Applying What We Know: Theories to Inform Practice with Children who have Mothers in Prison.

Studies report that children with mothers imprisoned have a much higher risk of delinquency (up to 80% greater) than general population and even children with imprisoned fathers. Yet, public policy does not address this issue until a system flags the child as a problem. For example, the child becomes truant, a runaway or commits a crime. With the increase in the number of women imprisoned, the number of children with mothers in jail increases without any policy or entity identified to help them. It is proposed in this paper that social disorganization, Bronfenbrenner's human development, and General Strain theories support the implementation of wraparound with this population. This presentation presents the history of wraparound and prior projects. It also discusses various potential implications for public policy and community response to this population. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]