title: Quantifying maternal incarceration: a whole-population linked data study of Western Australian children born 1985-2011.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To measure the prevalence of children affected by maternal incarceration in Western Australia (WA).
  
  
  METHODS
  Using linked administrative data we identified all children born in WA between 1985 and 2011, whose biological mother was imprisoned during their childhood. Data was obtained through the WA Data Linkage Branch from the Department of Corrective Services, Midwives Notifications System and Birth Registrations data collections. Descriptive characteristics of the children (n=9,352) and their mothers (n=3,827) are reported. Prevalence was measured in two-ways, the proportion of children ever affected in childhood and affected annually.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Childhood prevalence of maternal incarceration was 26-times higher (95%CI 23.9-28.2) for Indigenous children born 1992-1996 with 18.8% Indigenous children and 0.7% non-Indigenous children affected while aged 0-17 years. On average 1,544 children were affected each year across 2003-2011, at rates of 2,929 per 100,000 Indigenous children and 108 per 100,000 non-Indigenous children.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings present the first census of children affected by maternal incarceration within an Australian State and identify a large disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations. Implications for public health: This study highlights the importance of formal consideration of children of women prisoners in the development of criminal justice policies and practices.
authors.affiliation: Health Economics and Social Policy Group, Centre for Population Health Research, School of Health Sciences, The University of South Australia.
authors.forename: Caitlin M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Dowell
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health Services Research, School of Population Health, The University of Western Australia.
authors.forename: David B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Preen
authors.affiliation: Health Economics and Social Policy Group, Centre for Population Health Research, School of Health Sciences, The University of South Australia.
authors.forename: Leonie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Segal
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations / Q000523:psychology; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014904:Western Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: children; linked data; maternal incarceration; prevalence; prison