Parenting Young Offenders: Shaping and Re-Shaping Social Networks following Custody

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61% of young offenders serving custodial sentences return to their family after completing their prison term (HM Inspectorate, 2011), with a total of 3,925 children (aged 10-17) incarcerated (Ministry of Justice, 2011/12). The importance of social ties and family relationships has been well linked to factors explaining desistance from offending as well as positive resettlement following imprisonment (Sampson and Laub, 1993, Farrall, 2004). As has been operationalized in these studies, practical, emotional and financial support are key attributes associated with more positive resettlement prospects on release from prison, including greater chances of finding work, training or education. Whilst the role of families and social ties can be important mechanisms in supporting offenders, few studies have focused on the experiences of family members in the imprisonment process, especially parents with children (aged 10-17) imprisoned. Besides the key role which parents can play in relation to desistance and resettlement, parents can suffer considerable impacts and social pressures as a result of a child's imprisonment which can ultimately impair parental roles in supporting resettlement and desistance. These include challenges in their capacities to seek support amongst friends, extended family, and via a range of community networks and social services (Patillo et al, 2004, Rose and Clear, 2001), in addition to impacts on finances and employment, stress, physical and mental health problems, and additional pressure on parenting duties (e.g. Ambert, 1999). This project will examine which networks prove barriers to parents, and which serve as facilitators and supporters in helping parents cope with the impact of having a child imprisoned. Here the research will conduct 60 in-depth interviews with parents of young men imprisoned, including those with community penalties or licenses attached to their sentence. This will gather data from parents about their experiences with a child imprisoned, as well as analysing the outcomes on parental social networks. Social network analysis contributes to the analysis how showing how markers of social capital, such as family ties, friendships, formal support agencies, are altered as a result of a child imprisoned. The project is based on two field locales - Parc YOI in Bridgend, South Wales, and London (working with Lambeth Youth Offending Team, and Prisoners' Families and Friends Service (PFFS). The organisations involved have established initiatives which support families cope with the effects of imprisonment, including parenting support, counselling, and group support sessions. The project will also investigate the experiences of practitioners from the Prison Service, Youth Justice Service and Third Sector in supporting parents, including the challenges in organisational and cultural environments, resources, and modes of engagement. The project focuses on assessing the ways in which imprisonment creates wider impacts on family life, such as on parenting duties, physical and mental health of parents, as well as wider sources of social and economic disadvantage. As well as providing a comprehensive picture of the needs and experiences of parents, the research will be used to support and provide recommendations to the Prison Service, Youth Justice Service and Third Sector for creating more effective family-support policies and strategies, especially those which impact on resettlement and desistance where a number of gaps in policy and service provision have been identified (Prison Inspectorate, 2011, Youth Justice Board, 2012).