“How Much Does Having a Family Member Incarcerated Cost”

Join the UGA Sociology Department for a talk with Christopher Wildeman from Duke University titled “How Much Does Having a Family Member Incarcerated Cost” were he will discuss the following ideas.

“How Much Does Having a Family Member Incarcerated Cost”

Garrett Baker/Duke University

Sarah Jobe/Duke University

Christopher Wildeman/Duke University & ROCKWOOL Foundation Research Unit

ABSTRACT

Each year, several million Americans spend a significant amount of time in prison or jail. During this time, their families are called upon to provide financial support in myriad ways, including, but not limited to, paying for collect calls, putting money “on their books” through commissary contributions, and providing goods such as shoes, toiletries, and electronic devices directly. Unfortunately, these direct costs of having a family member incarcerated have never been quantified, leading to us to underestimate the family consequences of mass incarceration. In order to quantify these costs, we created and fielded a new survey in collaboration with FWD.us and NORC at the University of Chicago, the Family Incarceration Costs Survey (FICS). FICS consists of a nationally representative sample of over 1,500 individuals who have had a family member incarcerated in recent years and provides a wide range of details about the exact nature and magnitude of direct and indirect costs associated with family member incarceration. We present initial estimates for how much adults spend on their incarcerated family member on average for various types of costs. In addition, we consider how family member relationship type (i.e., spouse, parent, sibling, etc.), race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status moderate such costs.

Original text:

In this article, we use nationally representative data from the Family Incarceration Costs Survey (FICS), which provides the first estimates of these direct costs of family member incarceration, to consider three related research questions. First, how much money, on average, do individuals with incarcerated family members spend on their incarcerated loved one? Second, what proportion of their household income do family members spend on their incarcerated family member? Finally, how does this spending compare to what they spend on other necessities and luxuries? Throughout the course of this article, we focus both on averages and on how family member type and race/ethnicity moderate the costs of having a family member incarcerated.

Speaker Bio: Dr. Wildeman's work focuses on the prevalence, causes, and consequences of contact with the criminal legal system and the child welfare system for families.  He holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University (2008).

Current Appointments & Affiliations with Duke University
Professor of Sociology · 2020 - Present
Sociology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy · 2023 - Present
Sanford School of Public Policy
Affiliate of the Center for Child and Family Policy · 2023 - Present
Center for Child and Family Policy, Sanford School of Public Policy