The Justice Center
This page compiles external resources related to family impact, procedural fairness, and accountability within the justice system. Resources are provided for informational purposes only and are not affiliated with this site.
Justice Center
Supporting Families & Caregivers
Resources explaining legal process, transparency, charging practices, sentencing, and fairness safeguards.
National Organizations & Advocacy
Support, advocacy, and education for families impacted by incarceration, with a focus on peer connection and family stability.
Families for Justice as Healing
National advocacy organization advancing alternatives to incarceration for primary caregivers and centering family preservation in sentencing policy.
Tennessee-based organization advocating for incarcerated women, sentencing reform, and family unity through lived experience leadership.
Provides family-focused reentry services, education, and advocacy for people impacted by incarceration and their loved ones.
Children of Incarcerated Parents
Youth.gov – Children of Incarcerated Parents
Federal hub offering tools, guides, and research for supporting children with incarcerated parents across developmental stages.
Children of Incarcerated Caregivers National Network (CICMN)
National network advancing best practices, policy, and coordination to support children impacted by caregiver incarceration.
National Resource Center on Children & Families of the Incarcerated (NRCCFI)
The largest U.S. organization focused specifically on children and families impacted by incarceration, offering fact sheets, research, and training.
Mentoring, Education, & Youth Support
National Mentoring Resource Center – Children of Incarcerated Parents
Evidence-based mentoring resources and program guidance for youth affected by parental incarceration.
Creates community, mentorship, and leadership opportunities for children with incarcerated parents to build resilience and connection.
EdTrust
Research on educational disruption, stigma, and academic outcomes for children impacted by incarceration.
Policy research on trauma-informed education and student support systems.
Pregnancy, Birth & Parenting in Custody
ACOG – Reproductive Health Care for Incarcerated Individuals
Clinical guidance on pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum care, and ethical standards for people in custody.
National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW)
Legal advocacy organization protecting the rights of pregnant and parenting people, including those criminalized during pregnancy. Includes resources related to lactation, breastfeeding access, and postpartum rights in custody, shackling, and separation.
Prison Policy Initiative – Women & Mass Incarceration
Data and analysis on women’s incarceration, facility-level policies, pregnancy in custody, breastfeeding in custody, and infant and family separation.
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)
Reproductive Health Care for Incarcerated Individuals: clinical standards addressing pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, and postpartum care in custody.
The Sentencing Project – Incarcerated Women & Pregnancy
Data and policy analysis on pregnancy, postpartum care, and family separation.
ACLU – Reproductive Justice & Incarceration
Legal challenges related to breastfeeding denial and postpartum separation.
Federal Bureau of Prisons – Female Offender Manual
Official policy on pregnancy, lactation, and postpartum care (often inconsistently applied).
Human Rights Watch – “The Shackling of Pregnant Women”
Documentation of systemic violations during pregnancy, labor, and postpartum.
Prison Nursery & Mother–Baby Programs
Prison Nursery Programs – National Overview
Sentencing Project analysis of prison nursery models and outcomes.
Women’s Prison Association (WPA)
Mother–Baby Prison Nursery Programs
Advocacy, research, and policy recommendations for keeping mothers and infants together.
Rebecca Project for Human Rights (National Women’s Law Center)
Mother–Infant Bonding in Custody Reports documenting benefits and limitations of prison nursery programs.
NY Bedford Hills Correctional Facility – Nursery Program
One of the longest-running prison nursery programs in the U.S.
Family Separation & Reunification
Annie E. Casey Foundation – Parental Incarceration & Child Welfare
Research on the relationship between incarceration, foster care placement, and family separation.
Child Welfare Information Gateway – Parental Incarceration
Federal resources for caregivers, courts, and child welfare professionals navigating incarceration-related family disruption.
The Marshall Project – Families & Incarceration
Investigative journalism documenting how incarceration affects children, caregivers, and family stability.
Trauma, Mental Health & Long-Term Impact
National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN)
Resources for schools on childhood trauma, attachment disruption, and resilience related to family separation.
CDC – Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Research on the long-term health, mental health, and social impacts of childhood trauma and family instability.
Zero to Three – Trauma & Early Development
Evidence-based resources on how caregiver separation affects infants and young children.
Mental health resources addressing anxiety, grief, behavior changes, and trauma in children.
Sentencing Alternatives & Caregiver-Focused Policy
Primary Caretaker Sentencing Initiatives
Overview of laws and programs offering alternatives to incarceration for caregivers.
Washington State Parenting Sentencing Alternative (PSA)
Community-based sentencing option allowing parents to remain with their children while serving sentences.
The Sentencing Project – Alternatives to Incarceration
Policy research advocating for community-based sentencing and reduced reliance on incarceration.
