The most widely cited statistic—2.7 million children currently have a parent in jail or prison—originates from 2010 ​(The PEW Charitable Trust). While frequently referenced, this figure offers only a limited snapshot and doesn't capture the full scope of the issue today.

A more comprehensive estimate from the National Institute of Justice indicates that approximately 10 million children in the U.S. have experienced parental incarceration at some point in their lives. Although this data dates back to 2012, it offers a broader and more inclusive picture of incarceration’s reach, as it accounts for a wider range of justice system involvement and family separation.

When we expand our view to encompass the entire justice system—including arrest, pre-trial detention, probation, parole, parents cycling in and out of jail, ICE detention, and deportation—the number of affected children increases significantly. These forms of separation are often excluded from official incarceration statistics, yet the trauma, grief, and disruption experienced by children are just as profound.​

When a parent is incarcerated, children often carry their experience quietly. They may feel shame, fear, or embarrassment, and too often, there is no safe place to talk about it. In schools and communities, they are frequently misunderstood and misjudged. Instead of being recognized for their strength and resilience, they may be labeled as disruptive or difficult, rather than supported with care and understanding.

Many children learn to hide their truth to avoid judgment. They worry that if others find out about their parent’s incarceration, they will be treated differently or excluded. This silence creates isolation, making it harder for youth to reach out for support or form meaningful relationships.

Although millions of children are affected by incarceration, their needs are still invisible in most classrooms and youth-serving systems. The result is what many call an “invisible sentence”, which is a deep feeling of being unseen, unsupported, and alone. This sentence is served alongside their parents with few resources to help them make sense of it all or support them through it.

This kind of isolation can take a serious toll on mental health, increasing the risk of depression, anxiety, and long-term emotional distress (Turney & Goodsell, 2018). Over time, the stigma and lack of understanding only deepen the impact of parental incarceration.

Parental incarceration doesn’t affect all families equally. Due to deeply rooted systemic racism in policing, sentencing, and social services, Black, Brown, and Indigenous children are far more likely to experience the loss of a parent to incarceration.

Up to 1 in 4 Black children in the U.S. has had a parent incarcerated — a rate 7.5 times higher than that of white children (NIJ, 2014; Morsey & Rothstein, 2016; Martin, 2017). Latinx and Indigenous families also face disproportionately high rates of incarceration, often with limited access to culturally relevant support (Center for Justice Research, 2022).

These disparities ripple beyond individual families. Mass incarceration erodes community trust, weakens local economies, and fractures family structures. It is directly linked with increased poverty, higher crime rates, and poor health outcomes in the communities most affected (The Sentencing Project, 2021).

For communities of color, who are already impacted by disinvestment and systemic barriers, incarceration fuels cycles of instability. It creates lasting harm, making it harder for families to stay connected and for children to access opportunity.

At Project Avary, we see these inequities clearly. That’s why our work is rooted in healing, belonging, and equity. We are committed to dismantling cycles of harm and building spaces where every child is seen, supported, and empowered.

Project Avary fills a critical gap in services for a group too often overlooked: children with incarcerated parents. Despite the sharp rise in parental incarceration rates over the past few decades, there is no coordinated government response to support the children left behind. As a result, resources for this population remain scarce, and their needs are rarely recognized by the systems meant to serve youth.

While many services exist for foster youth or children experiencing homelessness, children of incarcerated parents are frequently left out of the picture, despite experiencing overlapping challenges like trauma, instability, and stigma. Schools, after-school programs, and mental health services are often unequipped to identify or support these youth, and few professionals are trained to ask the right questions or create safe space for them to share.

The result is a troubling silence. Many young people navigate shame, isolation, and emotional pain without guidance or recognition, falling through the cracks of systems that were not built with them in mind.

Project Avary exists to change that. We are one of the only programs in the country dedicated to meeting the long-term needs of children with incarcerated parents, offering consistent mentorship, healing spaces, and a sense of belonging that many have never had before.

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Want to create more supportive spaces for children with incarcerated parents?
Project Avary offers trainings, presentations, and consultation to help schools, agencies, and community programs recognize the needs of these youth and build pathways for healing and referral.

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At the heart of every young person’s growth is one simple truth: healing happens through connection. For children with incarcerated parents, that healing often begins with the experience of belonging.

Many youth arrive at Project Avary carrying a sense of shame or feeling like no one understands what they’ve been through. But when they enter a space where their story is seen and shared by others, something begins to change. Trust starts to grow. Real relationships begin to form — with peers, with mentors, and with themselves.

Consistent, caring relationships are one of the strongest protective factors for children who have experienced trauma (Harvard Center on the Developing Child). Belonging creates the safety needed to speak openly, to feel valued, and to imagine new possibilities for the future.

Everything we do at Project Avary, from summer camp to mentoring circles, is designed to heal trauma and strengthen attachment through nurturing relationships. Because when young people are surrounded by people who believe in them, they begin to believe in themselves too.

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