Approved referral to Administration to report to the Board relating to the feasibility and actions associated with expanding contact visitation within the jails.

Department: Supervisor Susan Ellenberg (Supervisorial District Four)
Sponsors:  
Category: Board Referral

According to the U.S. Justice Department, as of 2016, 2.3 million people were incarcerated nationally; more than half of whom were parents. A study by Pew Charitable Trusts found that one in every 28 children in America (4 percent) has a parent who is incarcerated, which amounts to 2.7 million children with a jailed parent. While surveys of incarcerated parents in our county jails have been completed in the past, those surveys were not inclusive of the total inmate population and are outdated. Today, we do not have conclusive data showing the total number of inmates in our jails who have children.