Parenting After Incarceration: How Family Reunification is tied to Economic Stability

Supportive housing, expungement opportunities, universal basic income programs, child tax credits, and jobs with rising wages can help formerly incarcerated parents with needed financial support to grow a future for their children.

By Josh Pynoos

In 2020, Dion Coleman was released from jail after being falsely accused of a crime. Released at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Coleman re-entered a different world, where Los Angeles was now on lockdown. Coleman had to navigate a frightening and tumultuous landscape, but now with his newborn son to care for. After being released, Coleman found himself houseless, and now, with a son. Coleman, who previously had housing, was released without resources to support himself.

Coleman sought shelter and safety for his family. He spent his remaining money on motels and hotels while also sleeping in his car. Coleman attempted to move forward with his life for the second time, now with a child to provide for.

“It was a lot of uncertainty, a lot of fear, and it was very stressful,” Coleman said of being unhoused during the pandemic while caring for his newborn son.

Despite being unhoused, Coleman knew the responsibility and what was ahead of him with a young son,

“It felt like I’m fulfilling my destiny as a man. To be the head of a family is a big thing, and to find myself placed there and with the tools to do the best job available to him and to me.”

Parents across the United States faced layoffs and unemployment because COVID-19 upended many job sectors worldwide. Parents leaned on state aid and resources to support and raise children. As the COVID-19 global pandemic continues into its third year, families across the US are struggling to pay rent, avoid eviction and contend with the rising costs of goods, all while raising children.

I. “All Alone Out There”

For parents returning home from incarceration, reconnecting with children can be one of the most difficult tasks. Parents must reconnect with children while trying to secure housing, gain skills towards stable employment, and avoid the pitfalls of probation or parole supervision.

For many, returning to the community following incarceration brings with it both joy and feelings of guilt as formerly incarcerated parents spend their first sustained moments of interaction with their children. Many parents can lose custody during incarceration or face limited opportunities for visiting. For parents coming home, reentry is when they can start cultivating a genuine relationship with their children.

Ronnie Martinez was 17 when he was first incarcerated in a juvenile camp. He regrets missing out on the birth of his son. But when he finally laid eyes on his son, it awakened something more in him,

“It was a joy knowing it’s not just me anymore, I have a responsibility,” Martinez said. “It was a beautiful feeling.”

Martinez served a six-year sentence and is working to build a relationship with his son.

For Raven McDowell, her goal after incarceration was to reunify with her son. She had lost her son to the foster system and vowed to get him back.

As a parent with little resources or support, McDowell felt, “[a]ll alone out there.” She struggled with the challenges of supporting herself while trying to regain custody of her son.

II. “They Kept Bringing Up My Past”

McDowell is trying to beat the odds as a formerly incarcerated woman. Formerly incarcerated women of color have a tough time on the job market and have the highest unemployment rate of any demographic group released from prison. Due to past convictions, McDowell struggled on the job market and had long periods of unemployment compounded by houselessness.

“They kept bringing up my past,” McDowell said of her trouble obtaining work.

With the help of the Chrysalis’ Breaking Barriers program, she finally secured stable housing. Now, McDowell has secure housing and is living independently for the first time in her life. It was one step closer to getting her son back.

For Coleman, having a son made his “candle burn hotter,” as he strived to find a way to provide for himself and his son. After one month on the streets, Coleman re-gained a position as a reentry caseworker. Coleman, who had previously served 20 years in prison, had prior experience with the challenges of reentry. But now, he was doing it during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020. He knew the reentry community and network well because he previously served as a reentry caseworker.

After one month of sleeping in his car and staying in motels, Coleman, his son, and his wife secured an apartment in Compton, California.

”The community came through for me,” he said.

Martinez entered a construction boot camp that helps formerly incarcerated people obtain a future career across union trades. He knows that it will provide financial stability and keep his son in his life. Martinez is a union laborer through ARC’s Second Chance Apprenticeship Readiness Program. Martinez values the “new direction in life” and credits a career in the union job with supporting himself and the cost of having a child.

Martinez knows the economic weight of being a parent, “It’s very expensive nowadays to have a child, it’s a blessing to have a union job.” Martinez credits transitional housing with helping him stabilize after incarceration.

Coleman understands the importance of providing financing for his son, “He’s in a good place emotionally and spiritually. We want to make sure he [has a] good foundation financially. To make sure a healthy, well-balanced family is in place. That is the area that must be finally addressed to make sure he’s secure.”

Recently, McDowell got her record expunged, opening up job opportunities and the chances of a career ahead of her. She is currently studying to be a drug counselor.

