Report: One in 14 children has had incarcerated parent

One in 14 children have at least one parent behind bars and children in these situations suffer from low self esteem, poor mental and physical health, and other problems, a national research organization says.

Child Trends, an organization based in Bethesda, Md., is releasing its report Parents Behind Bars: What Happens to Their Children? on Tuesday. The group hopes the findings will prod prisons, schools and lawmakers to make changes that will help young people who have incarcerated parents.

"The issue of what some people have termed mass incarceration in the United States has really attracted a lot of attention so we were interested in looking at this issue," David Murphey, report co-author and senior research scientist at Child Trends, said in a telephone interview with USA TODAY. "We feel it's important to put this on the radar screen" and help people "realize there's more to it than the adults themselves," Murphey said.

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