Every Door Closed: Facts About Parents with Criminal Records

Publication Date: September 2003

Publisher: Community Legal Services (Philadelphia, Pa.); Center for Law and Social Policy

Author(s):

Research Area: Justice; Social conditions

Type: Fact sheet

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

Each year, approximately 400,000 mothers and fathers finish serving prison or jail sentences and return home eager to rebuild their families and their lives. As these parents struggle to make a fresh start, they encounter many legal barriers that will make it very difficult for them to successfully care for their children, find work, get safe housing, go to school, access public benefits, or even, for immigrants, stay in the same country as their children.

This new set of 8 two-page fact sheets, a joint project of CLASP and Community Legal Services, Inc., of Philadelphia, details the scope of the challenges these families face and offers solutions for federal, state, and local policymakers.