OBJECTIVES We aimed to describe young children in lower-income households with caregiver incarceration, explore incarceration-related barriers to resources, and investigate associations between Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation and health. We hypothesized that families experienced incarceration-related barriers to resources and that SNAP participation was associated with improved child outcomes. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of data from Children’s HealthWatch (April 2021-July 2024), a survey of young children (aged 0–48 months), and caregivers interviewed in 5 US cities. Our analytic sample comprised caregivers of children in lower-income households (publicly insured/uninsured) responding to the question regarding whether the child’s caregiver experienced incarceration (including immigration detention). We assessed characteristics and outcomes (general health, developmental risk, child/household food insecurity) based on caregiver incarceration experience and SNAP participation using descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression, controlling for child and caregiver factors. RESULTS Of the sample (N = 4439), 18.1% of caregivers reported that the index child had a caregiver who ever experienced incarceration. Of caregivers of children who experienced caregiver incarceration, 9.8% reported incarceration-related barriers to accessing resources. Among children with caregiver incarceration, SNAP participation was associated with lower adjusted odds of developmental risk (adjusted odds ratio: 0.56, 95% CI 0.36–0.87). SNAP participation was not associated with child general health or food insecurity. DISCUSSION One in five children in lower-income households had a caregiver who experienced incarceration. Incarceration-related barriers to resources impact households, which may have implications for developmental outcomes for this high-risk population. Reducing barriers to resources may improve the well-being of children whose caregivers have experienced incarceration.
Building similarity graph...
Analyzing shared references across papers
Loading...
Destiny G. Tolliver
Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba
Ana Poblacion
University of Minnesota
Boston University
Drexel University
Building similarity graph...
Analyzing shared references across papers
Loading...
Tolliver et al. (Wed,) studied this question.
www.synapsesocial.com/papers/69ec5b8a88ba6daa22dad152 — DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/pedsos.2025-001109