Get on the Bus| Analyzing Caregivers' Perceptions of Visits with Incarcerated Parents

• Main Author: Young, Alexa
• Language: EN
• Published: California State University, Long Beach 2019
• Subjects: Criminology|Individual & family studies
• Online Access: http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=13425132

<p> The United States is the leading country in the world with the highest concentration of incarceration of its people. At least more than half of those individuals who are incarcerated are parents to children under the age of 18 years old. Research identifies risk factors that children of incarcerated parents encounter, associated to their parent&rsquo;s incarceration, and suggests that regular visitation can serve as a protective factor to reduce these risk factors. Few studies report on the visitors&rsquo; perspective on their visitation experience or on prisons from different security levels. </p><p> This study takes a mixed-methods approach to fill in that gap. Using 72 self-reported surveys collected from caregivers who participated with Get on the Bus (GOTB) in 2011 and 2013 through 2017, this study provides a descriptive analysis of fixed-responses and thematic content analysis for open-ended responses. The prisons visited included three female and four male correctional institutions from different security levels in California. Using interviews of 11 individuals who participated with GOTB in 2017, this study provides a thematic content analysis of their responses. The prisons that they visited were San Quentin State Prison and FCI Dublin. Based on the participants&rsquo; responses, this study concludes that visitors are satisfied with their visitation experience with GOTB and favor these visits, as they promote parent and child reunification upon release of parent&rsquo;s incarceration.</p><p>