Parental Impact Statements (H 5648, S 145)

Incarcerating a parent takes an emotional toll on both the parent and the child that they are separated from because of their incarceration. The impact of incarceration on parents is also an issue of gender equality, with incarcerated women more likely than incarcerated men to be a parent. We strongly support this legislation, which would require that the parental status of a defendant be taken into account as a component of the sentencing process, noting that such a requirement is compassionate in its consideration that a strong familial structure encourages rehabilitation and prevents recidivism, and that insituting the procedures contained in the legislation can prevent the harmful, reverberating effects that incarceration can have on both the incarcerated individual and their children.