A conference in Phoenix this Friday will focus on keeping families connected during and after incarceration.
The event is part of the Arizona Town Hall, a series of public meetings held around the state, focusing this year on criminal justice reform.
Rebecca Gau, executive director of Stand For Children Arizona, will be speaking on a panel Friday morning at the Sheraton Crescent Hotel about the repercussions on youth who have incarcerated parents.
"We know that students or children who experience these types of traumas often end up re-living these experiences and transmitting them on in their own lives," unless, Gau says, society steps in with support systems.
According to research by FWD.US, Arizona has one of the highest incarceration rates in the country.