Father’s Day behind bars

An increasing number of fathers are spending Father's Day behind bars, away from their loved ones.

by Alison Walsh, June 17, 2016

Father’s Day is stereotypically a happy occasion. But an increasing number of fathers will spend the day away from their loved ones, separated by prison walls. The number of incarcerated men who reported being the fathers of minor children rose to nearly 750,000 in 2007 (the most recent year for which we have data available), a 57% increase from 1991. This holiday is a reminder that incarceration affects entire families, not just the people behind bars.