institution; and
            (9) supports research into the use of technology to explore 
        alternative means for communication with the goal of 
        maintaining bonds between incarcerated parents and their 
        children when appropriate.
                                 <all>