Repost: We Are Not Collateral Consequences: Children of Incarcerated Parents
Justice Strategies is excited to cross post and share links to articles by Isabel Coronado, a policy entrepreneur at Next100 and a citizen of the Mvskoke (Creek) Nation. Isabel has been working with Justice Strategies on federal changes to support families facing parental incarceration. We will be reposting excerpts and links to her full posts that can be enjoyed in full on Next100's website HERE.
Children of incarcerated parents are some of the most resilient children, profoundly impacted by a justice system that hardly acknowledges us. It is time to share our voices and our experiences of the consequences of our unjust system, so that we can lead the way to meaningful reform.
Throughout my life, a short twenty-three years so far, the public debate around our criminal justice system has covered everything from arrest to reentry. Our discussions have gone from “tough on crime” to “smart on crime,” and everything in between. We are seeing a (hopefully) transformative shift from over-incarcerating to using alternatives to incarceration.
But through all of these discussions of the criminal justice system, the children who ultimately live with the consequences of their parents’ incarceration are overlooked. I felt this through my own experiences with the justice system, when my own mother was incarcerated in a state prison when I was 7 years old. There was very little support provided for me as a child of an incarcerated mother, and the resources that were provided were limited—monthly Girl Scout trips to visit my mother, and some tribal resources upon my mother’s release. [read full post here].
Isabel Coronado is a policy entrepreneur at Next100 and a citizen of the Mvskoke (Creek) Nation. Her clan is the Wind Clan, and her tribal town affiliation is Thlopthlocco Tribal Town. At Next100, Isabel is focused on creating policy aimed at reducing the generational cycle of incarceration in Native communities. Her vision for the future is to see Indian Country prosper for years to come.
Isabel has witnessed the effects of mass incarceration on Indigenous people throughout her life, and they inspired her to help create the American Indian Criminal Justice Navigation Council (AICJNC), a nonprofit in Oklahoma aimed at reducing recidivism among tribal members and helping reduce the trauma family members endure as a result. At AICJNC, Isabel served as deputy director.
Isabel was selected by the Center for Native American Youth at the Aspen Institute as a 2018 Champions for Change recipient, and by Mvskoke Women’s Leadership as the 2019 College Student of the Year. She is also a member of Alpha Pi Omega. Isabel received her BS in 2017 from Northeastern State University, and her master’s of public health with an emphasis on rural and underserved populations from Oklahoma State University in 2019.
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