Over 5 million children have had parents who were incarcerated at least once. That is 6% of all American children.

Over 55,000 American children end up in foster care when their parents are incarcerated. Most of these children were in the foster care system at least twice during their parents’ incarceration.

Over 50% of current prisoners come from single parent families, or were raised by other family members, or in foster homes.

78% of women entering prison are mothers, and 64% are fathers. Additionally, 6% of women are pregnant when they enter prison. Most of these women will be separated from their babies shortly after giving birth.

50% of incarcerated parents are never visited by their children.

85% of prisoners earn less than $25,000 a year before their incarceration, and three out of ten earn less than $10,000 a year.

In an effort to stay connected to an incarcerated family member, a family may spend almost $250 per month on telephone calls due to the high cost of mandated collect phone calls imposed by private phone companies contracted by the prison system.

In the fiscal year 1997-1998 New York State made a profit of $21 million dollars on prison-based collect call commissions. Other states such as California, Ohio, and Florida made from $10 million to $15 million.
Source: A Sentence of Their Own - A film by Edgar A. Barens www.asentenceoftheirown.com - 2010 

In 2008 there were 2.3 million Americans incarcerated, two-thirds in prisons and one-third in jails.

60% of all prisoners in the U.S. are convicted of a non-violent crime.

Non-violent drug offenders make up 25% of those incarcerated. Violent crime rose only 3% from 1980 to 2008, and property crime was lowered by 20% during the same time period. From 1980 until 2008 the U.S. population increased by 33%, while the U.S. prison and jail population increased by 350%.

In 2008, federal, state, and local governments spent approximately $75 billion on corrections; most of that amount was used for incarceration.
Source: Center for Economic and Policy Research June - 2010 

The average age of released prisoners is 33 years old.

The average education level of released prisoners is the 11th grade.

Among those released, there is a high incidence of substance abuse, and mental, or physical, health problems.

Stable housing is a problem for many prisoners after release.

Below average levels of education, work experience, or skills makes finding steady employment challenging for ex offenders. Many employers will not hire ex offenders.

Former prisoners are more likely to have significant mental disorders, chronic and infectious diseases, and to return to communities with inadequate health care.

Although the majority of prisoners have had a broad history of substance abuse, less than 33% receive treatment upon release.

Source: The Urban Institute, June - 2010 

In 20008, 735,000 persons were released from state and federal prisons, a 20% increase from 20000.

Approximately nine million people are released from jails each year in the U.S.

In 2008, parole violations accounted for 34.2 % of all prison admissions, 36.2 % of all state prison admissions, and 8.2 % of all federal prison admissions.

25% of all adults who exited parole in 2008 (133,947 people) went back to prison for violating terms of their supervision, and 9 percent of adults were sent back for committing a new crime.

Two out of five prison and jail inmates lack a high school diploma, or a GED.

Employment rates and earnings of incarcerated people are often low before their incarceration due to limited education, low skill levels, physical and mental health problems, and other factors. Incarceration exacerbates these employment challenges.

A large three-state recidivism study found that less than half of those released from prison had a secure job waiting for them when they returned home.
Source: Department of Justice Statistics - 2010