New Research from Right On Crime Examines Public Safety Successes of Alternatives to Incarceration for Caregivers and Children in Texas

(Austin, TX) – Right On Crime, a national conservative criminal justice campaign of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, released new research today on Caregiver Mitigation and Diversion Programs: A Family-Centered Alternative to Incarceration which addresses the devastating effects of incarceration for Texas families, including their health, education, employment, and quality of life outcomes for children.  

An estimated 90,000 incarcerated Texans are parents. The State of Texas currently has several diversionary programs available but does not have mitigation laws in place that would require judges to consider an individual’s primary caregiver status before sentencing.  

“Incarceration has particularly devastating consequences for children of imprisoned parents, as it harms their mental health and affects their academic performance, employment opportunities, and overall quality of life,” said  Ross Jackson, Right On Crime Policy Analyst. “Many states have seen successes in keeping individuals with children closer to their families by enacting caregiver diversion and mitigation laws.”  

“Texas should enact mitigation laws that redirect parents who commit non-violent, non-serious crimes to diversionary programs that keep them at home with their children while serving their sentence,” said Nikki Pressley, Texas Director and Chief of Staff for Right On Crime. “By enacting mitigation legislation, Texas can keep families together, reduce recidivism, and better steward taxpayer dollars.”  

The study concludes that the conditions of community supervision can include family-centered community programming that promotes parent-child unity and rehabilitation.

Right On Crime is a national campaign of the Texas Public Policy Foundation supporting conservative solutions for reducing crime, restoring victims, reforming offenders, and lowering taxpayer costs. The movement was born in Texas in 2007 and has led the way in implementing conservative criminal justice initiatives across the nation. For more information, visit our website at www.RightOnCrime.com