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An Assessment of Prisoner Reentry, Legal Financial Obligations and Family Financial Support: A Focus on Fathers

Author

Listed:
  • Andrea N. Montes

    (School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions, Arizona State University, 411 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA)

  • Danielle Wallace

    (School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions, Arizona State University, 411 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA)

  • Chantal Fahmy

    (Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice, College for Health, Community and Policy, University of Texas at San Antonio, 501 West Cesar E. Chavez Blvd., San Antonio, TX 78207, USA)

  • Abigail Henson

    (School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions, Arizona State University, 411 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA)

  • Alyssa W. Chamberlain

    (School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions, Arizona State University, 411 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA)

  • Leah A. Jacobs

    (School of Social Work, University of Pittsburgh, 4200 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA)

Abstract

Scholars have found that family support is an important facilitator of successful reentry from prison to the community. At the same time, they have argued that owing court-ordered fines or fees, also called legal financial obligations (LFOs), can act as an additional barrier to reentry, especially for parents. There remains a need to test how LFOs impact the financial support formerly incarcerated parents receive from their families. The current study responds to this gap by employing logistic regression analyses of the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI) data to test whether owing court fees is associated with formerly incarcerated fathers’ (1) perceptions of available financial support from family and (2) receipt of financial support from family. We find that owing court fees is not associated with perceptions of available financial support. However, owing court fees has a positive, statistically significant association with receiving financial support from family during the first three months after prison release. This relationship remains after accounting for whether the person owes child support or sees their children monthly. Our results suggest that LFOs may create a greater need for financial support among formerly incarcerated fathers, making the financial challenges of reentry a consequence not just for those who were incarcerated but for their loved ones as well.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrea N. Montes & Danielle Wallace & Chantal Fahmy & Abigail Henson & Alyssa W. Chamberlain & Leah A. Jacobs, 2021. "An Assessment of Prisoner Reentry, Legal Financial Obligations and Family Financial Support: A Focus on Fathers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-17, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:18:p:9625-:d:634240
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Fahmy, Chantal & Mitchell, Meghan M., 2022. "Examining recidivism during reentry: Proposing a holistic model of health and wellbeing," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    2. Eman Tadros & Selena D. Tate, 2022. "The Association between Perpetuation of Intimate Partner Violence and Family Support on Couples with an Incarcerated Partner," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-10, September.

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