Data, Research & System Context
The Sentencing Project – Children of Incarcerated Parents
National statistics and research documenting the scope of parental incarceration.
Vera Institute of Justice – Family Justice
Research on incarceration’s impact on families and community stability.
Population Reference Bureau – Parental Imprisonment & Child Outcomes
Research on health, behavioral, and economic impacts on children with incarcerated parents.
Youth Voice, Identity, & Support
Youth.gov – COIP Tools & Guides
Downloadable guides for caregivers and professionals navigating arrest, incarceration, visitation, and reentry.
National organization led by and for children and young adults with incarcerated parents, focused on empowerment, storytelling, and policy change.
Sesame Workshop – Incarceration Resources
Free, bilingual, child-friendly tools to help children understand and cope with a loved one’s incarceration.
Sesame Street in Communities
Trauma-informed, age-appropriate videos, stories, and activities helping young children understand incarceration, separation, and emotions.
Prison Fellowship – Resources for Children of Prisoners
Books, reading lists, and caregiver tools for children of all ages.
Justice Center
Procedural Fairness & Injustice
Resources explaining legal process, transparency, charging practices, sentencing, and fairness safeguards.
How the Criminal Legal Process Is Supposed to Work
National Center for State Courts (NCSC)
Plain-language explanations of court processes, roles, and procedural safeguards.
American Bar Association – Criminal Justice Standards
Authoritative standards on fairness, due process, charging, plea practices, and sentencing.
Legal Information Institute (Cornell Law)
Accessible explanations of constitutional protections, criminal procedure, and defendants’ rights.
Charging Decisions, Prosecutorial Discretion & Transparency
Brennan Center for Justice – Prosecutorial Power
Research on charging discretion, plea leverage, and lack of transparency in prosecutorial decision-making.
Network of prosecutors committed to transparency, accountability, and restraint.
The Sentencing Project – Prosecutorial Practices
Analysis of how charging decisions shape outcomes and incarceration rates.
Plea Bargaining, Coercion & Informational Imbalance
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL)
Resources on plea bargaining pressure, discovery practices, and defense rights.
Innocence Project – Plea Deals & Wrongful Convictions
Documentation of how coercive pleas contribute to wrongful convictions.
Bureau of Justice Statistics – Plea Outcomes
Federal data on plea bargaining prevalence and outcomes.
Discovery Abuse, Brady Violations, Evidence Suppression, & Disclosure Failures
Brady Center / Brady Disclosure Resources
Information on prosecutors’ obligations to disclose exculpatory evidence.
National Registry of Exonerations
Data showing how often prosecutors withhold or distort evidence, and cases highlighting discovery failures, withheld evidence, and procedural breakdowns.
Research and case studies on systemic failures in evidence handling.
Sentencing, Proportionality, & Disparities
Federal sentencing data, guidelines, and disparity analysis.
The Sentencing Project – Sentencing Reform
Research on excessive punishment, racial disparity, and alternatives to incarceration.
Prison Policy Initiative – Sentencing & Length of Stay
Data on sentence length, pretrial detention, and structural drivers of incarceration.
Whistleblowers, Qui Tam, & Retaliatory Charging
Department of Justice – Qui Tam (False Claims Act) Overview
Explains whistleblower protections, relator rights, and DOJ discretion — including gaps that leave whistleblowers vulnerable.
National organization supporting False Claims Act whistleblowers; publishes analysis on retaliation and DOJ practices.
Government Accountability Project (GAP)
Whistleblower protection organization documenting retaliation across federal systems, including prosecutorial misuse of power.
Senate Judiciary Committee – Whistleblower Protections
Oversight materials and hearings addressing failures in federal whistleblower protections.
Project On Government Oversight (POGO)
Investigative reporting and advocacy on government abuse, retaliation, and lack of accountability.
Misconduct: Oversight, Ethics, & Accountability Mechanisms
Department of Justice (DOJ) – Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR)
The internal federal DOJ oversight body that investigates federal prosecutorial misconduct. Note: OPR investigations are opaque, slow, and rarely result in public discipline, but they create a formal record.
State Bar Disciplinary Authorities (for AUSAs licensed in states)
Professional oversight of prosecutors and defense counsel (varies by state). Prosecutors are subject to state ethical rules, even in federal court.
Judicial Conduct Commissions (by state)
Oversight bodies for judicial ethics and conduct.
Judicial Conduct & Disability Act (Federal Judges)
Formal mechanism to report judicial misconduct or bias.
The House Judiciary Committee receives constituent complaints and conducts investigations.
The Senate Judiciary Committee receives constituent complaints and conducts invesigations.
Office of Special Counsel (Whistleblower Retaliation)
Limited jurisdiction but relevant for some federal retaliation claims.
