The direct financial costs of having a family member incarcerated.

Abstract

Using original data from the Family Incarceration Costs Survey, we present national estimates of the direct financial costs of family member incarceration. We find that most Americans with an incarcerated family member provide them direct financial support. The median monthly direct expense among those who contribute is $172, which represents 6% of their household income. On average, Blacks and Hispanics incur higher direct expenses than whites despite their lower household incomes. Men and women contribute similar amounts, but these direct expenses reflect a larger share of women's household income. Poor families' direct expenses are comparable to those of affluent families and are similar to their spending on health care, utilities, and car-related costs. Together, these results suggest that familial incarceration is a prominent line item that strains marginalized families' already-tight household budgets and is a substantial yet underappreciated mechanism through which mass incarceration has reshaped the texture of American poverty in recent decades.