Friday, November 22, 2013

Locked Up & Shipped Away--How Libraries Can Help

Locked up and Shipped Away: Interstate Prisoner Transfers & the Private Prison Industry. New report exposes private prisons profiting from sending prisons far from home

Section IV: Interstate Prisoner Transfers Undermine Family Connections and the Right to Rehabilitation

“I’ve moved so many times to be with him.” – wife of Alaska prisoner transferred multiple times
Scholars argue the most punitive aspect of incarceration is physical separation, with prisoners and their families simultaneously enduring the punishment of incarceration.]Undoubtedly, this punishment is exacerbated when prisoners are shipped from their home state. 

Consider:

How Libraries Can Help--------

Welcoming Children and Families Affected by Incarceration into Public Libraries.

by Megan Sullivan on September 3, 2013
In part because prison and jail authorities have no mechanism to identify children, and in part because no agency is tasked with tracking them, millions of minor children of incarcerated parents often remain invisible in our communities. Because of the stigma of incarceration, families are reluctant to out themselves; consequently, people who interact with these children and their families are often unaware of their predicaments. Yet public libraries are in a unique position to provide a safe haven. They can quietly provide books, media, and other resources that children and families can discover on their own, and they can offer events or opportunities for family and community learning.--

How Libraries Can Help