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Can Alternatives to Incarceration Enhance Child Well-Being?

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Handbook on Children with Incarcerated Parents

Abstract

In this chapter, we consider how alternatives to parental incarceration such as probation and community service could influence child well-being . As an increasing number of studies document a variety of negative outcomes for children with incarcerated parents, the broader use of alternative sentencing may serve as an important buffer against adverse effects of parental incarceration on children . We first discuss what alternatives to incarceration in the USA typically include. Second, we outline theoretical mechanisms through which these alternatives could enhance child well-being . Next, we discuss the data structure needed to rigorously test these alternatives. We then review the limited US-based research on the topic, as well as some of the more rigorous and expansive empirical studies on alternatives to incarceration and child well-being that have been conducted outside of the USA. We conclude with a discussion of key directions to advance research in this area, including a review of promising and ongoing programmatic efforts to implement related policy changes for convicted individuals with minor children .

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    Alyssa W. Goldman

  2. ROCKWOOL Foundation Research Unit, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Lars H. Andersen & Signe H. Andersen

  3. Department of Policy Analysis and Management, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    Christopher Wildeman

Authors
  1. Alyssa W. Goldman
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  2. Lars H. Andersen
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  3. Signe H. Andersen
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  4. Christopher Wildeman
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alyssa W. Goldman .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Family Translational Research Group, New York University, New York, NY, USA

    J. Mark Eddy

  2. Human Development & Family Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA

    Julie Poehlmann-Tynan

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Goldman, A.W., Andersen, L.H., Andersen, S.H., Wildeman, C. (2019). Can Alternatives to Incarceration Enhance Child Well-Being?. In: Eddy, J., Poehlmann-Tynan, J. (eds) Handbook on Children with Incarcerated Parents. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16707-3_16

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