Nearly 2.7 million children in America today — roughly the population of Mississippi — have an incarcerated parent. That staggering number is a reminder that incarceration doesn’t only affect individuals but entire families.
And behind the statistics are real people: parents apart from their children, and children navigating life without a primary caregiver.
We come to this issue from different backgrounds. Teresa is a formerly incarcerated mother who co-founded a nonprofit that supports the successful reentry of people returning from incarceration. She knows firsthand the heartache of being separated from family and the immeasurable value of every call, message or moment of connection. Kevin leads a company that offers responsible technology to incarcerated people and their families. We share a commitment to advancing policies and tools that preserve family bonds and support better outcomes.
Consider this: Of the 1.9 million people currently incarcerated in the U.S., approximately 50 percent have children under age 18. Additionally, between 4 and 5 percent of women entering correctional facilities are pregnant, meaning that the separation begins early and reverberates through families for generations.
Generationally, children with an incarcerated parent are five to six times more likely to become incarcerated themselves. They bump up against educational barriers, including higher rates of special education placement, reduced school retention, and increased behavioral issues in classrooms. Why? Separation, particularly when sudden and without explanation, can lead to prolonged instability.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Technology is helping to rewrite this story. Tools such as secure video calls, e-messaging, educational platforms and digital reentry resources allow incarcerated individuals to stay present in their children’s lives.
Kevin recently visited Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, a women’s facility in New York that runs one of the few prison nursery programs in the country. The women we met expressed a deep appreciation for the technology available to them, especially the tablets they use to stay in touch with their children. They spoke about being able to see their kids, receive pictures and even access parenting content that helps them stay emotionally connected and prepared for reentry.
Many also highlighted that these same tablets give them access to job training and workforce readiness programs — critical tools that allow them to return home more equipped to support their families and build a more stable future.
The ability to offer support, witness milestones, or simply say “I love you” was not taken for granted. For many of these women, the technology available to them wasn’t just a convenience; it was a lifeline. It helped them maintain hope and a sense of purpose, with the goal of returning home and being there for their families. Experiencing that perspective firsthand was one of the most powerful takeaways from the visit.
Maintaining those connections isn’t always easy. Many families face challenges that make regular communication feel out of reach. Safe, affordable technology paired with supportive policies and reentry programming like job readiness training and education offer scalable, impactful solutions. Technology is more than a convenience — it is a foundation for connection to stronger families and safer communities.
We’ve both seen what’s possible when incarcerated individuals are treated as members of families, not just statistics. And we’ve both witnessed how maintaining those bonds, even during incarceration, can change the trajectory of a child’s life.
Helping families remain connected, especially during one of the most challenging chapters of their lives, changes outcomes. Let’s ensure our policies and technologies support families, strengthen parent-child connections, and improve the impact of incarceration for families when they are apart.
Kevin Elder is president of Securus Technologies, a technology communications firm serving prisons nationwide. Teresa Hodge is president of Mission: Launch, a nonprofit focused on improving outcomes for Americans with arrest or conviction records. She is chairperson of the Aventiv Technologies Advisory Board.
