More attention needed for children with fathers in prison: study
The Netherlands has at least 24,000 children whose fathers are in prison. Two-thirds of them are underage, with an average age of 9, according to Ph.D. research by Angela Verhagen of the Avans University of Applied Sciences. The Netherlands pays too little attention to these children, while it is known that a parent’s incarceration could impact them profoundly, she said to NRC.
“We know from all kinds of studies, especially from the United States, that the impact on children is great. All areas of development are at risk, from psychosomatic complaints to (separation) anxiety, loneliness, and depression. From alcohol and drug use at a young age to dropping out of school and truancy.”
The Custodial Institutions Agency (DJI) does not keep central track of the number of fathers in prison. So Verhagen combined personal data from CBS with that of the men in detention. Because the number of incarcerated women is small (7 percent), she only focused on fathers.
Verhagen concluded that in the period 2010 to 2020, about 34 percent of imprisoned men had at least one legal child. The actual number of children is definitely higher. “Children who have not been recognized by their father are omitted. Just like the children of men in psychiatric prison or immigration detention.”
“We know that a good relationship between the imprisoned father and his child is positive for the child’s development and that it reduces the risk of recidivism,” Verhagen said. “But in prisons, a maze of rules makes it almost impossible for children to build or maintain a bond. No policy has ever been drawn up on this theme. Because these children are not visible in registration systems, they are also socially invisible.”
Verhagen’s study also revealed that fathers are more likely to serve long sentences - longer than five years - than non-fathers, indicating that they are more often convicted of serious crimes. “You would think that having a child is a point of return during a criminal career. That turns out not to be the case. And do not underestimate the number of children conceived during detention,” she said.
Minister Franc Weerwind for Legal Protection recently made 500,000 euros available for all penitentiary institutions to start facilitating fathers spending time with their children. Verhagen will also investigate with the DJI how the relationship between father and child can be nurtured.
A spokesperson for the DJI told NRC that it does not keep national track of the fathers in prison, but the penitentiary institutions register this themselves. “The information is kept where it is relevant, where the father is. Most detainees in the Netherlands are only in prison for a short time (an average of three months). Before figures are collected, they are already outdated. It is untrue that there is no national policy. There are many initiatives,” the DJI said.
