Children of Incarcerated Parents

Policies
Decision-Making Power
Decision-making power is central to the bargaining position of women within the
household. It is how women and men make decisions that affect the entire household
unit. However, women and men often have very different priorities when it comes to
determining what is most important for the family. Factors that determine which member
of the household has the most power in decision-making vary across cultures, but in
most countries there is extreme gender inequality. Men of the household usually have
the power to determine what choices are made towards women's health, their ability to
visit friends and family, and household expenditures. The ability to make choices for
their own health affects both women and children's health. How household expenditures
are decided affects women and children's education, health, and well-being. Women's
freedom of mobility affects their ability to provide for their own needs as well as for the
needs of their children.
Gender discrimination within households is often rooted in patriarchal biases against the
social status of women. Major determinants of the household bargaining power include
control of income and assets, age, and access to and level of education. As women's
decision-making power increases, the welfare of their children and the family in general
benefits. Women who achieve greater education are also more likely to worry about
their children's survival, nutrition, and school attendance.
Studies of dual-income couples in Spain have found that many decisions are contingent
on social norms, and not all decisions are negotiated or decided by consensus.
Single Mother Households
Single mother households are critical in addressing feminization of poverty and can be
broadly defined as households in which there are female headships and no male
headships. Single mother households are at the highest risk of poverty for women due
to lack of Income and resources. There is a continuing increase of single mother
households in the world, which results in higher percentages of women in poverty.
Single mothers are the poorest women in society, and their children tend to be
disadvantaged in comparison to their peers. Different factors can be taken into account
for the rise in the number of female headship in households. When men become
migrant workers, women are left to be the main caretaker of their homes. Those women
who have the opportunity to work usually don't get better jobs with a furthered
education. They are left with jobs that don't offer financial sustainability or benefits.
Other factors such as illnesses and deaths of husbands lead to an increase in single
mother households in developing countries.
Female headed households are most susceptible to poverty because they have fewer
income earners to provide financial support within the household. According to a case
study in Zimbabwe, households headed by widows have an income of approximately
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