Strengthening Incarcerated Families: Evaluating a Pilot Program for Children of Incarcerated Parents and Their Caregivers

Parental incarceration can be devastating for families. Children may experience difficulties, and the stress on caregivers who take on unexpected childrearing is high. The authors implemented and evaluated a family-level intervention with caregivers and children experiencing parental (typically maternal) incarceration in a community setting. The authors partnered with a community-based organization serving families with an incarcerated parent to conduct a pilot trial of the Strengthening Families Program (SFP). Process evaluation indicated high implementation fidelity, satisfaction, engagement, and attendance. Outcome evaluation results indicated positive changes in family-level functioning, caregivers' positive parenting, and caregiver depression symptoms from pre- to postintervention, with some changes retained at follow-up 4 months later. Implications for preventive interventions with children of incarcerated parents and their caregivers, are discussed.