The upsurge in people incarcerated in the United States since the late 1970s has meant that many
people in prison and jail are parents. Currently 2.7 million children in the United States have
incarcerated parents, and more than 10 million children have had an incarcerated parent (Johnston
2010). Given these numbers, researchers began to examine how a parent’s imprisonment impacted
a child’s growth and development. The history of this research and researchers’ findings can be
useful to the corrections community. While much of the information below is specific to the United
States, this article also has implications for children internationally.Accepted manuscrip