Expanding Paid Time for Families Impacted by Incarceration
Richard* was released from prison and was working at a car wash in southeastern Michigan. At the same time, he had to see his parole officer, do drug testing, and work with Child Protective Services (CPS) to try to regain custody of his kids. One of the conditions of both his parole and of CPS was to have a steady job. While Richard was a good worker, he couldn’t make all of these appointments with the schedule his employer gave him.
Richard was someone I was working with at a permanent supportive housing program. His situation is all too typical. Illinois is taking one step that will help: a proposed statewide paid sick and safe days bill that will allow Illinoisans to use paid time to attend court appointments, visit an incarcerated loved one, or to attend probation and parole appointments.
Existing paid sick and safe days policies already support some self-care and caregiving needs of families who have loved ones who are incarcerated or navigating re-entry—such as caregivers taking time to care for their own mental health or to take a formerly incarcerated loved one to health care appointments. But this would be the first bill to explicitly name appointments related to detention itself as an allowed usage of the time.
The Illinois bill, as supportive by the Illinois Paid Leave Coalition, passed through the state Senate during the regular session which just ended. Prospects are good for passage in November.
Family Values @ Work has been engaged with a number of groups who have been thinking about ways to support families impacted by incarceration. Some of these partners include Strong Families Network, the Ella Baker Center, Equal Justice, Just Leadership USA, 9to5, Workers Center for Racial Justice, Partnership for Safety and Justice, Vera Institute, Impact Justice, National LGBTQ Taskforce, National Center for Lesbian Rights, AFL-CIO and SEIU, along with the state anchors within Family Values @ Work’s 27 state network.
As a queer, transgender person living with mental illness, many of the communities that I am part of face high levels of criminalization and interaction with the criminal legal system at young ages, and need family caregiving support at every step of the way. Trans women of color, particularly Black trans women and Native American trans women, are incarcerated at rates higher than white trans women. Women of color who are supporting a loved one going through the arrest and arraignment process are providing financial, emotional, and other logistical support. These caregivers need paid time from work to support their loved ones: 16% of family members from the Who Pays? The True Costs of Incarceration on Families study reported that they lost wages for providing emotional and logistical support for their loved one.
