A new report estimates over 100,000 more children are affected by parental imprisonment than previously thought and calls for a better system to identify those affected.

The statistic regularly cited of children with a parent in prison of 200,000 is underestimating the number of children affected by over 100,000 risking serious safeguarding and welfare issues and opportunities for intervention.

According to new research from Crest Advisory, and led by Professor Eddie Kane, the number of children affected is closer to 312,000.

Children of prisoners are at risk of significantly worse outcomes than other children including an increased risk of future offending, mental health issues, and poor educational attainment. Crest Advisory’s report, published today, calls for systematic identification of children by the justice system to ensure other agencies can be alerted and support provided if necessary.

Crest Advisory’s report recommendations:

1. A new set of arrangements that require courts to notify the relevant local authority when a parent is sentenced to custody.

2. Joint protocols between local authorities, prisons and probation services to address the needs of prisoners’ families based on an assessment of the needs of children.

3. Courts should satisfy themselves that they have taken reasonable steps to identifywhere a convicted person has dependent children.

4. Revision of CRC and NPS contracts to include a greater emphasis on family supportand the importance of working jointly with local authorities to ensure children aresafeguarded.

5. Drive forward reform in prisons in line with the Farmer review’s recommendations.

6. Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to develop justice devolution arrangementsthat aim to improve outcomes for children of prisoners, framed around reducingintergenerational offending.

7. A £20 million Prevention of Intergenerational Offending Fund to support the rollout of anational strategy

Dame Louise Casey DBE-CB who wrote the foreword to the report said;Dame Louise Casey DBE-CB who wrote the foreword to the report said;

"When the criminal justice system and the courts put a parent in prison, it impacts massively on their children. We need public services to join the dots, and the impact on the welfare of children would be profound were they to do so. Communication between court and children’s services is not the whole story, but could lessen the chances of a family struggling to cope on their own. Crest's report makes it clear that action is needed for the children of prisoners and makes straightforward recommendations."

Professor Eddie Kane of the Institute of Mental Health’s Centre for Health and Justice at the University of Nottingham said,

“Our work with Crest Advisory on this report has independently researched, reviewed andevaluated how children are affected by a parent's whole criminal justice journey and theunder-estimation of statistics showing the number of children affected by parentalimprisonment. The robust findings particularly highlight that the significant under-estimation of the number of children who are affected must be immediately addressed. We hope this research will initiate system-wide changes that improve the lives and wellbeing of children and their families across the UK.”

The report findings were also featured on the Channel 4 News on Monday 18th March 2019, watch here.

The full report is available to read on the Crest Advisory website.