Testimony: Family-Centered Sentencing Helps Break the Cycle of Poverty

On Friday, May 10, 2024, the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations held a hearing on family-based alternative sentencing, in particular on developing opportunities for service and workforce programs to support climate-ready communities. Next100 policy entrepreneur Derrell Frazier submitted written testimony to express support for family-based alternative sentencing.

Testimony by Derrell Frazier, FY25 Written Public Testimony for the Record Policy Entrepreneur, Next100

New York, NY

Submitted to the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee
of the House Committee on Appropriations regarding Family-Based Alternative Sentencing

Date submitted – May 10, 2024

Chairman Cartwright, Ranking Member Aderholt, and members of the subcommittee, my name is Derrell Frazier. I am a child of an incarcerated parent and in my professional position I serve as a Next100 policy entrepreneur at The Century Foundation.

Decades of research have shown that incarcerating parents creates poor outcomes for children, with negative impacts spanning social and emotional development, health, education, changing caregivers, involvement in the foster care system, financial hardship, and housing instability. Yet more than 2.7 million children in the United States have an incarcerated parent. Fortunately, there are now successful, evidence-based alternatives to incarcerating parents, which provide children with greater stability and sense of belonging, ensure family success, reduce crime, and improve community health.

To accomplish this goal, Advocates of carceral reform seek $10 million for family-based alternative sentencing, to continue and expand the operations of the Byrne Grant Program at the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) in the Department of Justice. Continued and expanded funding will enable state, local, and community agencies to replicate successful parenting sentencing alternative programs.

Children of incarcerated parents represent one of the most vulnerable and marginalized demographics in our society. The trauma and stigma associated with parental incarceration can have profound and lasting impacts on their emotional, psychological, and academic well-being. Studies consistently demonstrate the increased likelihood of these children experiencing adverse outcomes, such as poor educational attainment, involvement in criminal activities, and intergenerational cycles of incarceration

The U.S. Dream Academy exemplifies the kind of values that should be the governing policy on the issue. The transformative power of intervention and support for children of incarcerated parents. By offering a safe and nurturing environment, mentorship, educational enrichment, and emotional guidance, organizations like the U.S. Dream Academy play a pivotal role in breaking the cycle of incarceration and empowering these children to realize their full potential. However, the scope and reach of such initiatives are often constrained by limited resources and funding. I have personally been impacted by the benefit of the services the U.S. Dream Academy offers as a child of an incarcerated parent. The U.S. Dream provided me with a safe space where I could naturally be myself and develop as a young person interested in education, the arts and social-emotional development.

It is currently time to end unnecessary family separations by the criminal justice system. The United States incarcerates the parents of 2.7 million children at this very moment. Over 10 million children and adult children have experienced parental incarceration in their lifetime. We know the following to be true:

• Incarcerating parents creates poor outcomes for children and communities.
• Parental incarceration disproportionately affects marginalized populations: Black children are seven times, and Latino/a children are two times, more likely to have a parent in prison than white youth.
• Incarceration of parents creates substantial drops in income for families, increases anxiety, mental health difficulties, and reduces educational achievement.

It is imperative to recognize the efficacy and importance of family-based alternative Sentencing programs in addressing the needs of children with incarcerated parents. Therefore, I propose the continued allocation of $10 million to sustain and expand these initiatives under the Byrne Grant Program administered by the OJJDP. This funding would enable state, local, and community agencies to replicate and scale successful parenting sentencing alternative programs, thereby extending support to a larger number of families in need.

Fortunately, we already know that programs like this one contribute significantly to ameliorating the problem. California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Oregon, and Washington have created successful programs that divert parents from receiving sentences. These programs provide eligible parents with community custody, including extensive programming and treatment, by providing stability to children, ensure family success, reduce crime, and increase community vibrancy. Washington State’s program has a 71-percent successful completion rate. Only 8 percent of participants who successfully complete the program return to prison, compared to 30 percent for the overall offender population.

By expanding access to supportive services and resources, we can break the cycle of intergenerational incarceration, promote positive outcomes for vulnerable youth, and build stronger, more resilient communities. As a beneficiary of the U.S. Dream Academy, I urge policymakers and stakeholders to prioritize the needs of these children and families by endorsing this proposal and ensuring the continuation of vital funding support.

I want to thank the subcommittee for its past funding of family-based alternative sentencing programs. With the increase of interest from states, the time is ripe for Congress to offer guidance and support to states currently offering parental sentencing alternatives, as well as to invite states interested in offering new parental diversion programs to participate. We urge the subcommittee to support $10 million in funding for the program to help families stay together and ultimately to assist communities, children of incarcerated parents, and their families to have better, more successful outcomes.