By The Southern Poverty Law Center

The impact of mass incarceration on children and families in Louisiana is significant. As the mass incarceration capital of the world, Louisiana has an estimated 94,0001 children with a parent who is behind bars. The devastating effects of incarceration on children and families are evidence that incarceration is a sentence that the entire family will serve. Parental incarceration is a growing epidemic. Nationally, one in 28 children experiences parental incarceration today, compared to one in 125 children in 1985.2 Black children are particularly affected by caregiver incarceration, as 11.4% of Black children experience parental incarceration, compared to 1.8% of their white peers.3 This is of little surprise, as Black people are disproportionately represented in the prison system, due to historic social and economic inequality.

Montgomery, AL: Southern Poverty Law Center.  2021. 16pg