With the increase in incarceration rates for women over the past decade a wide range of individual and social concerns has been created. This study gives voice to former women inmates exploring their experiences, feelings, and thoughts on the obstacles they endured in prison and now face in the community. The study examined issues of family separation and community isolation as experienced by women on parole. Qualitative data, based on unstructured, in-depth interviews with 54 former inmates, offered retrospective reflections and current accounts that delineate many of the unintended costs of imprisonment. The narratives portray the difficulties these women experienced in parenting, relationships, and community reintegration. Women in the study felt being separated from their children provoked considerable stress and threatened their self-esteem. Many women, once released, must be involved in drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs, as well as be gainfully employed. These parole criteria, as well as other demands, present difficult obstacles to women wishing to regain custodial rights of their children. Women in this study reported the many difficulties experienced in adjusting to living in the community. Community members communicate their distrust of these women and engage in harsh moral judgments. Family support is crucial to the success of women returning to their community. The study found that almost half of the women had lost touch with their families making for greater adjustment problems in reintegrating into the community. The study reported that the collateral costs of prison and parole can be reduced by increasing opportunities that emphasize reentry into the job market, reintegration into the community, and reunification with children and families. References