Bridging Children, Families & Communities
Relative Data
PrintFriendly

NATIONWIDE

1 in 31 US adults are in the penal system.

  • 52% of state prison inmates and 63% of federal prisoners reported an estimated total of 1,706,600 minor children living with at least one parent in prison. (Justice Department)
  • 2.3% of children under the age of 18 are growing up with an incarcerated parent.
  • 2:1 is the ratio of inmates to children of the incarcerated. In other words, for every 2 inmates, there’s 1 child in our community trying to find their way through the muddiness. (Justice Department)

OHIO

1 in 25 adults in Ohio are in the penal system. (PEW)

These children are the invisible victims who often feel they are living with a secret almost too big to bear: carrying guilt and blame that shouldn’t be theirs, thinking they have no choices, acting out until someone acknowledges that they’ve been heard – often too late.

  • 8,752,263 adults in Ohio (2008 census) equals 350,091 adults in Ohio are currently in the penal system on some level. (PEW 1 in 25)
  • 175,045 children in Ohio have at least one parent incarcerated or in the penal system. (2:1 Justice Department)
  • 1/3 of 51,000 Ohio prisoners are serving time for nonviolent crimes.

STARK COUNTY, OHIO

Of the 288,000 adults who live in Stark County, Ohio, 11,524 are currently in the penal system.

  • 5,762 Stark County children have at least one parent currently in the penal system.
  • 61,000 adults live in Canton, the Stark County seat.
  • 2,440 Canton adults are currently in the penal system.
  • 1,220 Canton children have at least one parent currently in the penal system.

The very large number of children in our community that are impacted deserve attention. This revolving door life cycle will continue until communities become involved in the solutions and stop pretending that these at-risk families don’t exist, or that the prisoners aren’t coming home. They are coming home whether the community is ready or not, both juvenile and adult, and the cycle is likely to continue with the children unless people stop and embrace the fact that it takes a community to reduce recidivism and to stop this deadly cycle that devours our children. Change involves getting involved. Positive, effective, guided non-traditional programs must be implements in a concerted effort to reclaim our communities for our children. Traditional programs aren’t working and we have had to come face-to-face with that fact. The arts have always proven to be more effective than traditional therapies when working with children.