Media & Investigative Journalism (Last Resort, High Impact)
Media and investigative journalism.
Media and investigative journalism.
Red Flags & Indicators of Procedural Breakdown
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) – Systemic Reform
Identifies structural warning signs including discovery abuse, plea coercion, and rushed proceedings.
Brennan Center – Court Process Failures
Research on under-resourced courts, speed over fairness, and procedural shortcuts.
Federal System Fairness & Injustice
U.S. Sentencing Commission – Federal Sentencing Data
Shows disparity, cooperation credit issues, and sentencing outcomes.
The Sentencing Project – Federal Justice Issues
Research on sentencing severity, charging disparities, and prosecutorial influence.
Prison Policy Initiative – Federal Justice Analysis
Context on pretrial detention, sentence length, and leverage points.
ACLU – Federal Criminal Justice Reform
Litigation and research on due process and prosecutorial abuse.
Justice Center
Accountability & Lived Experience
Resources explaining research, data, investigative journalism, oversight bodies, and lived-experience–led organizations with stories about what it feels like going through the justice system — and what survives afterward.
Lived Experience–Led Organizations
Advocacy and leadership by formerly incarcerated women addressing sentencing harm and family impact.
Youth- and family-led organization amplifying lived experience of parental incarceration.
Families for Justice as Healing
Centers caregivers’ lived experience in sentencing reform and alternatives to incarceration.
Investigative Journalism & Public Accountability
The Marshall Project
In-depth reporting on failures in prosecution, courts, incarceration, and reentry.
Investigative journalism exposing systemic abuse, misconduct, and policy failure.
Reporting focused on legal system accountability and reform.
Research on Harm, Outcomes & Systemic Failure
Research on system outcomes, family harm, and community impact.
Urban Institute – Justice Policy Center
Analysis of justice system effects on families, health, and economic stability.
National Academies of Sciences – Incarceration Outcomes
Authoritative research on long-term societal impacts of incarceration.
Wrongful Convictions & Systemic Error
National Registry of Exonerations
Data showing how often prosecutors withhold or distort evidence, and cases highlighting discovery failures, withheld evidence, and procedural breakdowns.
Research and case studies on systemic failures in evidence handling.
Research and advocacy highlighting wrongful convictions and system failures.
Collateral Consequences & Long-Term Harm
Collateral Consequences Resource Center (CCRC)
Tracks civil penalties affecting housing, employment, parenting, and voting.
Council of State Governments – Justice Center
Research on reentry barriers and system-imposed consequences.
Accountability, Oversight & Reform Pathways
Department of Justice – Civil Rights Division
Federal oversight of systemic constitutional violations.
Litigation and advocacy addressing systemic rights violations.
First-Person Accounts: Defendants & the Legal System
Innocence Project – Exoneree Stories
First-person narratives from individuals wrongfully charged or convicted, including plea coercion and prosecutorial misconduct.
National Registry of Exonerations – Individual Case Narratives
Detailed case stories documenting how prosecutorial decisions, evidence suppression, and systemic failures unfolded.
The Marshall Project – Life Inside the System
First-person essays from people navigating arrest, plea negotiations, sentencing, incarceration, and reentry.
ProPublica – Criminal Justice Stories
Narratives exposing how individuals are caught in unfair or retaliatory prosecutions and opaque legal processes.
Whistleblowers, Cooperators & Retaliation Stories
Project On Government Oversight
Investigations and whistleblower stories involving retaliation, abuse of power, and lack of accountability in federal systems.
Government Accountability Project
First-person accounts of whistleblowers facing retaliation, including through criminal or civil enforcement.
Stories and analysis from False Claims Act relators navigating retaliation and federal discretion.
Families, Spouses & Children Telling Their Own Stories
First-person stories from children and young adults growing up with an incarcerated parent.
Youth reflections on parental incarceration, identity, grief, and resilience.
Child-centered storytelling and videos reflecting how children experience separation and incarceration.
Formerly Incarcerated People & Community Voices
Stories and advocacy from women who survived incarceration and family separation.
First-person narratives on incarceration, reentry, and long-term consequences.
Personal accounts and leadership stories centered on lived experience of incarceration.
Narrative Journalism, Long-Form Storytelling, Documentaries, & Archives
Narrative reporting on defendants, families, and systemic injustice.
Texas Tribune – Criminal Justice Series
Human-centered stories about prosecutions, incarceration, and family impact.
NPR – Incarceration & Families
Audio storytelling capturing the emotional and relational toll of incarceration.
Vera Institute of Justice – Family Impact Stories
Narratives paired with research documenting how incarceration reshapes families.
Library of Congress – Prison Narratives & Oral History
Historical and contemporary accounts of incarceration and family separation.
First-person interviews capturing lived experience, including incarceration and family loss.