Nearly 200,000 Georgia children have a parent in prison or jail. They didn’t commit any crime. They face poverty, trauma, and a system designed to extract money from their families while providing nothing in return. Georgia’s prison crisis doesn’t end at the facility gate—it follows families home. 1
The Scale of Family Impact
60% of Georgia’s 50,250 incarcerated people are parents. Their children face consequences no child deserves:
- 8% of Georgia children experience parental incarceration—nearly 200,000 kids
- 65% of affected households struggle with food, utilities, and rent
- Psychological trauma equivalent to experiencing abuse or domestic violence
- Academic performance suffers—children can’t focus when they’re worried about parents
Research shows parental incarceration creates lasting damage. Georgia’s system makes it worse.
The Financial Extraction
Georgia doesn’t just incarcerate people. It charges their families to maintain contact:
| Cost Category | Monthly Range | Annual Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Phone calls | $200-300 | $2,400-3,600 |
| Commissary | $100-200 | $1,200-2,400 |
| Visitation travel | $150-250 | $1,800-3,000 |
| Total | $450-750 | $5,400-9,000 |
For low-income families, these costs consume 35% of household budgets. The choice becomes: stay connected or pay rent. Many families go into debt to maintain relationships the system profits from destroying.
What Research Shows
Family contact during incarceration reduces recidivism. People who maintain relationships come home with support systems. People cut off from families return to nothing—and often return to prison.
Georgia’s system charges families for what would reduce future incarceration costs. The state profits from undermining its own outcomes.
What Other States Do
Some states have implemented reforms Georgia refuses:
- Free video visitation — Technology exists; states choosing family connection provide it
- Capped phone rates — Federal regulation limited interstate calls; Georgia still charges maximum allowed
- Commissary at cost — Some states don’t profit from basic necessities
- Suspended child support — Incarcerated parents can’t pay; accrued debt destroys reentry
Georgia chooses extraction over connection at every opportunity.
The Children’s Perspective
Children of incarcerated parents face:
- Stigma — Peers, teachers, and communities judge them for parents’ actions
- Instability — Housing changes, school transfers, family reorganization
- Economic hardship — Losing a parent often means losing income
- Emotional trauma — Worry, grief, and confusion about why their parent is gone
These children didn’t choose incarceration. Georgia’s system treats them as collateral damage—or profit sources.
Resources for Families
GPS maintains resources for families navigating Georgia’s system:
- Facilities Database — Information on every Georgia facility
- Mortality Database — If you’ve lost someone in custody
- Report Conditions — Share what you’re experiencing
- Informational Resources — Guides and information for families
- Pathways to Success — Reentry and support resources
You’re not alone. Nearly 200,000 Georgia children share this experience.
Take Action
Use Impact Justice AI to send advocacy emails demanding family-friendly reforms. The free tool crafts personalized messages to Georgia lawmakers—no experience required.
Demand:
- Free video visitation for maintaining family bonds
- Capped commissary prices at cost
- Child support suspension during incarceration
- Expanded family counseling services
Further Reading
- The Human Cost of Georgia’s Prison Extortion
- Parole Theater: How Georgia’s Parole Board Rubber-Stamps Inevitable Releases
- GPS Statistics Dashboard
- GPS Facilities Database
About Georgia Prisoners’ Speak (GPS)
Georgia Prisoners’ Speak (GPS) is a nonprofit investigative newsroom built in partnership with incarcerated reporters, families, advocates, and data analysts. Operating independently from the Georgia Department of Corrections, GPS documents the truth the state refuses to acknowledge: extreme violence, fatal medical neglect, gang-controlled dorms, collapsed staffing, fraudulent reporting practices, and unconstitutional conditions across Georgia’s prisons.
Through confidential reporting channels, secure communication, evidence verification, public-records requests, legislative research, and professional investigative standards, GPS provides the transparency the system lacks. Our mission is to expose abuses, protect incarcerated people, support families, and push Georgia toward meaningful reform based on human rights, evidence, and public accountability.
Every article is part of a larger fight — to end the silence, reveal the truth, and demand justice.
- GPS Statistics, https://gps.press/gdc-statistics/[↩]