New Publication Announcement: second edition of Handbook on Children with Incarcerated Parents co-authored by WI-AIMH member Dr. Julie Poehlmann-Tynan

The following message is from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Human Ecology.

Poehlmann-Tynan and Eddy publish second edition of Handbook on Children with Incarcerated Parents

In the country with the highest rate of adult incarceration as well as a growing incarceration crisis at the US–Mexico border, scholars hail the timely arrival of this updated guide to working with children with incarcerated parents. 

MADISON – Nearly a decade after the publication of a first-of-its-kind guide for researchers and practitioners working with children with incarcerated parents, Dr. Julie Poehlmann-Tynan, the Dorothy O’Brien Professor in Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and affiliate faculty with the Institute for Research on Poverty and the Center for Healthy Minds, and co-editor Dr. J. Mark Eddy, Senior Research Scientist with New York University, have published an update to their groundbreaking tome.

“I’m eager to get this new edition out into the world, as the research on children with incarcerated parents has exploded in the past 10 years,” says Poehlmann-Tynan. “Whether a child is experiencing her first visit to a parent in jail or is detained on the US–Mexico border, separated from her parents and fearing their deportation, I anticipate this book will help us serve our children and families better—everyone from policymakers to frontline social workers. ”

This new handbook examines family life, health, and educational issues that often arise for the millions of children in the United States whose parents are involved with the criminal justice system, from arrest to prison or jail incarceration to reentry into the community. It details how children with incarcerated parents are more likely to exhibit behavior problems such as aggression, substance abuse, learning difficulties, mental health concerns, and physical health issues than their peers. It also examines resilience and how children and families can thrive even in the face of multiple challenges related to parental incarceration. 

“This important new volume provides a cutting-edge update of research on the impact of incarceration on family life. The book will be an essential reference for researchers and practitioners working at the intersections of criminal justice, poverty, and child development,” says Dr. Bruce Western, Professor at Columbia University and Co-Director of the school’s Justice Lab.

Chapters integrate the diverse, interdisciplinary, and rapidly expanding literature, and they synthesize rigorous scholarship to address the needs of children from multiple perspectives, including child welfare, child development, education, health care, mental health, family science, law enforcement, corrections, and law. The handbook concludes with a chapter that explores new directions in research, policy, and practice to improve the life chances of children with incarcerated parents.

Dr. Leslie Leve, an expert in child and adolescent development at the University of Oregon, says, “This edition is a ‘must-read’ for students, researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers alike who are dedicated to promoting the health and resilience of children affected by parental incarceration.”

Handbook on Children with Incarcerated Parents: Research, Policy, and Practice is now available in hardcover and eBook versions from Springer. 

The School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison was founded in 1903. For over a century, it has promoted real-world, problem-solving research and teaching to improve the quality of life for children, families, consumers, and communities.