III. The Child Tax Credit & Direct Aid to Formerly Incarcerated Parents

As parents across America looked for relief during the pandemic, some finally came in 2021. The Child Tax Credit was passed by Congress in early 2021, as part of the American Rescue Plan. The Child Tax Credit aims to cut child poverty and give parents direct cash every month to help raise children. The Child Tax Credit gave families with children who filed taxes in 2020 or 2019 direct payments of $300 per child under age six and $250 per child ages 6 to 17 every month.

Coleman is a recipient of the Child Tax Credit, where he received a direct payment of $300 every month to help raise his young son.

Coleman appreciates receiving the tax credit as it takes a financial burden off his shoulders, “Everytime I get it, it puts a smile on my face. That’s extra Pull-ups in the house. He’s on an Ensure-like product for toddlers to make sure he has the proper nutrition. That’s pretty expensive.” Coleman has also used the extra $300 per month to buy his young and growing son’s clothing.

As inflation rises, Coleman cites the tax credit as a helpful aid for parents. It’s an added bonus,” Coleman said. “It means a lot of financial assistance without it would be harder, now with the prices of everything going up.”

He keeps the cost of raising his son on the back of his mind as he maps out his financial future, “It takes around $1.3 million to raise a child, and you have to figure out over 18 years, how much money to save and what it’s going to cost.”

Many now are arguing for a form of guaranteed income for formerly incarcerated people to successfully transition from prison to the community while avoiding reentry pitfalls such as unemployment and houselessness Some municipalities are now putting this into practice. In many places, gate money, the money given to someone when they exit prison, has yet to increase since the 1970s. Given the high unemployment rate for formerly incarcerated people and lack of secure housing, more direct aid would support formerly incarcerated people as they transition home.

But now the long-term future of the tax credits remains in doubt and is stalled without a clear path forward. Congress debates if and how to extend the Child Tax Credit through President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda. 61 million children are in limbo and at risk of sinking deeper into poverty.

Now without the credit coming in every month, Coleman knows the burden is back on him to keep providing, “I’m no longer receiving the tax credits. With food and gas so high, the credit is sorely missed. I’ve had to re-budget and restructure my monthly spending.”

IV. “He’s my present, and I get to open him everyday.”

Despite the hardships and barriers, these formerly incarcerated parents are striving ahead as parents while they gain balance in their own lives. Each vows to create a better life for their children and give them the support they never had.

“I always wondered what I would have been like if I had a father who was loving and caring. It’s nature vs nurture. I don’t know what age my connection was broken where I could receive care and love from the people that were supposed to give it to me,” Coleman said.

“But I have to make sure it’s not broken with him. I have to protect, provide, and produce for him,” Coleman reflects on his own childhood and the parenting job ahead of him.

Martinez is now focused on working with the union and starting his own clothing line. Being formerly incarcerated has helped him with his perspective on fatherhood, “I’m grateful to have a son. I was also someone who went through the system and lived in shelters with a single mother. I was fortunate to have a son and I’m able to help and guide him and try to correct the things that I went through.”

Martinez knows there is still work to do with his relationship with his son but fondly enjoys taking him out for food and watching him smile.

McDowell finally gained custody of her son, a triumph for her as she now gets to raise him and pull him out of the foster system. She achieved her goal of finally reunifying with her son and now gets to see their relationship blossom and a bright future ahead.

Now with her son back and with a record expunged, McDowell looks towards a brighter future with her son. “ I plan on creating a safe place for us and raising him in a safe and healthy environment and hopefully owning a house one day.”

As McDowell works to pave her own career path, she can do it while taking care of her son. McDowell recalls some of their favorite activities together, “I go on hikes with my son. I think it’s a great exercise for us both and it gives me balance with my life and all his energy.”

“My son is into costumes so I dress up with him a lot and he loves that. Sometimes I try to bring his imagination to life the best way I can,” McDowell adds.

Coleman is now a Life Coach at ARC’s Magnolia Housing site. He now helps other formerly incarcerated people, including many young people, with their transition back to the community as he gives guidance, mentoring, and support.

Coleman wants to give his son the memories and experiences that he never had.

“I don’t have memories of a father doing that for me. I grew up in foster homes, so now I’m able to show him these new experiences that open you up,”

Now with his freedom, job security, and housing, Coleman can watch his son grow in front of him.

Coleman basks in the delight of fatherhood and the meaning his son brings him, “He’s my present, and I get to open him every day.”

Josh Pynoos is a Policy & Communications Associate at the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC)