Study shows
prison’s social costAn isle conference stresses
the need for families to be close
to imprisoned parents
The social costs of imprisoning a person for nonviolent offenses, especially mothers of dependent children, are twice the cost of the actual lockup, according to a child advocacy group.
Studies show children of imprisoned parents are at increased risk of abuse and neglect and more likely to have physical and mental problems, difficulty in school and show aggressive and criminal behavior, said Thomas Lengyel, director of research and evaluation service for the Alliance for Children and Families.
Lengyel was among speakers at a conference last week at the Japanese Cultural Center attended by more than 300 social workers and court, correctional, health and treatment representatives.
In a paper he co-wrote with Jamie Harris, of the alliance, Lengyel noted that 1,286 Hawaii inmates were in Oklahoma and Arizona prisons as of Sept. 8, including 637 under the state's mandatory minimum sentencing law for crystal methamphetamine use.
The cost of keeping the 637 "ice" users in prison averages $30,500 a year each and about $99,000 for the average sentence of 39 months, he said, estimating the total cost at between $57.4 million and $68.8 million, he said. But social costs are likely to more than double the total bill to $189 million from between, Lengyel said.
According to rough estimates, Hawaii prisons are housing about 3,000 parents of almost 6,500 minor children, Lengyel said.
Family contacts are particularly difficult in Hawaii because 25 percent of inmates are sent to mainland prisons, and many in Oahu prisons are from neighbor islands, he said.
"Even for inmates who are within reach of their families, the visiting environment is generally unfriendly, particularly for children," Lengyel said.
Hawaii's prison population at the end of September totaled 5,709, a 5.3 percent increase over last year, he said. Female prisoners have increased at an annual rate of 11.5 percent since 1995, more than twice the national average and faster than 36 other states.
Hawaii had only one woman in prison in 1972, noted Lorraine Robinson, executive director of Matlock Hale, a transitional facility for female prisoners operated by T.J. Mahoney & Associates. The number grew to 30 in 1980, 172 in 1990, 542 in 2000, and last week it was 696, mostly for substance abuse, she said.
"Current policies are not set up to help women succeed," Robinson said. "We need to change the way we deal with addiction, to help people reclaim their lives so innocent children don't end up as the next-generation inmates."
The need for state policy changes was stressed during the conference, which was sponsored by Child and Family Service and the Child Welfare League of America.
"We know there are thousands of children in Hawaii who have a parent in prison, and they are more likely to end up in prison themselves," Gov. Linda Lingle told the conference. "It's not the children's fault. We have a responsibility to recognize that and stop the cycle of incarceration."
Lingle said the Department of Public Safety is working to return Hawaii prisoners from mainland facilities because chances of "healthy reintegration" with their families are slim if they are not home.
She said she is committed to building another prison in Hawaii with a significant drug treatment component.
State Rep. Dennis Arakaki (D, Kamehameha Heights-Kalihi Valley), House Health Committee chairman, said he agrees that prisoners with children particularly should be brought home.
"Substance abuse is a public health problem, not a law enforcement problem," he said.
Lengyel said he is not convinced another prison is necessary, but if one is built it should have a full complement of drug abuse and addiction services. Prisons also should be improved with spaces where children could go to spend time with parents, he said.
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Child overcomes adversity
of father jailed over ‘ice’
Mindi Munar expects to earn a master's degree in May and work in child welfare as "a role model to show others you may not have a mom or dad, but you can achieve."
Munar, 24, was a panelist at a conference last week describing how their lives were affected by substance abuse and imprisoned parents.
Munar, who lives with her maternal grandparents, said her father sought help for addiction to crystal methamphetamine, or "ice," but "as soon as he completed one round of treatment, he used again."
Her mother left her father after 20 years of marriage because of his addiction and safety concerns, she said. Their "dream home" was sold, and her father lived in a VW camper. She had to leave Post-it notes on the camper to contact him, she said.
In 1999, she said, "I just gave up on Dad" and moved to Missouri, then Oklahoma, to attend college. "For the first time I focused on me, achieving something for myself."
Her father was in prison when she returned home in December 2001, and she visited him every weekend, she said.
He was released in May 2002 but was back in prison in December, she said. She visits him every weekend, and he will be free again next month. But she said: "I tell myself my dad is gone. The drug is so powerful. It robbed me of the dad I could have had."
