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More than 5 million US boys and girls, or 7% of the nation’s children, have seen at least one parent serve time in prison. Intergenerational incarceration, a vicious cycle of imprisonment that passes from one generation to the next, makes these children six times more likely to become involved in the criminal justice system than their peers. The cycle perpetuates crime, limits opportunities, and reinforces societal inequalities.
Percy Pitzer and his family disrupt the cycle with the transformative power of education. The Pitzer Family Education Foundation (PFEF) provides scholarship and financial aid opportunities to children of prison inmates, enabling them to enroll in college, trade school, and trade certificate courses.
Percy Pitzer finds a passion for breaking the cycle of intergenerational incarceration
After military service in Vietnam, Pitzer found himself a young man chasing down deserters from the Vietnam War in Milwaukee. On a whim, he asked the local sheriff about his future plans.
“He told me that a new federal prison was opening in Oxford, and he was getting a job there,” Pitzer says. “I said I might apply, too, and when he told me I didn’t have the experience I needed, that sealed the deal. I knew nothing about the bureau, but I got on the phone, found out where they were hiring, and started three days following my discharge from the military.”
Pitzer recalls feeling apprehensive as he reported for his first day, but the nerves quickly wore off, and he never looked back. He was promoted through the ranks, and after 25 years in the correctional system, he retired as a warden in Beaumont, Texas.
When Pitzer moved into a leadership role, he set his natural problem-solving inclination toward intergenerational incarceration. “I saw the cycle around me every day,” he remembers. “I felt like I could go into the visiting room and pick out the kids who would be our next clients. It’s a sad situation.”
After retiring, Pitzer found he was not ready to give up that challenge. So, he launched Creative Corrections, an independent company that audits prisons to improve their operations.
“What doesn’t get checked doesn’t get fixed,” says Pitzer. “We investigate five key areas: environmental health and safety, food service, healthcare, security, and programs. When a facility operates appropriately, staff can plan for the future rather than putting out daily fires.”
When a facility is running well, Pitzer finds he has no difficulty enlisting inmates to combat intergenerational incarceration right along with him. “The inmate population is a tremendous resource,” he notes. “Our foundation has received $240,000 in donations from inmates, and every penny goes into scholarships. The vast majority of inmates want to take part in their children’s success by donating. When you show inmates what can be done and what they can do to help, more often than not, they get on board. I also firmly believe that involving them assists them greatly when it’s time to re-enter society.”
While Pitzer acknowledges that inmates do not typically have a lot of money, he still values their potential. He points out that if just 10% of the 1.2 million people incarcerated in state and federal prisons donated a dollar a month, the $120,000 a month would translate to over a million dollars a year.
In addition to the support from inmates, Creative Corrections has contributed $1.4 million to the cause. “Our entire livelihood was based on prisons,” Pitzer explains. “When the company became successful, we knew it was time to give back.”
Education breaks the cycle of intergenerational incarceration, strengthening communities and society as a whole
Intergenerational incarceration affects individual children and society as a whole. The cyclical nature of imprisonment perpetuates the burden on the criminal justice system, leading to overcrowded prisons and strained resources. Furthermore, absent parents increase reliance on welfare systems and exacerbate socioeconomic inequalities.
“Most communities believe that when you send a person to prison, you get rid of the problem,” says Pitzer, “when in fact, the problem has only begun. That same person you sent to prison is going to come back into your community, and if that person has children, you have likely set in motion a new generation of crime and imprisonment.”
Breaking the cycle of intergenerational incarceration through education contributes to safer communities with fewer victims of crime. When people educate the children of inmates, they create a stronger society that values education, second chances, and the potential for positive change.
Education is the crucial intervention point in the cycle of intergenerational incarceration, creating opportunities for children to rewrite their narratives and disrupt the patterns that have historically led to imprisonment. Through education, students gain the knowledge, skills, and critical thinking abilities necessary to make informed decisions, resist negative influences, and pursue alternative pathways to success.
“To reduce intergenerational incarceration, we need the community’s help,” concludes Pitzer. “My foundation, along with another 100 foundations, is not enough. We can educate, but the community must understand that crime can be reduced through education. Everyone is a piece of the solution. We need to partner with organizations, prisons, corporations, and community members. It is amazing what we could accomplish if we all joined together to confront the challenge.”
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