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“A Twenty-Hour-a-Day Jobâ€

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  • Megan Comfort

Abstract

In the growing field of research on the consequences of criminal justice contact for family life, a heavy emphasis has been placed on how imprisonment influences the emotional, physical, and socioeconomic well-being of prisoners’ loved ones. In this article, I elaborate on and analyze the experiences of family members of people with frequent, low-level criminal justice involvement. I draw on ethnographic data collected in partnership with a clinical social worker over the course of a three-year study of an intensive case management intervention for HIV-positive individuals. Findings indicate that loved ones’ brief jail stays and community supervision through probation and parole pose hardships for family members that are distinct from those hardships that arise during imprisonment. These experiences are uniquely destabilizing, may confer specific risks to family members’ well-being, and merit further study to inform programs, social services, and public policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Megan Comfort, 2016. "“A Twenty-Hour-a-Day Jobâ€," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 665(1), pages 63-79, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:665:y:2016:i:1:p:63-79
    DOI: 10.1177/0002716215625038
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lawrence M. Berger & Maria Cancian & Laura Cuesta & Jennifer L. Noyes, 2016. "Families at the Intersection of the Criminal Justice and Child Protective Services Systems," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 665(1), pages 171-194, May.
    2. Sara Wakefield & Kathleen Powell, 2016. "Distinguishing Petty Offenders from Serious Criminals in the Estimation of Family Life Effects," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 665(1), pages 195-212, May.
    3. Hedwig Lee & Christopher Wildeman, 2013. "Things Fall Apart: Health Consequences of Mass Imprisonment for African American Women," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 40(1), pages 39-52, March.
    4. Bjerk, David, 2005. "Making the Crime Fit the Penalty: The Role of Prosecutorial Discretion under Mandatory Minimum Sentencing," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 48(2), pages 591-625, October.
    5. James, S.A., 2003. "Confronting the moral economy of US racial/ethnic health disparities," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 93(2), pages 189-189.
    6. Lee, H. & Wildeman, C. & Wang, E.A. & Matusko, N. & Jackson, J.S., 2014. "A heavy burden: The cardiovascular health consequences of having a family member incarcerated," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 104(3), pages 421-427.
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