In whose best interest? The impact of changing public policy on relatives caring for children with incarcerated parents.

Changes in criminal justice policy have resulted in the incarceration of an unprecedented number of parents. Consequently, more children than ever before are living with grandparents and other relatives while their parents are imprisoned. Historically, child welfare and criminal justice policy have been treated as distinct and unrelated areas of policy. This article discusses the interdependence of criminal justice policy, welfare reform legislation, and kinship foster care, and the impact of this interdependence on children whose parents are in jail or in prison.