Did you know that close to 2.7 million American children, or 1 in 28 children, currently have a parent who is incarcerated? This number has significantly increased over the past 25 years, from 1 in 125. These statistics shed light on the impact of incarceration on children in the U.S. Take a moment to reflect on these facts and consider supporting our efforts to improve the lives of these children. Here are some key insights:

- 1 out of 9 African-American school-aged children have an incarcerated parent.

- More than half of incarcerated parents in state prisons and almost half of those in federal prisons have never received a personal visit from their children.

- The frequency of contact between children and their parents in federal prison has significantly decreased since 1997, with a 28 percent drop in monthly contact.

- Almost 10 million youths have experienced having a parent who spent time in incarceration.

- The number of incarcerated women in the U.S. has increased by 57 percent between 1995 and 2005, compared to a 34 percent increase for men.

- 52 percent of all incarcerated individuals are parents, and 75 percent of incarcerated women are mothers.

- Nearly 50 percent of children with incarcerated parents are under 10 years old, with 22 percent of state inmate children and 16 percent of federal inmate children being under 5 years old.

- More than 60 percent of parents in state prison and over 80 percent of parents in federal prison are incarcerated more than 100 miles away from their last place of residence.

- Parental incarceration not only impacts financial stability and material hardship but also creates instability in family relationships and structure.

- Maintaining the child-parent relationship while a parent is incarcerated has been shown to reduce recidivism and improve a child's emotional response to the incarceration, fostering parent-child attachment.

If you're interested in learning more about the challenges faced by children of incarcerated parents, we encourage you to visit childrenofinmates.org. Discover how you can make a difference and provide assistance to these vulnerable young individuals in need.