Barring None

When I was a toddler, I was very much a daddy’s girl. Family members have recounted how my father would hold me on his lap and play peek-a-boo. I would cry any time he left the house without me. But between the ages of two and eighteen, when he was incarcerated, I didn’t see him once. Not having my father present and active in my life led me to have insecurities. During adolescence, I would often wonder: “Why do some of my other friends have fathers and I don’t? Why doesn’t he want to be a part of my life?”

To make matters worse, my mom passed away when I was thirteen. While I had an incredible, loving grandmother who raised me and my two younger brothers—instilling in us character and life values, and emphasizing the importance of education—I had a long road ahead. As a teenager, I experienced bouts of loneliness and depression. I immersed myself in school to distract myself. Being a star student helped me to feel a sense of self-worth and belonging, and the extracurricular activities I was involved in, such as Girl Scouts, school plays, and poetry competitions, were positive. I was determined to rise above my circumstances and become a college graduate. And in 2015, I walked across the graduation stage at Elon University, supported by my professors and mentors from my scholarship programs.

I am not alone in my background. According to a 2016 report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, more than five million US children have had a parent in jail or prison at some point in their lives. These children need to know that their familial circumstances do not have to define them or their futures. They need to know that college is a viable option for them.

A primary obstacle for children of incarcerated parents to attending and graduating college is the high cost of tuition and of necessities like housing, books, supplies, and meal plans. Such expenses can be exorbitant for these students, who often come from low-income, fixed-income, or single-parent households. The cost often puts college out of reach for children of incarcerated parents, who don’t always know where to turn for resources. When I was going through the college selection and scholarship research process, my grandmother observed: “Yasmine, I see so many niche scholarships, but I do not see any for young people like yourself who have incarcerated parents.” This epiphany led me to found ScholarCHIPS (For Children of Incarcerated Parents) in 2010 as a junior in high school. I continued running the organization—which began giving out scholarships and book awards in 2012—as a college student. I wanted to offer other students with an incarcerated parent not just funding but also a community of support made up of other young people who understand what they are going through and are like-minded in pursuing higher education and dream careers.

In fifteen years of this work, I have discovered that even with some scholarship assistance, many children of incarcerated parents still face significant tuition gaps or shortfalls in covering the total cost of attendance. Often, these young people have to pick up one or more part-time jobs so they can afford to be in college. The financial burden adds additional stress to their lives and often discourages them from remaining in college or attending altogether. 

It’s more than the burden of paying for college, though. While an increasing number of colleges and universities offer programs specifically for first-generation college students—and often, children of incarcerated parents are the first in their families to attend college—the additional trauma these students have endured, and in many cases continue to experience, can bring challenges when they step into college life. The shock of being away from home and any support system, living independently for the first time, and having to adjust to the culture of their institution—which in many cases feels very different from the culture they grew up in—can be intimidating. Common new-college-student feelings like homesickness, loneliness, and trouble relating to peers is often intensified among students with an incarcerated parent because the change in environments can feel vast.

So, what can universities and colleges do to ensure these students receive the support they need?

To begin at the beginning, college applications can include a section to note adverse childhood experiences, which are traumatic or stressful experiences before the age of eighteen, or other special circumstances. This information allows institutions to identify students who may need a strong support system once they reach campus. An even simpler option is a straightforward checkbox on the application to mark “yes” to the question “Has either of your parents ever been incarcerated?” The application should clarify that an affirmative answer will in no way negatively affect the decision-making process.

Regarding financial aid, colleges and universities can establish scholarships specifically for children of incarcerated parents or include these students as a subgroup that can benefit from existing scholarships for high-performing students with financial need. It’s crucial to make sure that students who have self-identified on the application as a child with an incarcerated parent know that financial aid exists. Institutions can also assign advisors in the financial aid, bursar’s, or student accounts office who can help children of incarcerated parents understand subsidized versus unsubsidized loans and other financial particulars. The advisors can also assist students in finding additional funds that may be available. Colleges and universities must understand that this population will not always have a family member who can co-sign, as some parents are already in debt or one or both parents might be incarcerated, deceased, or absent. 

Finally, higher education institutions should collaborate with organizations like ScholarCHIPS and nearby high schools to give students with incarcerated parents early exposure to campus life and demonstrate that college is within reach. 

Support for students with incarcerated parents should extend beyond meeting their financial needs. These students need multiple advocates—such as peer mentors, an advisor versed in social work or psychology, and an advisor trained in trauma. Offering workshops on financial literacy and professional development, on topics like résumé building and dressing for interviews, will help them be successful in college and their careers. Combining such supports can help these students move out of their parent’s shadow of incarceration and step into promising, prosperous, purpose-driven futures. Their hard-won degrees will show that they have the training and skills to be successful in the workforce, in life, and in establishing a new positive family tradition. In the words of Ahnyah Phillips, a ScholarCHIPS alumna who graduated from Clark Atlanta University in May 2020 and is now pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor of obstetrics and gynecology, “We are all trying to make a difference for ourselves, our families, and our future children.” 

Photos: ScholarCHIPS scholars are working toward their college degrees to move out of their parents’ shadow of incarceration and step into promising futures. (Ruben Gamarra)