Date of Conferral

5-3-2024

Date of Award

May 2024

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Policy and Administration

Advisor

Tony Gaskew

Abstract

Because of the mass incarceration of women, maternal incarceration has become a phenomenon within itself. This phenomenon has led to an increase in Black children with an incarcerated mother; however, there is a lack of information about how the cycle of the mass incarceration of Black women is perceived on the community supervision level. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to better understand probation and pre-trial officers’ perceptions of how the maternal incarceration of Black women impacts Black children. Three research questions explored how participants viewed the impact of maternal incarceration on Black children, recidivism, and positive reentry. Critical race theory was used as the framework to explore how systemic racism is viewed by employees of the criminal justice system. The study followed a phenomenological qualitative approach with criterion and snowball sampling methods. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews conducted using Zoom with six probation and pre-trial officers who were employed by Mississippi Federal Probation or the State of Tennessee. Data were analyzed using in vivo coding and NVivo 14 software. Six themes emerged, and overall results indicated that while the participants loved their jobs and strived to help their clients, they believed maternal incarceration was unfair and caused detrimental consequences for the incarcerated mother and her children. Findings promote positive social change within the criminal justice system by reminding those employed in community supervision to continue increasing positive reentry for their Black clients who are mothers while recognizing systemic racism.

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