Termination of parental rights and child welfare public Policy: Barriers for incarcerated parents and state-level policies to help mitigate them

Abstract

The passing of the Adoptions and Safe Families Act (ASFA) of 1997 aimed to improve the safety of children through promoting adoption and placement into permanent homes. With dramatic increases in the rates of incarceration within the U.S. criminal legal system over the last 50 years, it is not surprising that the two systems would eventually intersect. For parents who are incarcerated, many run the risk of having their parental rights terminated based on guidelines outlined in ASFA. More than 10 million children have lived with a parent who has been under some form of criminal supervision. Parental incarceration is disruptive to family relationships and can result in the child being placed in foster care. This paper conducted record review for state-level polices enacted to protect and encourage the rights of incarcerated parents. The results indicated that the majority of legislative actions at the state level were designed without consideration for working across both the child welfare and criminal legal systems. To effectively address this issue means increasing cross-systems coordination and collaboration, as well as including parents who have lived experience to ensure that any legislative action considers the needs of those most impacted.